Something I’ve noticed in the Self-publishing world is an extreme cynicism toward any service that is aimed toward self-publishing authors. And I really think it’s gone too far. I understand the outrage over vanity publishers of days past who charged thousands of dollars to print a book (often poorly) that often robbed an author of a lot of money and drove them into debt where they had nothing to show for it and no hope of anything to show for it. I’m fully against crap like that.
But now it’s just gone too far. There is a HUGE difference, IMO in losing $20,000 for crappy books you have to store and can’t sell in bookstores, and paying $120-$149 a year for a service meant to enhance your business (as a self publishing author.) Especially when the former is a misleading scam and the latter is a legitimate opportunity.
In every other business in the world you’re expected to spend money to make money, but you are not required to invest in every service out there to enhance your business. If something isn’t for you, you just don’t do it. That’s fine. But just because it isn’t for you doesn’t make it empirically wrong. Each self-pubbing author needs to decide for themselves what services are right or wrong for them and act accordingly.
I feel like self publishing authors are already at a high enough disadvantage when it comes to ability to produce a quality product, distribution, and sales, why oh why would you not welcome opportunities which may help you?
Two recent examples of shit-storms stirred for no good reason (IMO)
Indiereader.com
and
The Vault (of publetariat.com)
The first, Indiereader, is a site meant to help quality indie authors gain visibility for their work among consumers. It’s an online bookstore especially for indie readers. One of the problems with self-publishing is the stigma. Many people still get up in arms about all the “Crap” out there, and how do they wade through it?
Well Indiereader attempts to address that problem, by “vetting” work and allowing only work that meets a certain quality standard. Meanwhile authors, even self-publishing authors have had a rabid fit over it. (Because it’s like the gatekeeper system, why does it cost money? etc. etc. To be fair, I was one of these rabid authors initially but then stepped back and thought about it a bit.)
I still don’t necessarily agree with every part of Indiereader, i.e. I personally feel it would be more well-received if it was charged month-to-month so people could cancel at any time, instead of an annual fee which requires a larger leap of faith on the part of the author. Not everything about it is perfect, but I’ve spoken with Amy Edelman, the person behind IndieReader, and I think her motivation/heart is in the right place.
If Indiereader.com proves to be successful, then I would think the largest benefit for authors won’t be direct profit from the IR site, but will be the cachet of being able to say they are on IR, and therefore have been “vetted,” and are a proven higher quality indie work and a lower risk for readers. I also think the overall benefit would be the exposure of several GOOD indie-produced books in one place that reach a certain quality standard and therefore help to combat a lot of the stigma of self-publishing.
The Vault is a site meant to help indie authors who are looking to go to the next step (To clarify here, IR and The Vault are in no way affiliated with each other) and acquire a publisher, an outlet to get that exposure in front of publishing pros, by having a site that showcases their self-published work, along with sales stats, author platform pieces, reviews, and etc.
The Vault is being criticized by some because it’s a subscription listing service that charges authors, but not publishing pros. The reason for this is that publishing pros are more likely to use the site if they don’t have to pay, making it more beneficial to the authors listing, and if authors didn’t have to, there would just be another huge slush pile for publishers to go through. (i.e. even authors without enough reviews/sales/platform pieces to interest a publisher would list their books with the ‘just in case’ mentality. If an author is paying a listing fee to be there, they are more likely to only post if they believe their work actually has a chance and meets the standards that publishers will seek.) Nevertheless, as The Vault is new, the first 300 authors to sign up are given a free 90 day trial period (which will start after the first 300 subscribers are reached and it goes live for publishing pros to search. All authors that sign up after that, get the first thirty days free. Then it’s $10/month, with a cancellation option at any time.
Self-pubbing authors have complained about this fee, despite the fact that you can’t even get two triple cheeseburger meals at your local fast food joint for $10. And authors already spend at least this amount per month if they are actively seeking publication through traditional channels. (How many authors buy toner, paper, envelopes, stamps, don’t forget that all important SASE, writing books and magazines, etc. etc.)
