The other day I once again ran into the attitude that those who self publish are little hobbyists doing their thing. They aren’t “career-minded professionals.” I will admit that I am a hobbyist until I make a sustainable income writing fiction. But I believe most published authors should be equally honest over whether or not they currently have a “career.” Are careers defined by needing other jobs to survive financially? Not in any other industry but this one. In other industries, before you can support yourself, mostly you’re still an apprentice.
This is my frank belief about the publishing industry. I believe the publishing industry the way it currently stands, the traditional way of how it’s always been done, is the Titanic. I intend to get on one of the few life boats and get OFF the damn boat. Before it sinks into the North Atlantic.
Others are welcome to stick around and listen to the band play.
However having said this, I DO still feel there are places for newbies and oldbies (I think I may have made up that word) to make their mark in traditional publishing. But I believe that opportunity narrows daily. I believe more and more steady mid-listers are going to lose their contracts. Why would my goal be to get onto a sinking boat where my career would be precarious at best?
While Chicken Little has been running around for decades saying the sky is falling for the publishing industry, at no previous time have so many things coalesced to spell doom. So while I can and will honor the autonomy and personal conviction of every other writer to follow the path that is “right for them,” I won’t accept the narrow-minded assumption that a decision to go indie is less than a career-minded professional business decision. I can assure you my decision is 1 part art (wanting to share my work with others,) and 1 part business (wanting to make the wisest business decision.) I no longer believe, in this industry, that jumping on the Titanic is the wisest business decision, for me. Your mileage may vary. And I respect that it might.
I also, as a realist with full knowledge of how tough this business is, no matter what route you take, acknowledge the fact that I might not “make it.” In which case, YES I could be happy as a hobbyist and get my work out however I could. If I can make a healthy profit over the next several years, great. If I can break even, then at least I can keep funding print editions of my projects. If I can’t even break even I can either use other streams of income to continue to subsidize what will clearly be a hobby, or…I can get my work out in other ways: podcast, free ebook. Then if I ever built up a big enough reader base to sustain further print editions, I would take that option again.
Here are some links (the homework part) that were sent to me by a writing friend. Is it Chicken Little, or is the world changing? If the world is changing, will you change with it?
Lest anyone think it is…this is not whining against the “mean old publishing industry.” I don’t think anyone has malicious intent here. This is the REALITIES of business. It is WISE to look at business realities before jumping. A career minded professional looks at the realities surrounding their proposed career before jumping.
And I’ve about reached the end of my polite tolerance for those who think anyone who looks at realities and says: “Yeah, if I’m going to do it I need a different door in,” are somehow naive, misinformed, or don’t have a business head about writing.
There are no sour grapes here. I didn’t make a big enough attempt at traditional publishing to be bitter about it. I got enough nice rejections to know I don’t completely suck as a writer, but certainly not enough rejections to think the publishing industry is “mean” or “out to get me.” That’s an immature view of a business (as opposed to “some” of the people in it) that I just do not hold.
And this isn’t to say I think traditional publishing is “bad.” I just don’t think there is a real solid opportunity to make career level money doing it. So if someone wants their work out there, in a print form, and they cannot afford to do it themselves, then yes…submit to trad publishers. But if you’re doing it to make career level money, you have to be lucky, not just good.
Also, let us note, that pretty much the exact same business concept that I’ve talked about for myself, is what some of the big boys like HarperCollins are starting to do (correction here: an imprint not accepting returns…it’s unclear if they are doing offset print runs or using POD tech., with no author advances, and heavier internet marketing.) So clearly if HC is doing it, I’m not that out of touch with the business reality of publishing.
Have We Reached the End of Publishing as We Know It?
It’s Only the End of Rose-Colored Glasses A response to the above article
Print Book Publishing Doomed Cheery title huh?
September 26, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Thanks for the link.
A puppeteer who has to work at a factory is no less a puppeteer. An artist who has to do telemarketing is no less an artist.
But if a writer strikes out into direct-publishing, that’s somehow seen as desperation or amateurish or something less.
For writers who truly *write* (and I don’t ignore all those who put up stuff for free who should go do telemarketing instead), direct-publishing in the coming age of eBooks is the correct decision to make.
