Liz tells it like it is for many of you…
Why not call over and share YOUR thoughts with her šš
Iām mad.
Whatās worse is that what Iām mad about is truly something out of my control. Thereās not a thing I can do about it except keep pushing barriers. To hold my head high and keep on keepinā on with the rest of the crowd.
You can probably guess why Iām angry thanks to the headline. Wait ā no, Iām NOT mad about self-publishing. But rather the thoughts behind self-publishing and the ideas that weāre not as good or ārealā as traditionally published authors.
The publishing system isnāt broken by any means, but the stigma behind ātraditionalā and āindieā publishing has really gotten my goat lately.
Iām independently published, or self-published. What does that mean? It means I do not have an agent or traditional publisher backing me. It means that Iām in control of my stories, my edits, my covers, my marketing, and everything else that goes alongā¦
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This is a great article which I re-blogged immediately. I like Liz Long’s outspoken posts. Thank you for sharing, Chris.
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I’ve also felt the sub-publishing stigma. Gotten the looks and heard the sighs of disappointment. At the same time, I am proud to say that I’ve spent the last 15 years honing my craft, revising, editing, listening to critiques from agents, publishers, and friends. I’ve hired developmental and copy editors attended scores of classes, workshops, and conferences. I can honestly say that my books are as well crafted as traditionally published books.
But it’s extremely competitive out there. Good books get overlooked for being different. And I’ve been close. Although Penguin has asked to see Artania twice in the last couple of years, I still don’t have a contract. Sigh… So I figured I’d self-publish in the meantime. Because I have stories I want to share.
Because I want children to see the magic inside themselves.
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I KNOW there are lots more great authors out there feeling the same way Laurie…
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Fuel your anger at those self-delusional published writers who bring down the entire independent writers as a whole.
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Liz, I hear you and I agree with you, but …
There are good independent authors, outstanding even, but blowing this horn doesn’t help because the reality is that for every good indie author there are 100 terrible ones who bring down the entire category and give fuel to every word of those saying the independent authors are at best a joke, at worst a bad joke.
Good indie authors shouldn’t protect the entire category because it’s indefensible in the eyes of the majority of readers who cross 100 unedited self-published books, with non-existing story structure, with plot holes, POV head hopping, excruciatingly stupid cliff hangers, and more before they encounter a good book. Some stats (for example the ones from Hugh Howie – who started independent) tell us that only a slim percentage of independent writers sell more than 100 books in one year! and less than 10% earns reach $1,000 sales in one year as well. So, yes, there are good independent authors, serious and committed. The problem is that they are in the vast minority.
I used to be as mad as you are, today. Not anymore. Truth is, good independent, serious, committed authors are a rare breed (statistically speaking).
Self-publishing has created a marvelous thing: everyone can publish a book, and establish a one-to-many direct relationship with readers who buy and enjoy the new voices.
Thereās a terrible monster that haunts the publishing valleys, too: everyone can publish a book, and readers are exposed to the slush pile for the first time visible to the many.
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