I really don’t understand this cynicism and this desire to shoot down anything and everything that may offer self pubbing authors help and exposure they might not otherwise get, for…zomg a fee. Things cost money. Nothing in life is free. And even those who provide services for self-publishing authors, should get paid.
I have spoken extensively with both the creator of IndieReader.com and the creator of The Vault. And while I don’t yet know whether either or both sites will be a success, or the extent of the benefit to indie authors, I don’t feel that either one is a scam, nor worthy of this level of cynicism.
ETA: The original title of this post was: “Tired of the Cynicism, Park it Elsewhere Please.” I thought it was a cute/catchy title that might encourage more people to read, but Mojo’s comment let me know that it could cause people to go into the post thinking that I want to squash all discussion/debate on a topic, which isn’t my point at all. So the title has been changed to something a bit more neutral-sounding for that reason.
June 24, 2009 at 6:58 am
Not sure either one is a scam, as you’ve eloquently stated. And I’m the last to scoff at the idea of putting money BACK into your career. I spend a lot of money on promotional things — web design, videos, giveaways, contests, etc.
You’re also dead right that the single biggest challenge facing any self-published writer is getting noticed. This hasn’t changed since Ben Franklin wrote enthusiastic fake opinion pieces praising his own work — which is hilarious in retrospect, probably not so well thought of at the time.
I guess my comment about the services you mentioned is this: they’re designed to cover gaps that are endemic to the self-publishing system. In the case of Indiereader, it’s the perceived lack of filtering and quality. I regularly take chances and buy self-published books from writers I meet, and in about 70% of the cases, they’re very nearly unreadable due to simple mechanical issues, like spelling and grammar. A filtering system makes sense to me.
The Vault is less readily understandable to me, although clearly focused on promotion — but why not use the social networks already available for free, if that’s the case? What’s the true advantage of it? Rhetorical question, I’ll check it out for myself, but at first blush, I don’t see the advantage. If the idea is that the big print publishers will spend their time going there, looking for the next big thing … I don’t know. I’d have to ask some editors about that, but my feeling is that they’re not lacking for submissions already.
I think it’s a very valuable discussion, though. Thanks!
Rachel
June 24, 2009 at 7:35 am
Thanks for writing this. I agree. The only way that indie authors (of which I am one) will become mainstream acceptable to the reading public will be to join forces and network. There is garbage out there, but I’ve seen that from the big publishers too.
June 24, 2009 at 9:00 am
I’m going to tread carefully here because I’m not quite sure how to take your post title. You say: “Park it elsewhere.”
Where, exactly, would that be? As far as I can see, no one has been thus here on your board. Nor have they (okay, I) been thus on Publetariat’s board.
Henry wrote a post expressing his concerns and the debate was hashed out there.
SmartBitches wrote a post and a debate ensued there, too.
If we can’t park it neutral territory, then where should we park it?
Are you suggesting the debate shouldn’t happen at all? Please help me understand what you mean.
June 24, 2009 at 9:23 am
I think a healthy dose of cynicism is a good thing, especially in self-publishing. There are so many scams out there that it behooves us to look every ‘opportunity’ over carefully. I also think the debate itself is healthy, and smart.
The personal attacks in the comments threads get to be a bit much, but unfortunately it comes with the territory on the interwebz. It means we need to add a thicker skin to our summer wardrobe.
I just wish self-published/indie writers would get it through their heads that we’re under a microscope and that they’d act accordingly. Right now, each individual comment an indie make reflects on all of us.
