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Self-publishing. Love it? Hate it? Why??
Jaime: I just had this conversation with some friends and I honestly have mixed feelings AS A READER about self-publishing. I’ve been burned way too many times when it comes to self pubs. That isn’t to say that there aren’t some absolutely amazing stories out there, but I used to pick up about 50% more self-pubbed books a year ago, than I do now. My major complaint I would have to say is editing and content. And maybe this has gotten better but it seemed like everyone wanted to be an author and do it as quickly as possible. There is a reason that publishing a book is a process. As a reader I despise when grammar and spelling issues take me out of a story.
That said, I absolutely see the value of self-publishing for an author and I don’t think badly about it in a snotty way because a book isn’t put out by one of the big publishing houses. I have found a handful of authors that I can trust that have put the work into self-publishing their books with editors, beta readers and content readers and I will absolutely read them, but i’m definitely leery about picking up new authors unless they come highly recommended and even then I’m very skeptical. Unfortunately I think self-publishing earned its rep and now has to try and change that perception.
Erin: I am ambivalent toward self publishing. As Jaime points out, I have read some stuff that makes me cringe but honestly if I find a story that sounds interesting and I want to read it, if it is self published that won’t make me not read it. There definitely is some great stuff out there that didn’t go through a major publishing house you just have to dig a bit more through the rest of the bad stuff sometimes to find it.
Kassiah: Things are definitely different than they were ten (or even five years ago) in the publishing industry. Self-publishing is definitely the wave of the future and, depending on the popularity of the book, could mean a “real” publishing contract for many authors that wouldn’t otherwise get the opportunity (not that they need one, but I feel like lots of self-pubs seem pretty excited when their books get picked up by a big publisher). And therein lies the problem to me.
Don’t get me wrong–I love many self-published books. I am happy to read and help market them, and in lots of cases I think authors would be better off self-publishing rather than going with a traditional publisher. Authors’ first priority should always be good content, and I think, with our fandom roots, that the four of us might see things a little differently from the rest of the publishing world. o.O We know that having a good editor who will kick our asses and polish our work into the best possible product can make all the difference in the reader experience, and that having pre-readers who will point out inconsistencies and plot holes are far more important than having someone suck up and say “OMG SO AMAZING!!!” If more self-published authors tried to get real, professional editors and people like us to pre-read, the literary world would be a better place. Obviously, marketing is the key to their successes and so many authors pay for a pretty cover and don’t bother too much with fixing the content.
Or worse. They pay an editor who they think is competent and trust to do their jobs and are hoodwinked. It makes me literally (in the Bri-sense of the word) sick. I want to have a page that lists editors that have failed at their jobs, but I don’t think Meg will allow it. hahahahahahahahaha
Of course, there are exceptions. Exceptions being the operative word here.
Back to my point. Larger publishing houses are snapping up a lot of self-published works and publishing them, without investing in having editors edit. Why should they? It was already popular. So, as much as I love self-publishing, I am afraid that the quality of the written word in general is going to hell in a handbasket because of lack of editing. I don’t know what could solve the problem, though.
Meg: Oh, man. I want to love self-published books. I really do. But I think I’ve been burned one too many times. For every amazing one I find, I read at least five that I can’t finish. (That’s saying something, because I almost always finish a book.)
I agree with all of you that the number one issue at play is the editing. There are some amazing cover, plots, and even writers, but it’s just not executed well. When I’m reading I want to be completely immersed in the world. I want to live there for all the pages of the book. When the grammar and editing are off, then I’m sucked out of the story. There is nothing worse.
The worst part of this whole thing is that I want to support all debut and up and coming authors. But it makes it hard when you feel like you can’t trust anything self-published because of a stigma that has a lot of evidence to back it up.
Jaime: I can totally sympathize Meg. When I first started blogging I was all “hell yeah, I’ll read anything an author asks me.” *crickets* Since then, my thoughts on this have changed drastically. Admittedly, I think I have higher expectations than some other readers, but one thing I can’t overlook is someone who doesn’t put any effort into their product, and unfortunately there are way too many cases of this.
Meg: I agree with that. I think that self-publishing draws in two very different types of writers. The ones who for some reason keep being looked over because what they have isn’t currently “in” or maybe too much like something else… or a dozen other things. They have taken pride in their work, cleaned it, made it ready to publish but just can’t seem to catch a break.Those books are the self-published titles that we’ve ended up loving and then immediately saying, “WHY HASN’T A BIG HOUSE PICKED THIS ONE UP??!”
Then there’s the other type. This is the type that thinks they are like the above authors, but don’t put any work into it. Maybe they think that writing is easy, that anyone could do it, or something similar. They submit a couple of times and nothing happens so they take matters into their own hands and publish it themselves. These are the stories that have the mistakes that make it unreadable to us, the ones that needed an editor and several rounds of work. (Let’s be honest even the best of the best go through lots of versions. Do we think that Harry Potter was published exactly like JK wrote it the first time? No. And she’s a freaking genius.)
You’re right, Jaime. It all comes down to effort.
Kassiah: Is there a happy medium, though? What can authors do to be sure that the product is the best they can do? There are at least a few very popular books that were edited by editors who worked for big publishing houses and they. are. terrible. Not the idea for the story, but the editing–both content and grammar. I think they think it’s fine because an “expert” put on a stamp of approval.
Also, what makes ya’ll pick up a book that you know was self-published? Is it only the ones from authors you know and possibly recs from friends you trust?
Erin: I have become more jaded toward self-published but if the story sounds good, the reviews look positive, and someone I know has good things to say about something, I will check it out. It’s unfortunate that there is a stigma attached to this type of published book but I suppose that is how it is.
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