Debut author turned down $120,000, 3 books New York publishing deal to self-publish

[HarryT]

This author did it right, and used the services of a professional editor. The problem I have with most indie authors is that they think that their work doesn't need editing. BIG mistake.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

I've always found it easy enough to sift the good ones from the not-so-good ones, just as I always did when they were published by corporations instead.

Yup. Same here. Word of mouth/reviews brings it to my attention, a quick sample check for competence, and bam ... away we go. Much the same way I found new authors/books to enjoy in the bookstore/library.

I don't really care HOW a book/author comes to my attention ... only that they have a fighting chance TO come to my attention. Without the arbitrary, artificial interference of personal opinions based on trends and other non-(book|writing|talent|story-telling)-related criteria.

[SteveEisenberg]

withdrawn

[QuantumIguana]

Whether a book is self-published or the author used a publisher makes no difference to me as a reader, I still have access to the same book. Self-publishing may allow bad books to reach the market, but that's a small price to pay for greater choice. If self-published books are such a bad thing, then perhaps art supply stores and music stores are a bad thing. People might produce bad art of a bad song, after all.

There are a lot of bad self-published books out there, but I've never read books at random. It's not that difficult to find good self-published books. I've read and enjoyed self-published books that might not have been accepted by a publisher.

But it is the author's choice whether to self-publish or not, what I might want as a reader is irrelevant.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

That's fine, as long as you are happy to limit your reading to whatever corporations think they can make money from. One good thing self publishing did was bring back genres the corporations lost interest in decades ago. I've always found it easy enough to sift the good ones from the not-so-good ones, just as I always did when they were published by corporations instead.

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Yup. Same here. Word of mouth/reviews brings it to my attention, a quick sample check for competence, and bam ... away we go. Much the same way I found new authors/books to enjoy in the bookstore/library.

I don't really care HOW a book/author comes to my attention ... only that they have a fighting chance TO come to my attention. Without the arbitrary, artificial interference of personal opinions based on trends and other non-(book|writing|talent|story-telling)-related criteria.

Excellent points from both of you.

I applaud the author for taking her career into her own hands to get her work out on HER schedule and on her own terms and for keeping ownership of HER work which is where it belongs.

Some of you insist on making the assumption that all books published by the BPH are gold and nothing is wrong with them. Nothing could be further from the truth. And then to make matters worse, the authors work is held hostage for years to come with nothing on either side to show for it except that it cannot be sold/published anywhere else just to keep the author under their thumb.

This author has already won simply because her book is already published, she has made money, her name is now known to thousands of people etc simply because of what she posted which has spread to this site and others all over the web.

I'm sure some of us will go check out her book or even if it isn't something that we are interested in we may know others who are and pass the message of her book along for others to check out.

Times have changed, and those who refuse to do so, including publishers will be left behind as they should be.

I wish this author and others like her all the best in their effort to get their work out to people who are interested in reading it without judgement from either publishers or readers.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Some of you insist on making the assumption that all books published by the BPH are gold and nothing is wrong with them.

BPH's still have, to my mind, a useful role as "gatekeepers" in filtering out the worst of the crap. I know, for example, that if I buy a book from Baen (a specialist SF/Fantasy publisher) that it's going to be decently edited and that I'm very likely to enjoy it. The reason I don't buy much SF/Fantasy from independent authors is that the overwhelming majority of it is unedited garbage that no BPH would pick up in a million years. There are exceptions, but I don't have time to find the rare gem amongst the flood of rubbish - I prefer to let publishers do it for me. Perhaps that will change over time as more good-quality books are produced by independent authors; I very much hope that is the case.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

That's fine, as long as you are happy to limit your reading to whatever corporations think they can make money from. One good thing self publishing did was bring back genres the corporations lost interest in decades ago. I've always found it easy enough to sift the good ones from the not-so-good ones, just as I always did when they were published by corporations instead.

I'm happy to limit my reading to books that have gone through a publishing process that includes editing, copyediting, proofreading, design, etc. to ensure a minimum level of competence and readability.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Ken.Hagdal

I understand the nitty-gritty side of it can be a bore to people it doesn't concern directly, but until Monstanto comes up with money tree seeds, I'm afraid that authors' income will remain an important factor in how they can make new books available to their readers in a proper and timely manner.

I'm not bored by it, it's just not a factor in my reading. I don't buy a book to somehow help an author; I buy it because I expect to enjoy it.

There's nothing magical and noble about "author"--especially these days when everyone can claim the title--that entitles that person to make a living at it.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Whether a book is self-published or the author used a publisher makes no difference to me as a reader, I still have access to the same book. Self-publishing may allow bad books to reach the market, but that's a small price to pay for greater choice. If self-published books are such a bad thing, then perhaps art supply stores and music stores are a bad thing. People might produce bad art of a bad song, after all.