September 26, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Hi Mike, very true. I think things are about to get shaken up though. There is just no way to continue acting like the Emperor is wearing clothes. He’s full out NC-17 naked.
Don’t discount putting stuff out for free, or even podcasts. These are ways to start to build an audience.
We live in a world where previously we thought money was king. But now it’s both tim and money and often more time than money. If you give something for free that requires a sacrifice of time, and the reader willingly makes that sacrifice, you are a step away from money, IMO.
September 26, 2008 at 12:34 pm
*time and money
September 26, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I’m still committed to trying the NY publisher way. I’m thinking they’ll market their books as ebooks and print. The best of both worlds. Many people I know who are pubbed in ebook aren’t seeing the money, not unless they write erotica.
This can change but for now it’s the way I’m going.
September 26, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Sup Angry bug?
I think you’re right. I’m not saying Trad publishing is wrong, just that it’s wrong FOR ME. I don’t see massive opportunity there, but it doesn’t mean there is NO opportunity there, or that it isn’t the right path for some. It continues to be the right path for some.
I just feel there are more and more legitimate reasons to treat it as one of several options rather than the holy grail of writing.
September 26, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I think the reason so many people get the knickers in a twist over the whole indie thing is because it’s the first time it’s been a truly viable option for writers.
When you consider other crafts such as knitting, painting, jewelry-making, quilting, etc, there have always been hobbyists, professionals, and people who move back and forth over that line by sometimes selling and sometimes not, as the inclination hits them.
Not so with writers, since until recently there was no cost-effective way for Joe or Jane Average to print a book. But now there is a way and lines are becoming blurred in a way that hasn’t happened before in the book biz.
Things will calm down in time, though. The leading edge of a revolution is always a contentious place.
September 26, 2008 at 2:35 pm
hehe bunnygirl, very good words and points! I concur!
I guess this is the root of my frustration/confusion. The fact that a writer CAN put their work out now, either with the intention to make money (large or small amounts) or not, is a GOOD thing.
It is freedom for writers.
Writing, like all art forms is something that doesn’t reach full completion for most people until it is shared with others. So while an artist has always been able to paint a painting and give it away or sell it or do whatever with it, and a dancer has always been able to dance for others, even in the streets…a writer has been stuck with the problem of: “HOW do I share this?”
So sharing writing has become tied in with “profit” from very early on. And so it’s ingrained into the writer’s psyche that the only “true writer” is going through traditional channels to make money at it.
But this might not be everyone’s goal. Or some people are more flexible about it. Like my attitude is to treat it like a business since I’m putting money into it and wanting to make money back, but I can accept it if it never ends up going beyond a serious money-making hobby.
I understand it’s a high risk business. And only passion drives my choice to enter it. If I was making choices only based on risk factors I wouldn’t go into publishing.
I’m not personally invested in it being a “career” where all other writers respect me as a “real author.” That’s completely beside the point.
But being in this transition place means, for the most part that a lot of the first people to break away and say: “Hey, I don’t really need a publisher” are going to be looked down on, or assumed they aren’t “good enough” or that there are some sour grapes going on.
Unfortunately for me and others like me, we can deny it all we want, but the more we deny the more guilty we look. Because indie authors are guilty until proven innocent.
September 26, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Hmmm … well, I hear ya, Zoe, but I’ve got to say that I’m not 100% on board. I think the “career-minded professional” thing hit a nerve, but I’ve pretty much got to say that unless I’m getting paid, or unless I have a VERY good chance of getting paid, I’m not doing it. I support my family by writing, and unless there is real money attached to self-publishing and e-books, I could never justify the time it would take to write a whole book and go that route. The art of it is nice and all, but those personal projects of mine, I just keep on my hard drive or copy at Kinkos to give to a select few.
And that, right now, is the problem. It’s about access to audience and barriers to entry. I’m an editor for one of the largest POD companies in the world, so I see A LOT of self-pubbed books (although I admit I’ve never read an e-book). And the barriers to entry are just too low at the moment to have any kind of confidence in the POD product, thus the audience is very limited.