June 24, 2009 at 10:36 am
I agree with all of the above: there’s too much cynicism, the ideas need to be hashed out. On SPR, the debate was ultimately fruitful as April Hamilton was very good at answering the criticism. And Amy Edelman did lower the vetting price on IR after the discussion, so that’s good. But there does seem to be a knee-jerk negative reaction. Self-pubbers may have seen more failure than success and so are wary of these new ventures. But we’re at the very beginning of self-publishing becoming very viable (not just a fantasy, actually happening) so these new ventures are trying something that hasn’t been done before. They may fail miserably, but that failure will help the industry correct itself so someone will come along and say, OK, that didn’t work, I’ll try it this way. That’s capitalism, really. But it’s like people don’t even want to see the attempt, they’re skeptical out of the gate. People need to be a bit more open if the publishing industry’s going to improve.
June 24, 2009 at 10:46 am
Thank you for this info! I would love to be able to go to a site with SP books on display and know that whatever I order is going to be edited and well-written. I hope both these companies do extremely well.
June 24, 2009 at 10:49 am
Good intentions are a wonderful thing, but they don’t get a free pass on legitimate criticism.
The problem with the Vault’s platform is that it doesn’t charge ENOUGH to ensure that its not just a slush pile of delusional writers, and there’s no specifics on whom the “publishing pros” are to determine its value. In contrast, with Creative Byline, you know exactly which publishers are involved. Same with InkTip which was noted over at SPR as being a similar setup.
June 24, 2009 at 11:27 am
First off, self-published authors are also business-people; what you call cynicism, we call being pragmatic.
I’ve been professionally published and have had the fortunate experience of not having to deal’ with the business aspects of being published–but you shouldn’t curl your lip up at what you perceive as constant distrust, from authors that are forced to be cautious because they deal with the business end of writing all the time.
A self-publishers bottom line isn’t just the work they create and how it’s presented; they have to think about their author brand, sales, accounting, distribution, etc. This forces them to don a different pair of goggles because they know there’s dozens of businesses out there that exist, just to make a buck off self-publishers. :/
I stated my peace over at SBTB when this conversation came up there, so I wont reiterate, but I don’t think it’s fair to call us ‘cynical’ for pointing out the obvious issues we have with a company–and how they stand up against what they’re asking for in fees.
-Tina Anderson
June 24, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Mojo, It’s just a catchy title to a blog post. Don’t read too much into it.
I *do* wonder why there is so much freaking cynicism over these two things though and the main issue is that many people *not you* are insinuating things about both Amy and April as if they are scam artists. The artful way some posts in some places are worded (and in some cases the unartful way) is borderline slanderous in some cases.
It actually is illegal to run around talking smack about someone that harms their business dealings especially when that is “untrue smack.” We are talking about two start-ups that haven’t gotten off the ground and a lot of insinuation and suspicion could cause severe harm to both of these business which, while not perfect are not scam operations and actually ARE trying to help people.
What I fail to understand is why there is so much outcry from the people both IR and the Vault are TRYING to help. Maybe neither of these is a “perfect” business model. But is any business model truly perfect?
They should get credit for trying. Anyone who doesn’t like IR and the Vault who thinks it should be run differently should start their own thing. Or if they just don’t like it to the degree that they personally wouldn’t use it, just don’t use it.
And while it’s perfectly fine to debate and bring up questions, the level of suspicion IMO is *not* okay, because the almost mob-like tone going on makes it look like either Amy or April has something to hide and I don’t think either party does.
And while Amy doesn’t answer every single question that’s been brought up on her site, April has been careful to list everything in the faq and TOS that is currently being debated. Those questions have already been answered.
The only thing which will make some people happy is if April changes her answers, and I don’t see that happening.
June 24, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Kel, what I have a problem with is people who insinuate a potential ripoff or scam without doing their homework first. If the only way they think they can get their answers is in a debate/discussion, fine, but is it necessary to be so hostile? There is a lot of hostility in these discussions from the group of people these two companies are trying to help.
June 24, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Hey Rachel, thanks for coming by and commenting! I’m on Vampire Central Time right now so I just got to the mod bin to approve all the comments. First comments always go there.
