Quote:
Originally Posted by Kumabjorn
Why is self-publishing so looked down on in the Anglo-American domain? In many countries it is the normal first step towards a career as an author. Publishing houses will not sign you until you have two or three self-published works that have garnered a following. Yes, they are very risk-averse, but the flip side is that nobody looks down at self-published works.
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For decades, in the US the perception (reinforced by agents, publishers, and the established writers) has been that self-publish =equals= Vanity Press =equals= ripoff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_press
The idea being that if you're not good enough to get an agent and a 12% royalty contract, you're not good enough to join the fraternity (or sorority) of published authors. (It's all about validation by the gatekeepers. With no gatekeepers there can be no validation, hence all self-pub'ed efforts are by definition not-worthy of validation. Drek. Nice syllogism, eh?
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With that in mind, Grafton's views make perfect sense. Horribly dated but understandable. She literally comes from an entirely different world. A world without ebooks, POD, and micro-press independent publishers with on-demand small print runs.
Now, Vanity Press ripoff companies do exist (Penguin just bought one of the biggest in ebookland), but there are also serious publishing services companies that do help self-publishing writers get their works out in the world to be weighed and measured by the only people whose opinion matters: readers.
People like Grafton are simply so far behind the curve they can't even see the road sign.
(shrug)
Hoary old joke:
"How do you teach an old physicist new tricks?"
"You don't. You put him out to pasture and hire a young physicist."