Based on things you’ve said before, I know what you’re going to say: there’s no guarantee of quality in traditionally published books either. And I guess I have to at least partly disagree with that argument also. Or at least I’d have to rephrase it: the odds of finding a decent piece of writing are much greater by randomly selecting a traditionally published book than by randomly selecting a self-published book.
As POD technology improves, and they can move past the constricting format, it’s possible that NYC publishers will adopt this technology. Shredding books is a huge waste of money. I used to work as an editor at a small, boutique publishing company and it broke our hearts to shred books. Traditional publishers would like nothing more than to reduce print runs and print for actual demand.
But the big brands will remain, and as the cost drops, I can only hope that the more stringent quality control and layers of agents and editors will also remain. Ultimately, if printed books become relics or whatever, I think there will always be an elite in publishing, based in New York City, that manages to protect the channels of distribution and make money. And I think this model serves the reading public well.
But ultimately, it seems the issue is one of outside versus inside. And from where I’m sitting, outside, or nontraditional, publishing definitely has a place in the world. It’s great for people who want to see their book in print, who have very personal projects like family histories, or who are, as you say, hobbyists. In some very few cases, dedicated independents can build viable publishing companies and audiences—although they are still restricted by access to distribution. The inside is where people will be making money, and for people who rely on writing to put food on the table, inside is the only place to be.
JVZ
September 26, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Shorter Reply to JVZ (deleting previous posts so no one claws their eyeballs out from length)
Hey JVZ, long time no text! I missed you, I thought you didn’t read me anymore!
I’m NOT denigrating someone going the traditional route and making money at it. I’m merely being realistic about odds of making money at it EVEN the traditional way.
My issue is that it is automatically assumed I’m not business/career minded. I absolutely am. My problem isn’t someone going the traditional way, it’s the flat out assumption that no one self publishes as a “business decision.”
I also want to point out that POD companies aren’t the same as POD technology. Both small and large publishers use POD technology. I have crunched the numbers for myself and know how much per book I would make profit (far more than I would with a traditional publisher)
I also have a detailed marketing plan that has nothing to do with brick and mortar bookstores. It may succeed, it may fail. It may fail first and need some tweaking. But it is viable and realistic.
I think the key if someone uses the POD technology is not to advertise that fact. DON’T use lulu or authorhouse or xlibris or etc. Go through Lightning Source like a professional publisher and BE a professional publisher. If I have a trade paperback book under my own imprint on Amazon.com at the same price point as say Kensington Brava, then no one is going to look at it and go: “Oh, that’s a POD book.”
Why not? because I have a professional imprint, I have a comparable price point, I have a professionally designed cover, and they can search inside the book. There is no logical reason for any consumer not to buy the book if it’s a book they think they might enjoy.
I don’t believe my audience will be any more limited than any other traditionally published author whose book is not on every borders and barnes and noble bookshelf in the country. And there are plenty of traditionally published authors who can’t get wide enough distribution either.
You are correct on odds of quality but publishers are not magical beings. The knowledge is not a mystically kept secret that I have to travel to a special cave and pass through three ancient gods to get to.
Anyone who has the funds and business sense can hire a talented interior layout artist, a cover designer, an editor, etc. ANYONE who has the goods the money and the sense can create a book that can compete with any traditionally published book out there.
And thank you for acknowledging that dedicated independents can build viable companies and audiences. As for restricted distribution I agree and disagree. With Lightning Source I have easy and lower cost entry into the Ingram catalog which means any bookstore CAN order from me. (not that they will, but the access is there.)
But most of my focus will be on online channels. Especially considering that chain bookstores continue to lose market share and online venues such as Amazon continue to gain market share. The chains are personally irrelevant to me at this point, and to my success, in my opinion.
Zoe
September 26, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Ah, I see. I’ve not been up to date on happenings in Zoe-land lately, so I hadn’t realized you had actually started up an independent publishing company using POD technology and counting on online distribution. And, moreover, you’ve clearly done your homework …
So then let me revise a tetch. I thought you were coming at this as purely a writer, rather than a fledgling publisher. First off, I admire your moxie. There’s no need for me to go over the stats — you know them already — but let’s just agree that it takes giant cojones to do what you’re doing.