I think the point of the Vault is to allow various publishing pros and content producers get a chance to see indie work that is “trending upward” in sales and reviews and etc.
While any indie who has a GIANT social network, and huge impressive sales is likely to get on mainstream publisher’s radars anyway, there are other books that are very good and are trending upward who may not be quite to that “breakout” point yet, and may not be ABLE to breakout on their own, but would have the potential to breakout with publisher push behind it.
And I LOVE that thing about Ben Franklin.
June 24, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Hey Laura,
I get people are wary, but some of it is just over-the-top and mostly *by* indie authors. It concerns me because it seems like shooting oneself in the foot.
June 24, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Hey Henry,
I think skepticism and cynicism are two different things. I think a healthy skepticism about any new opportunity is a good thing, BUT, there is a line that gets crossed into cynicism and that’s not a “I’m willing to be open and discuss this even if we don’t come to agree” it’s more of a “I’m not going to find anything good about what you’re doing and I’m going to poke holes in it until you shut up and go away.”
The latter is kind of like tearing the wings off flies. What exactly is the point except to denigrate and complain while not doing anything yourself to improve things?
Good thoughts! I will admit early on I was very cynical with Amy, but through her conversations and also things you said I realized that you were right about this. Things are changing and we’re trying new things. Some of them will fail, some of them will succeed, but things like this are trial and error, you have to get out there and try SOMETHING. And the plain fact is, nothing is going to be perfect or even close to perfect until it’s tested out in the marketplace.
Skepticism and discussion are all fine and good, but cynicism and suspicion seek to shut down attempts at improvement before we’re even out of the gate, and that to my mind is a self-defeating way for an indie to be.
June 24, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Hey Sally, I hope that IR keeps the quality up at least to NY standards so if nothing else, readers can begin to determine ways themselves to figure out if an indie book is worth their while before spending money on one that isn’t.
June 24, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Hey Guy,
I think you’re the first person to say authors aren’t going to be charged “enough” lol. I think though, that judging from how so many people absolutely balk at $10 a month for some reason, likely they will get less delusional writers, lol. Though considering it’s a searchable database, it would be pointless for someone to bring their work to the site if it can’t compete on any level.
June 24, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Also Guy, I mentioned on the SPR site that the first 90 days are free to the first 300 people on the Vault. You don’t *have* to judge the value as an author until you’re asked to pay money. And publishing pros will be listed as they sign up, but that won’t be until after the first 300 authors are signed up, because, publishing pros aren’t allowed to register until then (from what I understand of it. The FAQ and TOS on the Vault site is pretty extensive.)
I’m also not against legitimate criticism, but I do feel like some people are poking a little too many holes in a boat just to see how much water it can take on before it goes under.
June 24, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Hi Tina, I think rudeness and automatic suspicion and attack IS cynicism, yes.
Skepticism and intelligent respectful debate is one thing and nowhere have I said I have any problem with that.
What I call cynicism is… cynicism. Pragmatism is a bit different.
And I will admit initially I was pretty “cynical” myself with Amy and I could have been a little less snarky with her while still addressing the same points and getting my questions answered. (on a Publish. Ren. thread)
Further, I am ALSO a self-publishing author and this is not my first trip down the small business rabbit hole. I FULLY understand being pragmatic and analyzing business opportunities and options, and being careful and cautious, etc. I don’t expect Self pubbing authors to be hippie flower-children who just accept anything and everything, but I thought the Smart Bitches thread just devolved FAST.
Amy was put immediately on the defensive by the cynicism and rudeness. When she tried to defend herself and responded in any way that was normal and human, people jumped on her for being unprofessional and horrible.
Well hey, everybody on that thread acted like she was the anti-christ and “probably running a scam operation” before she made her first post even.
It was excessive. There is a difference in respectful debate and asking questions honestly to try to figure out if something is right for you, and grilling someone like they’re a terrorist. If you don’t see that difference, therein lies the problem.
