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Self Published Books

A place to debate issues or to rant about what's on your mind. In addition to discussions about historical fiction, books, the publishing industry, and history, discussions about current political, social, and religious issues and other topics are allowed, so those who are easily offended by certain topics may want to avoid such threads. Members are expected to keep the discussions friendly and polite and to avoid personal attacks on other members. The moderators reserve the right to shut down a thread without warning if they believe it necessary.
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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Sun November 23rd, 2008, 4:46 am

Hi Christina,
I think there are quite a few authors with similar stories. Publishing is by its very nature extremely topical; it tends to cleave to current trends and be wary of anything that might appear too risque for the market. We only have to look at the trends in hf cover design to see that by and large publishers go with tried and true, though on occasion you'll see someone deviate. Novelty excites in the short-term but quickly wears off if it doesn't bear fruit.

I think it's terrific that after so much disillusionment, you've discovered the positive side of self-publishing. It can be very empowering and, if the project is edited and packaged with care, many writers find it to be a marvelous experience, though perhaps not as lucrative as the traditional venues.

I remember reading about Helen Hollick's publication journey and her decision to self-publish her book about pirates. Like her, many writers find that after experiencing success, either the marketplace has changed or their publishers are no longer keen on their next project because they feel it doesn't have enough commercial merit.

It comes down to pure economics: publishers must sell x amount of copies of a book to make a profit, which by and large is slim per book, but adds up with number of copies sold. Publishing companies are mostly now owned by huge multinational corporations that view books as "units"; the time editors used to take grooming an author's career is now almost exclusively reserved for the big, proven names, which is why agents remain for the most part the mid-list author's best friend.

Some books will find a huge audience off the bat; others take more time. Unfortunately, with today's extraordinarily competitive marketplace, the rate of returns and sheer volume of titles published each year, fewer books have the chance to find their audience before they're being remaindered and/or shipped back to the publisher as a return. It's quite sad and can be very disheartening; I have two close writer friends whose books suffered this fate and I can honestly say, their pain and feelings of utter helplessness before the "machine of publishing" was heartbreaking. One of them has tried for the past two years to get her next book sold in NY and has finally opted to self publish it. She told me the other day when she made the decision, she finally felt for the first time in a long time as if she'd taken back control over her writing and her life as a writer.

Given the current economic climate, I think we'll see more of this, unfortunately. It's a godsend, indeed, that self publishing these days can be acheived without the need to take out a second-mortage on the house! I'm certainly glad I have a foot in with my independent press, as one never knows where the wind will blow.
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Helen_Davis

Post by Helen_Davis » Sun November 23rd, 2008, 8:16 pm

I'm glad for it too! My book is set in a matriarchal society, and I'm sure no one would publish that.

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Christina
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Post by Christina » Mon November 24th, 2008, 2:55 pm

Andromeda, even if no one would publish it, I'm sure many people (myself included) would love to buy it - it sounds fascinating :-) .

Thank you so much, CW Gortner, for your encouraging reply :-) . I agree that economic considerations seem to be foremost in the minds of publishers and I understand that they have businesses to run, but at the same time I feel that there is a great deal of the Emperor's New Clothes in the whole set-up. As with art - where a pickled fish or a mutilated cow :-( or an unmade bed is seen as something artistic and sells for a fortune??? - so much published literature is neither beautiful nor uplifting and yet someone decided that this is what people want.
I have seen exam syllabuses (syllabi?) which include so-called poetry about joy riding or vandalism, filled with expletives, and someone decided that this is what young people want to read 'because they can identify with it'. Well, I ask myself, what kind of view of humanity do the people that make these decisions have? Nearly all the young people I know would far rather be uplifted and inspired than having to read something so bleak and meaningless.
Of course many, many wonderful books are published each year by major publishing houses but many more are published which simply aim to shock or be more horrific than the last one.
It is true that the markets have to give people what they want, but if the choice is becoming so narrow, how can people say what they want?
Anyway, I believe the rise in self-publishing opens the way to say many possibilities and it is good to know that major booksellers no longer regard it with disdain and are willing to stock and sell books by authors who otherwise might well be left sitting waiting for the rejection slip to land on the doormat :-)

Helen_Davis

Post by Helen_Davis » Mon November 24th, 2008, 5:54 pm

Well, I've found a company I'm going to publish with, and my book will be out by Christmas of next year. It will be called *drumroll* "Andromeda."

BTW, CW did you get my PM?

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Margaret
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Post by Margaret » Mon November 24th, 2008, 8:49 pm

Christina, are you willing to tell us who the publisher was who sold copies of your book and didn't pay you the royalties you earned? (I'm assuming they did not pay you an advance either.)