And upfront cash. And this is where we part ways, but not rancorously at all. Like I said, this is a job for me, not an investment. Put even more simply, I don’t have the cash to invest in starting my own publishing company. I did that once already (long story) and it didn’t work out. It turned out the cost of publication was too high and the unique business model I was operating under (with a partner) wasn’t viable. So I lost money and time, when I could afford to lose neither. My partner is still in business, btw, but not profitable.
But … now that I understand what you’re doing better, I see where you’re coming from. And yes, there are examples of people out there who’ve made it by hook or crook somehow. So I wish you the best of luck — and perhaps one final piece of advice to consider:
erotica.
JVZ
September 26, 2008 at 4:08 pm
hehe JVZ did you see my crazy ass long reply or the more condensed version? Cause if I made your eyes bleed with the first one I’m made of epic fail haha!
Well since I’m not QUITE to that stage yet, I have yet to fully start the company. I should be getting that done (legal company name, ISBN block, etc. over the next month or two. But SMS has a lot of work still to go before it’s ready to go to the cover and interior layout artist even though I’ve picked who I’m hiring. My goal is to my books right not “fast.”)
This isn’t a short cut to me, it’s cause I’m a crazy ass control freak.
I would seriously be the Shannon Doherty of publishing. People should thank the gods I’m not seeking traditional publication.
hahaha and thank you for saying I have Moxie. That’s one of my favorite compliments to get haha.
I think the biggest challenge for me is to remember that when writers treat their writing like a business, this isn’t the same as a writer wanting to START a business. My grandfather ran a printing company for decades before he died, and my dad has his own handyman company that’s thriving. (though he had earlier businesses that failed.) So I’ve been immersed in the DIY, start your own company world my entire life. I also ran my own wedding coordinating business for a few years.
I have spent the last four years battling with myself over this and knowing all the crazy risks involved. I finally decided the money I’m investing I would waste on stupid shit if I didn’t invest it in this way. I could still lose, but the journey and the knowledge I’ll gain will be worth the cost of entry to me.
HAHA it’s funny you should say erotica. I’m self pubbing my erotica as well, under a diff imprint to keep the two identities as separate as possible.
September 26, 2008 at 10:19 pm
I swear that I can take it guys, but please tell me – why is it bad to go with Authorhouse? I promise not to cry. Sniff.
No, seriously, please tell me your honest opinion. I’m curious.
September 26, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Hehehe Okay Robin, here it is and this is long, bear with me:
Things like Authorhouse are listed as the publisher of record. Their name is in small print on your book. Everybody recognizes them as a POD vanity publisher so even though reviews may be very very hard for a self published author to get, they’re IMPOSSIBLE with a vanity POD. (Even with a lot of very small reviewers) likewise for placement on bookstore shelves. (not that I recommend this as a first step anyway, it’s still a point to remember. You just make the road harder with Authorhouse. There is already enough stigma.)
Automatically you aren’t taken as seriously.
Likewise distribution becomes a bit of an issue. Unless I’m mistaken, there is no easy access into things like Ingram, Baker and Taylor, or Amazon.com. (And I very well may be mistaken on this point, it seems these companies have upgraded quite a bit of late. And you may even be able to get your own ISBN number on the books and your own imprint on the books instead of authorhouse.)
And then finally there is the issue of cost. The cost just to do it is $600. With Lightning Source it’s a $75 set up fee per title, plus there is the cost of the proof copy. (I think $30, I don’t have it in front of me.) Now I’ll end up spending more than $600 when I figure in all my things like cover designer and interior layout, etc. And yes, Authorhouse includes that for that fee, but…you’re stuck using their designers. Which you may be fine with. I know you were happy with the work they did on your book.
But the real issue, IMO comes in when you figure out the cost per book for printing and how much YOU make per book. Profit margins are where the real problems come in.
While you get higher percentage royalties on books sold in house through authorhouse, how many people do you know of who are willingly going to go SHOP at the authorhouse store? Not many. It’s not feasible from a regular sales perspective to anyone who isn’t a personal friend or family member.