The difference in cynicism and cautious skepticism is… cautious skepticism decides someone is innocent until proven guilty (though they are under no obligation to sink their money into something until they decide it’s right for them and innocent), cynicism is guilty until proven innocent.
Most of what I’ve seen directed against these two companies is of the guilty until proven innocent variety. And I am saying such attitudes will *not* serve indie authors.
Further… I will state that anyone else out there who *might* want to start something up to further help our cause might decide not to after witnessing the mob mentality against both Amy and April. I mean who really wants to sign up for that.
If self-pubbing authors want some help, then we need to stop trying to snap off the hands that are trying to feed us. Even if they might be doing it imperfectly, they are *trying* and such lack of support only ensures no one else will try.
We’ll be left to our foaming and frothing without any future assistance.
June 24, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Where have I been? I didn’t even realize all of this was going on. LOL Well, I don’t know anything about this debate, except what I read here, but I was impressed with the way April handled herself on Authonomy when she defended self-publishing. She even recommended I stop wasting my money on vanity publishers and go with CreateSpace. Now I’ll have to check out the two sites you mentioned.
June 24, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Hey Ruth Ann, and I’m not “endorsing” either site (not like everybody wrings their hands wondering what Zoe Winters does or doesn’t endorse lol. *note: I endorse Lucky Charms, but not officially*) but definitely check them out and decide for yourself what works best for your own needs.
It may not be right for you or a good financial choice for you (not saying you personally just saying any given indie), but I don’t believe either is shady in any way.
June 24, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Hi Zoe,
I know you’re not endorsing either one. I’m just happy to learn about them. I took a look at the sites, and I think–for me–these look like something to seriously consider. The worst that can happen is I don’t sell any books. And I’ve wasted so much more on eight years of vanity publishing. (Yes, I hang my head in shame.)
June 24, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Hey Ruth Ann, coolness.
June 25, 2009 at 10:07 am
Most of what I’ve seen directed against these two companies is of the guilty until proven innocent variety. And I am saying such attitudes will *not* serve indie authors.
Well that’s typical considering the amount of leeching, yet reputable business that make their money off self-publishers.
Some are good, and some are bad–and when they’re bad, OMG they’re bad. The self-pub writing community on the net is very insulated, naturally there’s going to be a ‘cynicism’, the sort that you feel hurts our image and how we look to others.
Sadly, there’s going to be a few authors that are downright rude in their dismissals and demands for clarity. That happens everywhere you go in publishing. :/ I’ve pitched projects to publishers face to face [I write outside of fiction and comics] and can tell you that a majority of them are the rudest, most ignorant people you can imagine–but you have to expect it and just rise above it.
I think the best way for any business like this IndR to approach a community they know will be a hard sell, is to FIRST have more than one success story, before trying to sell us on their business model. I know, it’s a Catch-22–in order to establish the business, you need customers, but there’s a way build your rep before going public: choose three authors and provide services gratis. Establish success with them, and then start issuing press-releases and announcements to places like SB, showing exactly what your company can do for authors, how you can do it, and with whom you did it. By having established success, or even semi-success, with authors that can attest to your worth, is the only way to overcome instinctual skepticism.
-Tina Anderson
June 25, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Tina,
IMO the problem though with things like IR and the Vault is that both models require several authors in the gates for it to “work”
The Vault IMO is totally risk free since the first 300 authors get a 90 day free trial (AFTER it opens to publishing pros) So why the cynicism on that one? If it turns out to be not everything they hoped it would be they can cancel without paying a dime. And everybody after the first 300 gets 30 days free. ANYONE can cancel before paying. But $10 a month isn’t exactly something that’s going to cause most people to starve. Even in this economy.
People sitting back to “wait and see” on the Vault guarantees it won’t succeed. Because it requires a certain number of people to be worth it to publishers.
IR is much the same way, in order for IR to be successful there has to be a certain number of books on their site.
