I
just spent the weekend at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado
Gold conference. Very interesting for an independent publisher like
myself. One of the editors who attended, a man I hold in the highest
respect had a couple of very interesting comments about self
publishing.
We
had a room of about 50 writers listening when our speaker asked, "Who
here is self publishing ebooks?" I was one of two or three to
raise my hand. He went on to say that it was a possibly
self-destructive move and urged caution lest the wannabe author
ruin/lessen their chances of being traditionally published.
When
he received a manuscript that had promise, he would look up the
author on Amazon. If there was a book there (self published or
otherwise) that was not selling, that would be a big mark against
picking up that author. In effect, by publishing a non-selling book
the author had already harmed their writer's platform.
He
further went on to say that the whole self-publishing phenomenon
didn't concern him as a potential challenger to trad. publishing. His
reasoning?
"Readers
will quickly discover what publishers do for them and why the slush
pile exists."
Basically,
he felt that enough poorly written and edited content was being
released, that the majority of readers would quickly decide to stay
away from self pub. work. It was a self limiting-trend. He was not
religious about it or vindictive, just matter of fact. His company
has picked up some self published writers and would do so again, but
that was a tiny fraction of their writer's stable.
I
believe he was spot on. I've encountered a lot of poorly written and
edited material on Amazon. It annoys me when it happens. Here is
someone who is demonstrating a lack of concern or respect for my time
as a reader--and I have every reason to give these authors the
benefit of the doubt. What is your average 5 books a year reader
going to think?
This
is where bodies like the Alliance for Independent Authors, other
writers groups, or reviewing bodies can save the day. How? With a
seal of approval. That seal cannot be just handed out to anyone who
can cough up the money to join. Endorsement needs to be earned. There
must be standards of editing and writing in place. Without this,
independent authors are at the mercy of the lowest common
denominator. As usual, a few bad apples can ruin the whole barrel.
The
trick is to be in another barrel.