So if you actually want to sell, you’re going to use whatever channels they’ve set up (assuming they have some, which it seems they do, but I don’t have the details), so whatever you are selling NOT on the authorhouse website, I’m going to use one of their examples:
They are controlling what you can sell your book for to some extent. So let’s go with their 6×9 trim size 250 page book.
The lowest price you can make any money at is: $14.49 This is a tiny bit steep for a 250 page trade paperback book if we’re talking fiction. But it’s not TOO out there. Still you’re just making 5% per book sold. or about 72 cents per book.
Next price point is: $15.99. That’s already too high for a 250 page trade paperback book, but you’ll make 10% royalty if you set it at that price point. About $1.60 per book.
Final price point example they offer is: $21.49 This is an insane price. You can’t charge this for that page count. Even on nonfiction it would be stretching what people are willing to pay. But let’s say you charge that for 250 pages. You can make 20% So you’re bringing in: $4.30 per book.
But to get that $4.30, you had to get into a distribution channel, you had to go with all the stuff they gave you as far as design etc, and you had to have their name on your book. And you had to overcome the price tag hurdle, which MAY be possible with nonfiction, but for the page count it’s still a little pricey for little substance. And as the page count goes up, your price to make any money has to go up too.
Okay, let’s take the same book and say you went with Lightning Source. Let’s say the books you sell into distribution, into Ingram, into Amazon.com With LSI you can sell into those systems at a 40% discount to them, so you bring home 60% profit, minus the cost of printing the book.
the cost of the book to print is 90 cents plus 0.013 cents per page. So the same 250 page book costs you: $4.15 to print.
Let’s go with the above prices. I still think $14.49 is a little pricey for a 250 page trade paperback, but for the sake of argument, the books you sell into distribution you keep 60% minus cost to print. So you make $4.54 per book, whereas up above you made 72 cents.
At the next price up which is WAY too high but we’re going with it to make a point: $15.99 retail. Your profit per book sold: $5.44
And at the crazy only insane people buy it price point is: $21.49. Your profit would be: $8.74 per book.
See why Authorhouse sucks?
It’s makes no sense from a financial standpoint. And it costs so much because Authorhouse is a middle man. They more than likely use LSI (Lightning Source) for their printing anyway. You should go straight to the cow for your milk.
Yes, you’ve got to either figure out how to do things like cover design and interior layout and editing or hire out or barter out, or whatever…but…you are in control because it’s truly your business.
Authorhouse is to self publishing, what Mary Kay is to running your own business. It’s TOO controlled by the “parent company.” You may own the rights (not sure on that point actually), but in the end you have very little control.
Sorry this was long, but that’s what’s wrong with Authorhouse. Now if you aren’t looking to make money, but just to sell to family and friends, it might be the way to go. But if you want to go indie and make a real go of it, you’re better off starting your own company. It’s not that much more difficult than the stuff you’re already doing. And your pocketbook will thank you on the back end.
September 26, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Wow. Thanks, Zoe. That was an explanation even I could understand! Authorhouse must be trying to rectify its problems and seduce more authors, because they automatically get you on Amazon and Ingams distributes it. But your points about the money makes total sense. If I had to live my writing life again, I might try the real indie way.
September 27, 2008 at 7:32 am
Hey Robin, it’s good to know they at least get people into the Ingram catalog and Amazon. Though an Ingram listing under the Authorhouse name is going to be a point against you. Generally if someone requests a book from a bookstore they will order it for them, but there is no guarantee.
i.e. If they look in the Ingram catalog and see that it’s put out by Authorhouse, they might actually WARN the reader against buying the book as some kind of misguided public service attempt.
If you decide to go the real indie way at some point in the future, my website will be there (should hopefully go live in November and I’ll be adding to it because it’s a HUGE topic, but one which I feel there isn’t a lot of really honest helpful information unless someone already knows exactly where to go, like which books to trust, etc.)
I was starting to question for a little while how useful my site would be, but I keep running into intelligent people who have never even heard of Lightning Source, so there is somewhere a gap in information and how it’s getting to people. Clearly the POD vanity sharks are getting to even very smart people first, and they don’t realize that it’s not “real indie.”