Though possibly IR could wave everything but the vetting fee (and despite the cry about that, I believe that is necessary to keep from having to dig through too much slush, then only those who TRULY believe they have a good enough book will submit it, not those who just want to play a “what if” lottery), and they could just make a percentage off sales. Then *later* they could charge a listing fee after a certain time period or whatever.
The problem with giving too much free to begin with is people tend to develop a sense of entitlement about it like you “owe” them free stuff. And if you don’t continue to give them free stuff, they bitch and whine.
Let’s say that somehow both IR and the Vault were free to everyone for a lengthy period of time until there were success stories (forget about the huge amount of money both Amy and April would have to invest (two people who aren’t exactly rich themselves) to do this…
Well they could list in the FAQ and TOS all they wanted to about how once a certain point was reached these would be the fees, but most people won’t read a whole FAQ or TOS before signing up for something. They just click on it, then later bitch when they don’t like what was in there, as if they are being cheated because they didn’t take the time to read.
So there would be hubbub when a fee was added later too. I truly don’t think there is “any” way to please this group of people. And that’s unfortunate. Because both IR and the Vault are *trying* to provide a service to genuinely *help* indie authors rise above the muck of crap and stigma out there.
I want both of them to succeed.
But if they fail because the community they are trying to serve rejects them out of hand based on paranoia and cynicism, then I don’t want to hear another indie author whine about how everything is so hard. It’s hard partially because anyone who tries to help is treated like a sleazy scam artist.
People don’t like being crapped on for honest efforts to help, and that’s really all I’m seeing here. Not a willingness to give them a chance. (There may be many willing to give them a chance, but they are far less vocal than those who in the interest of “protecting self pubbing authors” attack and tear down anything meant to help.)
I’m sorry but I find *that* offensive. I’m a grown adult woman. I can decide for myself what is and isn’t right for me. As is every other self pubbing author(well some of them are men, but you get my point.) We don’t all need this much babysitting. And if we do, the problem is with us more than the scammers, because we make ourselves a weak and easy target.
June 25, 2009 at 2:41 pm
*note, to clarify I do NOT believe IR and the Vault are scams, obviously or I wouldn’t defend them both. But there *are* scammers out there, or indie authors wouldn’t be so damn skittish.
Nevertheless, biting off the hand trying to feed you out of a knee-jerk reaction is both asinine and detrimental to all of us as a whole, IMO.
June 27, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Not ignoring you, and I hope you don’t think that. ^_^ The show I write for has a killer schedule and all I have time to do these days is work, and Twitter.
I believe the overall crux of your post was not to labor on about how affective or noneffective these endeavors would be as ‘collective agents’ for self-publishers– but rather, you’re lecturing self-pubs on having very Soviet-style ‘guilty till proven innocent’ toward any organization that fronts itself as a ‘help’ to self-publishers? Yes?
I said my piece I suppose – and I meant it. Biting the hand that trying to feed us may seem cruel–but most of us self-publishing aren’t asking to fed by hand.
So shaking a finger at us for preemptive ‘tude , isn’t going to be very effective, but continue on though–I’m I do not propose to tell you how and to whom to lecture to in your own yard. ^_^; Actually, I hope you might win over more then you turn away, and that’s always a good sign.
Thanks for allowing my comments, and good luck with all your future projects.
-Tina Anderson
June 27, 2009 at 6:10 pm
*Sorry in advance if this is a little long*
Hey Tina, thanks! Nope, didn’t think you were ignoring me. I understand people have other things on their schedules besides “ZOMG what did Zoe Winters say!?!”
In fact I think probably about a million things get on the to do list before we get to that point. 
And yeah you are hearing me right about the “guilty until proven innocent” thing.
I’m not saying we need to be gullible little flower children about it… talking about the peace, love and understanding of self publishing, but I do think that people are a little too reactionary before they’ve really determined if something is for them or not.
