The Writer's Corner: Myth Busters
In the past year or so, there has been a small explosion of
overly loud voices in the writer’s community blogosphere shouting to the
rooftops about the “new world of publishing,” and how everything has changed and how new writers must now do everything differently from how it was
done just a few years ago (while I would assert that we need to do some things differently). These loud voices are constantly
putting up “Myth Buster” posts. Most successful writers (meaning those who make
a living at this) tend to ignore those loud voices and just quietly carry on at
making a living with their writing.
I know I should ignore those loud voices too, but I feel compelled to
write my own “Myth Busters” post on the other end of the spectrum. So . . . here goes:
New myth #1: You don’t need an agent to sell to a
New York editor.
This one bothers me a lot. Yes, I know that it’s tough to get agent (even grueling and
disappointing in the process). New writers often get ignored by the agents to
whom they’ve submitted, and it would be a lovely, lovely thought to believe,
“Hey, I don’t need an agent to sell to a New York editor. I can do this on my own.” But it just makes me wince when new
writers are fed this line. Don’t
get me wrong; it might be possible to get your novel proposal on the desk of a
New York editor without an agent . . . but it’s very improbable. All the big houses have gone to a “no
unagented manuscript” policy (which I know is not fair), and most of the
editors have assistants who weed out the unagented novel proposals and send
them back with a form letter.
Please be aware of this. It
is VERY difficult to even get your proposal onto the desk of a New York editor
without an agent. It’s not impossible. It’s just very difficult.
Side note: For established writers with solid connections, I
do think it’s becoming possible to function without an agent (and to just use
an intellectual property lawyer for the contract), but I hang out with a lot of
writers, and the successful ones (meaning those making a living at this), all
have agents. JC and I have an
agent.
Myth #2: New York
publishers are evil and their only goal in life is to cheat writers out of
every last possible penny. So, all
new writers must avoid them.
This just makes me groan. Yes, publishing is a business. Yes, publishers are out to make money. Yes, contracts are
getting more draconian, and that’s why we need professional help in going over
every word of the contract before signing it. But . . . viewing our publishers as “the Enemy” is not
productive to our writing careers.
For a brand new writer to abstain from New York publishing simply because
he or she fears being “cheated” out of money is absurd. JC and I make our house payments with
the money we earn from our professionally published books. That’s how we earn the brunt of our
living. We make a little grocery
money from our indie projects.
Don’t forgo the chance at real money simply because you fear
being “cheated” by a publisher.
Just take your time with any contract you sign, get professional
assistance, and make sure you understand what you’re signing.
Myth #3: A self-published writer has just as
much chance of getting a book into B&N as a writer with a New York publisher.
This one is so absurd that it almost doesn’t deserve to be
here . . . but I’ve seen this ridiculous myth in too many blog posts by the
“overly loud voices.” This is
absolutely ridiculous. Right now,
the major publishers are jockeying for space in Barnes & Noble. The major publishers send huge, glossy
catalogues to the book reps, and the reps order from those. Our publisher pays
for “up front” space for the books they publish—and for space in those center
aisle racks. Plus, our publisher
gets our mass market paperbacks into Safeway and Fred Meyer’s. You cannot do this on your own. Now, this is no reason for you NOT to
go indie. But just be aware that
the employees at B&N have started to run (and I mean run) for the break
room if they even suspect the person coming at them might be an indie writer
trying to get her/her book on the shelf.
Myth #4: All successful, traditionally published
writers despise indie writers, hurl insults upon them, and have a tendency to
beat them up and take their lunch money.
Ugh. This one
bothers me more than I can say.
Again . . . I hang with a lot of traditionally published writers, and I
can promise you that not a one of them has an ounce of scorn for indie writers
. . . rather just the opposite.
Most of the traditionally published writers I know are extremely
interested in dipping their toes in indie publishing. They are excited at the prospect. JC and I have already started. We’re having a blast.
But again . . . what we earn here is not enough to live on.
Any scorn, derision, or insults that I’ve seen or heard have
come purely from the staunch indie writers and have been flung at the
traditionally published writers: words like “lazy” and “sell out” and “stupid”
and “gullible”. Trust me. I am none of those things, and neither
are any of the successful traditionally published writers I know.
Myth #5: An indie writer without a fan base has
just as much chance of success as a long time published writer (who goes indie)
with a fan base and a backlist.
I’m not sure what to say about this one, as JC and I are
really just now trying to figure out the whole “marketing” concept for indie
publishing. I’m not even sure this
myth belongs here. I only included
it because we get about 8,000 hits a month on our Noble Dead website, and JC
has done a bang-up job of having any posts on the Noble Dead site flood outward
into other social media. So . . .
because we already have a solid fan base, we managed to find a market for the
“Tales” project. I’m honestly not sure
how a writer with no fan base would manage this. I’m not saying it can’t be done. I’m just now sure how
it would be done.
Myth #6: Ninety-nine percent of indie published
fiction is as well edited and proofread as traditionally published fiction.
Okay, I have seen badly proofread professionally published
fiction, and I’ve seen some decently edited and proofread indie fiction. But in all honesty, most of the indie
fiction I’ve seen is a mess. This
is NOT an insult to indie writers.
This is simply what I personally have seen.
JC and I have struggled with this ourselves, and we’ve used
outside proofreaders, but with our indie stuff, we certainly do not have
anything like the support of our publisher. The Noble Dead novels are edited, copy-edited, and
professionally proofread, and we are involved at every stage. Sometimes a typo or two will still slip
past all of us, but I really do appreciate the support system of our publisher
. . . and working on these indie projects has made me appreciate them more.
Okay . . . I may get flamed for saying some of the things
above, but I felt the need to say them.
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