Posted by Joy in Joy DeKok, Vanity Publishing Wednesday, 17 February o 13:35 No Comments
If you self publish right and get your book into the hands of readers, they don’t care who published it.
Yes, some readers will look at the publisher’s logo, and if they trust the publishing house and don’t know the author, they may still purchase the book.
Other readers decide to buy a book based on the book, and want an excellent story or a quality book written on a topic of interest to them. If they see a great cover, like the back cover copy, and the first page or two of the book, they don’t care how it was published.
Authors on any publishing pathway who neglect excellence will not have readers. The reverse is also true – authors on any publishing pathway who strive for and accomplish excellence will have readers.
When we get down to the bottom of all of this, that’s what matters to us. .
In the eyes of our readers – it is not about the publishing house – it is about what’s in it for them!
It won’t matter where or how the book was printed and bound. Readers want entertainment and information – they want to feel good or learn how to be good.
At a national writer’s conference I was both surprised and delighted when several editors and two keynote speakers, who are also multi-published and bestselling authors, say that we can’t possibly publish all the great books out there. Go ahead and self-publish, get your books into the hands of your readers. (This is the condensed version of this group.)
A few of us nearly gave these brave souls in a sea of traditional followers a standing ovation. I say nearly, we were also stunned and perhaps it’s a good thing our bottoms stayed in our seats. By staying seated we avoided a riot. A few people jeered these professionals that they had moments before longed to please.
For the first time, we were accepted, publically, by respected people in the publishing industry.
Oh dear – I’ve strayed from my topic a bit here haven’t I? Well, not really. After the mockers in the crowd settled down more than one of these voices of publishing power reminded us of two things:
- Excellence is vital. . .and. . .
- If the book is done well. . .readers don’t care.
I believe this based on experience. You can self publish well, have readers, and even make a few bucks – at least enough to publish your next book and for some of us, more.
I hope you’ve gleaned something valuable from these blog entries. If you felt like my dukes were up, well, they were. Not in my own defense, but for the many of you who have wonderful stories in file cabinets out there where they are doing no one any good. Your story matters. So yes, I wrote like a gloved up fighter in the ring – ready to get in a few very good punches and knock out the lies that are holding some of you back from professional and personal greatness – as defined by you.
And there you have the introduction to our next series on this blog – Professional and Personal Greatness – Defined By You!
Until then – please consider your options carefully. Do some research. A great resource for writers considering self publishing via a POD company is The Fine Print by Mark Levine. You can buy it from Amazon or learn more about it here: http://www.book-publishers-compared.com/
Posted by Joy in Joy DeKok, Vanity Publishing, getting it write Wednesday, 27 January o 16:36 No Comments
Did you ever take the blame for something you didn’t do? That happens to authors who chose to self-publish by either starting their own publishing company or by publishing with a POD press.
I will be the first to admit: there are a lot of awful self-published books on the market!
You’ve seen them: bad covers, no editing, poor printing and binding, and an overall sense of cheap. They’re just plain awful.
Many times book stores and other authors write us off because it’s easier to diminish us than it is to give us a chance. Those of us who chose excellence get missed in the mess that is prejudice. I don’t use the word “prejudice” easily – in fact it is such a serious word, I tried to find a toned down word that meant the same thing. I did mention in my first entry on this subject that I do prefer acceptance. I realize the use of this word will anger a few of you. You will think I’m abusing it –this is publishing – for crying out – self publishing at that.
And, you’re right. There are very few things in this world worse than racial prejudice. However, not all prejudice is racial and using the word here is accurate.
Webster online says prejudice is: “an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge: an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics.”
Let’s take this apart. . .
When anyone criticizes a book without reading it they are offering an adverse opinion formed without sufficient knowledge. In fact, when asked if they’d ever read a self-published book, many of the critics have said, “No. I’ve heard they’re all bad and won’t waste my time.”
This response is offered without sufficient knowledge.
When I was told that my books were illegitimate and didn’t qualify as published, this was irrational hostility. These people were not kidding, and in their opinion, my book didn’t count. It wasn’t real. It was beneath their books and they wanted me to know it. It was inferior.
I’ve been told the main characteristic of all self published authors is the vain need to see their name in print. May I ask you this: how do they know what motivated me? They didn’t ask – they assumed.
As with other forms of prejudice I was different, and that was just plain wrong.
I was riding in the back of the publishing bus.
How do you spell prejudice? I-G-N-O-R-A-N-C-E.
And, all prejudice is learned behavior. Watch a group of children who care nothing about the color of each other’s skin – they enjoy each other and it was based on personality, not race.
We have to stop teaching and participating in prejudice of all kinds!
I will confess – I don’t like being automatically written off because there are badly done self published books on the market.
Every year I spend a lot of money on books. I read over 100 fiction titles and nearly as many non-fiction titles. I have purchased and read some badly done traditionally published books too. I choose not to blame all traditionally published authors for the few that are terrible.
Wouldn’t it be nice if those who are so quick to despise all self published books decided to give a few quality books outside their chosen publishing path a chance?
Here’s an even greater truth: It would be grand if all authors who chose self-publishing also decided to do exceptional work and were willing to pay for the highest standard in printing. If we all did this,
we’d gain credibility and the negative comments would be cancelled before they could be spoken.
This is repetitive, but really, it’s vital that we take this in and pass it on to any other writers considering self publishing in any form: Please tell them Joy said, “If we all committed to excellence, we’d cancel out the current bad rap.”
Changing some of the current prejudice out there is up to us. We can quietly and with peaceful dignity push it back. We can encourage each other, strive to do not just a good job, but instead a top of the line job, and we can sell books – it’s no one else’s business how many. You get to define what number equals success for you.
While it’s true that some will never accept our work, it’s also true that our readers don’t care. If we hold that truth silently in our hearts, no matter what is said, we win.
My next entry on this topic is coming up next: Readers Don’t Care