Well, we differ, because I don't think it's a "small price to pay." The analogy with art supply stores and music stores is completely off-base--having creative tools available is not analogous to foisting the results of one's creative endeavors on an unsuspecting public.

[Tarana]

I wonder why she thinks that her copyright will only exist for 35 years?

New law that became effective Jan. 1. In the past, writers lost their rights due to lack of knowledge or weaseling in the contracts. No matter what a publishing contract says, the rights revert to the author or their heirs after 35 years. It is retroactive, so you will likely see a lot of stuff that was thrown to the backlist long ago suddenly becoming available. I don't have a link to the law - I just remember reading about it in October.

[DrNefario]

I'm incredibly unlikely to pick up a new self-published book from a debut author even if it is free. Even if they offered to pay me, I'd have to think about the price.

Of course good books are self-published, and bad books are trad-published. I don't really read either of them unless I have a good reason to. Trad-published books effectively already have some trusted recommendation credit through having made it through the system. Self-published books don't have that, but can make up ground through word-of-mouth. I suspect it's normally a slower process without the splash of launch publicity and the backing of the publisher. For instance, Wool had been around a long time before it came to my attention.

In the early days of kindle ownership I took a few leaps of faith on indie material, or at least tried some samples, but now I have way too many unread A-list books. I need trustworthy recommendations, just as with anything else I spend my time and money on.

[Tarana]

I think it was a very brave decision, but it could have given a serious backlash.

Not likely any backlash. If her book is very successful, the publishers will come back with a better offer. Nothing sells like success. A lot of conjecture is based on new authors, but many books put out by publishers were self-published before contracting with traditional publishers. The best example that comes to mind is the late Vince Flynn. He was actually turned down by 3 publishing houses before choosing to self publish. Part of his success, of course, besides being compelling stories, was that he had physical books that he could provide placement in stores. That's a hurdle that self-publisher's have to address. They have to market their ebooks. How do they get to the audience that doesn't seek them out? How do they get the attention of readers like Cat who will no longer read self-published books because she's been burned by them? And yes, how do they get themselves into libraries? I know my library system will not buy or even catalog self-published works even if donated, although they have made occasional exception for non-fiction. They need to get their works reviewed positively by professional viewers, if they want to get into the library market.

edited to add: Seems to me that they should include in their blurb about the book that it was professionally edited (if it was).

[crossi]

[QUOTE=DrNefario;2743610] I suspect it's normally a slower process without the splash of launch publicity and the backing of the publisher.

For midlist or new authors there is very little in the way of launch publicity or other promotion. They keep most of that for the newest hardback release of the known big sellers. For most of the paperbacks I bought in the big stores there were no displays, posters, big stacks at the front of the stores or their own stand. Certainly nothing in the way of advertising. For new authors saying the big publishers will publicize or otherwise support them is a joke.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by HarryT

BPH's still have, to my mind, a useful role as "gatekeepers" in filtering out the worst of the crap. I know, for example, that if I buy a book from Baen (a specialist SF/Fantasy publisher) that it's going to be decently edited and that I'm very likely to enjoy it. The reason I don't buy much SF/Fantasy from independent authors is that the overwhelming majority of it is unedited garbage that no BPH would pick up in a million years. There are exceptions, but I don't have time to find the rare gem amongst the flood of rubbish - I prefer to let publishers do it for me. Perhaps that will change over time as more good-quality books are produced by independent authors; I very much hope that is the case.

Well that's all well and good Harry, but the point of this whole thread is that this woman decided to be her own boss rather than be at the mercy of publishers. Why is she being denigrated for this?

Why do these threads always devolve into oh she is self published therefore it must be garbage. If we were discussing any other profession you all would be praising her for her entrepreneurship.

Just because something is already established doesn't mean that it is the best thing since sliced bread. There will always be room for improvement.

But I'm not going to cut off my nose to spite my face or put someone down just because they decide they want to try something different. This woman has done nothing wrong. Nor am I giong to stand in the way of progress.

This is precisely what publishers have been doing since ebooks hit the scene.

[Ken.Hagdal]

Originally Posted by Catlady

There's nothing magical and noble about "author"--especially these days when everyone can claim the title--that entitles that person to make a living at it.

Does it include authors whose books you enjoy?

[BenG]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I'm happy to limit my reading to books that have gone through a publishing process that includes editing, copyediting, proofreading, design, etc. to ensure a minimum level of competence and readability.

But then you would have only two or three hundred thousand books to choose from each year.