And while you may not want any help, and I don’t in the sense of a “hand out”, I “would” like to see companies like indie reader and the Vault succeed, if for no other reason than it will be a step in showing the viability of self publishing as a path for SOME writers, and will highlight how it isn’t all crap, and MAY help in some small way self pubbing authors even not using the services as far as lowering stigma for just self-pubbing at all. The only stigma should be for those who self-pub poorly(which admittedly is a very large percentage of self-pubbers), still, those who take the time and effort to do it right, should not fall under that same stigma, IMO, because the activities being undertaken are worlds apart.
But when self pubbing authors who are skeptical move past skepticism to downright cynicism (i.e. nothing you say to me will convince me you don’t have some shady motive and aren’t trying to take all my money and capitalizing on the gullibility of many self pubbing authors…) then I feel like it hurts *me* and other self pubbing authors who are not on such a “kill and destroy” mission.
And I don’t feel that a few loud self pubbing authors who are going to remain cynical about every opportunity, should rain on the possible success of something that could be right for other people. Because that isn’t an act of “helpfulness” to other self pubbing authors, and I don’t think we all need babysitters to protect ourselves from ourselves.
It’s all well and good to ask questions, but when the tone is rude and snarky and so suspicious before someone even gets a chance to explain themselves… it sets an ugly tone which may influence other self pubbing authors away from something that may be both legitimate and helpful if so many didn’t jump to a mob-mentality to show their lack of gullibility. (what is with the psychological need so many have to prove pre-emptively they aren’t gullible? So much to the point that they have to attempt to destroy something someone else is building?)
I strongly feel that it is because self pubbers have so much stigma against them and are looked upon as so naive and gullible that they so virulently argue against anything like this, because they want to be seen as “not that gullible.” But if the company isn’t a scam or fly-by-night, and the opportunity is a real one, then that’s a high price to pay to “look less gullible.”
Because both companies in order to succeed, need to have a chance to TRY. They need a chance with enough authors willing to give them a chance. If a group of loud and angry self pubbing authors run around trying to dismantle everything like that that comes along, then fewer and fewer HONEST people (which I feel after having spoken extensively with them, that both Amy and April are), will be less and less willing to create businesses like this that MIGHT help pull self publishing out of the muck of the lowest common denominator.
I self-pub in spite of the stigma. I would like the stigma to go away or else lessen because if it did, it would make my road easier. I don’t understand self pubbing authors who do NOT want their road made any easier. That almost smacks of a fear of success, IMO.
Note I’m not accusing you personally of “fear of success” it just seems to me that there is such a strong cynicism and desire to be “left alone” by many self pubbing authors that it ignores that not “everybody” wants to be left alone with a tiny little fanbase and fewer ways to reach more readers. Many of us want every single opportunity we can get to get more exposure for our work and be given a chance.
I don’t want chances destroyed based on other people’s unfounded cynicism. And while I believe open-minded skepticism or wariness or caution is fine, the level of vitriol and anger that has been leveled at both Amy and April is way over-the-top IMO.
June 27, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Okay it wasn’t just a little long, it was a LOT long. Eeek, sorry. I don’t know how to have a “short” conversation.
June 29, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Lots of good info in this post. It’s up to each individual writer, within his or her own chosen angle, to decide whether self-publishing works for them.
I too have been puzzled by the amount of hatred slung at self-published writers (and slung by self-pubbers back at traditionally published writers).
The internet and improvements in publication methods have allowed for whole new worlds to open up in self-publishing, including print-on-demand and other services.
As with any business decision, review all options. Research all possibilities. Proceed with what fits your book, your angle, your genre, your needs… best.
June 29, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Hi plasticpumpkin, Well what confuses the hell out of me and frustrates me is that this isn’t a case of trad pubbed authors dumping on self pubbed authors or vice versa.
It’s a case of self-pubbed authors freaking out and decrying services/companies which are not scams, which are meant to HELP self-pubbing authors.
I just don’t get it. Do SP authors not want to succeed?