So far, we have mostly been talking about self-publishing fiction, which is a much more uphill road, in most cases, than self-publishing nonfiction. Self-published nonfiction authors generally have more marketing opportunities available to them. For example, museums devoted to English royalty and/or Victoriana may be interested in offering your book for sale in their gift shops, where they would not be interested in carrying fiction. If you give lectures, you use that avenue for selling books, as well.

It's a difficult market for publishing, generally, because, as others have pointed out in this thread, the advent of the home computer has made it relatively easy for people to produce book-length manuscripts, even though it remains just as difficult as it ever was to produce a truly well-written and polished manuscript that will attract enough readers to make it worthwhile for a publisher to invest in it. Publishers have to spend more time and money sorting through the mountains of submissions they get, which leaves them less money to devote to editing, producing and promoting the books they do publish. And of course, irresponsible "publishers" have also sprung up to take advantage of writers who feel passionately about getting their work into print. At the same time, there is more competition for people's leisure hours from TV, movies, video games, etc., shrinking the market for books (though not as much as people might think!). I actually believe that too many books (especially fiction) are published now, to the extent that books of the highest quality sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Of course, there is considerable room for disagreement on which books fit in which category!
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Christina
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Post by Christina » Wed November 26th, 2008, 12:12 am

Hello Margaret :-) ,

I think it would be better not to name that publisher for legal reasons - and I think, too, that 'what goes round comes round' and that is for him to sort out and I have moved on and choose to forget that episode :-) .

What you wrote of the possibilities of non-fiction v. fiction is really interesting :-) . Yes, absolutely, the opportunities for promoting non-fiction are many. People, naturally, thirst for knowledge and when someone can give a talk about something about which they feel passionately, even subjects, which at first seem dull, take on a whole new life.

My thought, too, is this: if fiction is grounded in historical accuracy, it is possible for the fiction writer to give talks (I have begun to do that) about their era/passion and where their novel fits into it.

This is going off-topic, I think, but am not sure where to begin a new thread about it and I would like to share this with other people who might be in the position I was in...It is a little nerve-shaking to begin a talk about something you love and don't know if your audience will enjoy it, but there is something about the performance that suddenly takes over and when you get into your stride with it, relating and responding to the people before you, wanting only to give them something that they can take away and enjoy, feel the better for and just have fun, and seeing their response and participation, your talk begins to take on a life of its own.

I write this because I feel so strongly the need to speak up for self-published writers who have something interesting to convey. After loads of rejection slips and ridiculous reasons for not accepting your work, if you know it is really good and that you're not just being self-aggrandazing but have an honest story to tell, it's possible to contact all kinds of people, tell them your story, go out there and do it and - even if you're anxious to begin with - just get into what you want to say, without notes, without having to refer to slides or anything - just say it - and people love it.

Margaret, I do understand what you say about there being too many published books so people have to wade through an ocean of nonsense to find something worth reading...At the same time I think, "Can there ever be too many books?" :-)

I utterly refute the markets and what sells. I utterly refuse to place any faith in what we are told will sell by marketing departments. If someone has something that absorbs them, it will absorb others...It's just the way of things.

Having no interest whatsoever in rugby, I once found myself at a dinner sitting beside someone - not a physically attractive man unfortunatly LOL! - who was passionate about it. By the end of the meal, I was invigorated burning with a need to discover more about that sport. That is what I think writing is about - translating passions into something that enraptures other people, too, without effort. Like Anthony de Mello wrote, "A bird doesn't sing because it has a lesson. It sings because it has a song..." :-)

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LoveHistory
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Post by LoveHistory » Sat December 27th, 2008, 10:31 pm

Wow! This thread is both uplifting and depressing. At the moment depressing wins out. Still...


Congratulations, Andromeda!

Helen_Davis

Post by Helen_Davis » Sun December 28th, 2008, 12:07 am

[quote=""LoveHistory""]Wow! This thread is both uplifting and depressing. At the moment depressing wins out. Still...


Congratulations, Andromeda![/quote]

Why do you say it's depressing? I'm self-publishing!

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LoveHistory
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Post by LoveHistory » Sun December 28th, 2008, 2:56 am

The depressing was about mistakes I've made and limitations I have. Serious writing may just have to go on hold until my boys are done with their intensive therapy.

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diamondlil
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Post by diamondlil » Wed January 7th, 2009, 7:35 pm

Here is a link to a site about Self Publishing that might be helpful
My Blog - Reading Adventures

All things Historical Fiction - Historical Tapestry


There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

Edith Wharton

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