“I’ve lost count of the number of emails I get asking for advice on how to get published. My initial reaction is ‘Why bother?’ when being unpublished is such fun and so satisfying,” writes Beth Webb. “Getting published by a mainstream company is great, but in all honesty, how many of us can really afford to give up the day job, even when we’ve signed that contract? Such a long, heartbreaking haul for what? The joy of writing should be just that – the writing.”
There’s something to this, but I don’t what. (via Books, Inq.)
Says the published writer. 🙂
A few thoughts…
Publishing a book now is not like it was.
1. Editors don’t have that much time for you.
2. Publishers have little or no money for your marketing campaign.
3. Publishers expect authors to have a Web site, a blog, and ideally, a domain exclusive to their latest book. And the publisher’s not paying for (or helping develop) any of it.
4. Publishers expect authors to have hired publicists and PR people to get the word on the book out.
5. Publishers take a bigger chunk of the proceeds than they used to, expecially with all these “make the author pay for it” considerations.
Makes you wonder what publishers actually do.
If publishers don’t get wise to how they’re stiffing some of their authors, I predict more people will simply leave the publishing house out of the process and go self-published. Self-publishing is gaining some credo, and as it matures, it will provide a healthy alternative to standard publishing models.
Publishers need to understand that authors are their clients. Mistreat the client and he’ll go elsewhere. It used to be that “Elsewhere” didn’t exist.
Not anymore.