Self Publishing: The Brutal Truth

This week I'm afraid I'm a bit of a downer. There's a point here, though. Light at the end of the tunnel. Don't worry.

Anyway, I seriously doubt this is going to surprise anyone here:

It's more difficult to publish successfully now than it ever has been before.

Half of you are saying, “No kidding, genius.” The other half are saying, “Are you serious? It's easy to get published. I go sign up for a free Blogger account and start writing. As soon as I click “post entry,” presto! I'm published.”

It might help to define the term “publish successfully.” By my own purely subjective criteria, publishing successfully means essentially two things: 1) You are being read widely; and 2) You are making a living at it. Adding that further definition, which camp are you in?

True, there are more and more ways to monetize your blog. Book deals have been made based on blogs. But really, what's the percentage? 2%? I think that's generous. If true, 98 out of 100 blogs you read are completely unremarkable. How many agents and editors are spending their days sifting through the blogosphere, looking for that one great voice? Frankly, I think the slush pile odds are better.

There are other self-publishing opportunities. Lulu and iUniverse are going strong, as are many dozens of smaller companies. Some of the stigma is beginning to drop away from publishing in this form – some of it, and very slowly.

The stigma will remain as long as these companies publish whoever pays them. Point blank fact: many of their books are awful.

The publishing industry still has a major advantage over all of our little do-it-yourself opportunities. They have quality control. Say what you want about the publishing industry (I do). Lament their ridiculous turn-of-the-century business practices (I do). Roll your eyes at their head-in-the-sand attitudes about new technology (I do).

Watch them die, slowly and painfully, subsumed by a culture that views books as a low tenth priority when it comes to entertainment.

The industry's a dinosaur. Ironically, the industry is also made up of a ton of creative, smart people who know how to do their jobs really, really well. I've met a lot of them, and they always impress me.

Part of their job is objective judgment. Yes, this book is marketable. No, that book is not marketable. Yes, this writer has talent. No, that guy couldn't write his way out of a wet paper bag. As I have mentioned in this forum before, I'm considering self-publishing. I can't find a small press publisher with time to even look at my novel manuscript. “Sorry, closed to submissions. We are concentrating on our current clients at this time.”

Some writers think of self-publishing as a breath of relief. No more submission hoops to jump through, no editor/agent gauntlet to run, no unwanted editorial input. It's all you, man.

This is true. You can get a MySpace page for free and post your stories there. You can post your work on your blog. There are a lot of ways to do it, cheaply or even free.

Here is the brutal truth: if no one reads it – if it doesn't generate enough interest to go viral and reach three million users in a week – you are left to face the harsh reality that it just isn't good enough. The public has voted, and the vote is: your writing is average. And there's no one to blame but yourself.

Viral marketing is simply word of mouth. Ironically, it's always been the publishing industry's most effective form. Somebody reads something, and they love it so much they're inspired to send it to their friends. That word of mouth spreads fast. Each person who sees it passes it on to five others (a very conservative estimate), those five pass it on to five more ...

It's math. Don't ask me to give you the numbers. I'm a word guy. But you can see how it works.

So if your blog is up and you've at least let your family know it's there, why don't thousands of people flock to read your undying wisdom, click on your Google ads, pay you to advertise their targeted, related products and leave you with a self-sustaining money machine that earns while you sleep?

Answer: because your writing isn't good enough.

It's harder to publish successfully now because it's harder to stand out. There are more writers out there, more venues, more ways to be published. More voices, average and extraordinary.

Are there more people reading? Doubt it. More people watching reality TV. Not reading.

That means you have to be better. You have to work that much harder on your craft, hone your edge, find your voice, speak from your soul. Nothing less will work.

Self-publishing just cuts all the uncertainty and doublespeak out of the process. If an agent rejects your query letter, you probably won't know why. If you self-publish and your project languishes unread, you'll know that much sooner: you're just not that good yet.

Are you ready for that truth?

The good news is that it's entirely up to you whether or not you become a good enough writer to make it. I know I've said this before, but it's on topic: I knew no one when I published my first short story. I was barely even aware of what markets were available. I wrote the story, somebody thought it was good enough to publish, and I went from there.

The writing is always, always always first. If you want publishing, after that, it will come. In whatever form you most prefer. You control that, too – by either putting your work in the hands of professionals you trust and respect, or by doing it yourself.

If you submit the novel and it's good, it'll get picked up. If you self-publish and it's good, readers will buy it.

And then it might get picked up by a major publisher. If that's what you want.

It's pretty simple: people who read know good writing. My wife isn't a writer, but she knows good writing when she reads it – whether she's reading a blog, a website, a story or a novel, she knows.

Did I say the writing comes first? I said that, didn't I? Just making sure.

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