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Read this before entering our world…..and consider yourself warned.
I apologize in advance if this post is more like a rant. My previous post, ‘To Join KDP Select or Not…That is the Question’ created so many viewpoints on self publishing and marketing, it made me realize just how increasingly difficult it is to be a writer.
Someone asked, “Being a writer is easy, right?” not long ago, and I wasn’t sure if it was a joke. My response was tongue in cheek, “Oh yeah, you work 60 hours a week and get paid in likes, comments and shares….sure, it’s easy work.” I waved.
If it was easy, everyone would be successful at it, right? Let’s face it, there are many writers out there, but there are also many unsuccessful writers. Just like any profession. The trouble is, most writers don’t even get to make through the door. We have our book, our baby, in hand. We’ve poured months, if not years of our lives into our first masterpiece, only to have the door slammed in our face.
When you finally have your manuscript completed, you haven’t even scratched the surface.
I had this conversation with a young man a short time ago. He’d written a novel during high school a few years ago, and he sent it to one publisher who rejected it. He burned his original manuscript in protest.
Most people assume that being a writer is just about writing books, hitting the best seller list and kicking back.
If you want a career that tests your patience….be a writer.
After you’ve written your heart out on paper, then you have to worry about beta readers, editors and reviewers. Then the burning question:
Do I send query letters to agents and publishers, or do I self publish?
That is the question that’s been on my mind since my first book, and I think this is where the problem lies. If you do it properly and follow through with the steps (beta readers, editors, reviewers), make your manuscript the best it can be, and THEN send it to agents and publishers, some writers MIGHT have a chance.
I think this is what’s going wrong in the publishing world. Too many people are skipping all these important steps and either sending to publishers/agents or self publishing immediately after their first draft. Perhaps trying to make a fast buck? So the bottleneck effect happens at the publishing stage. Is this why publishers are closing the door on newbie authors? Is this why we are being forced to self publish? Or is is about choice?
Then, once you’ve arrived at the decision to self publish, you have to research WHERE.
I will not get into a rant about KDP Select, this was covered in my last post. But what I will say is that you need to have your book available in as many formats and as many platforms as possible. DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF!! We all know the big ones are Amazon and Smashwords. But we STILL haven’t even scratched the surface.
Are you still with me?
Next, you have to worry about marketing. HOW do I get my book seen? Everyone knows the two biggest and best ways are through BLOGGING and SOCIAL MEDIA. Do you want to laugh? You have to have your social platform established BEFORE you get to this step! Yes! No jokes! Banging your head against the wall yet?
Do you know why? Even if you have best selling material, had the best cover possible created and hired a world renowned editor to polish your story…..guess what? NOBODY WILL CARE!! Haha!! The joke’s on you!
And you can’t just create any old platform, grab all the followers and likes as possible and blog away any old stuff. You have to obtain a targeted audience, blog quality content consistently, establish community within your audience and hopefully have loyal people reading your posts and sharing.
Do you still want to be a writer?
What do you think is causing so many challenges in the world of publishing?
What are your success stories? What are your failures?
To see my Amazon author page, click here.
For a FREE download of my second book, ‘I’ll Never Wear a Backless Dress’, click here.
Did I mention that "aspiring writers" who chase the $$$ don't realize there often isn't any?
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LikeAlexandria_SZ Amen! I've been writing for seven years and I'm still waiting for a paycheck!
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LikeSo many people want to be writers because they don't see any of the hard work, uncountable rejections, or bad reviews. All they see is $$$. A writer writes. An author is a writer who's been published, and who returns to his desk to continue writing. Thanks for the great blog post. Best of luck on your own writing & publishing.
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LikeAlexandria_SZ You're so right Alexandria! Thank you so much for your comment and best of luck to you as well!
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LikeThis is a great post! I hear so many new writers call themselves an "aspiring writer". I made that mistake at first and a writing coach/editor told me this: " An aspiring writer doesn't exist. If you write, you are a writer. It doesn't require publication to be a writer. When you "aspire", you are hoping to be a writer. That suggests no action on your part, only a wish or dream." I never have forgotten that. Now I call myself a budding author. On Facebook, I have an author page. Should I have one yet, not being published? Maybe not, but I am claiming it anyway, because I will be and I am actively working toward it. We have to claim our successes as well as our failures. Writing is a solitary existence and not an easy one. We are often misunderstood. People wonder why we are out people watching, hanging out on the internet, whatever..you can fill in the blank..when we should be writing! If you are a writer, why aren't you writing? Well, you are! Every bit of research that you do, you are writing in your head. You are developing your story. If on the internet, you are building your platform, making contact with other authors or editors, that can give you invaluable insight, That is all in the writing sphere. So, this is my thought for the day. :)
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LikeRebecca Vance I think what you're doing is very smart and I wish I'd done it before I published my first book. The more exposure you get, the better. I completely agree with you when you say that we are creating our stories in our minds with pretty much every activity we do. My phone is always on my hip and I'm constantly taking notes for blog ideas, story ideas, and when my kids say something funny, I log it for my book 'Just When I Needed to Laugh'...
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LikeThis is a brilliant post as it's so true. Nowadays people want everything instantly and writing isn't the career to go into with that mindset. To be a successful writer takes an unlimited amount of courage, guts and determination. If you haven't got those three things then you may as well forget it.
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LikeWattsLK Yes! Instant gratification is what everyone wants today! Writers cannot be like others in this regard and I think that's what sets us apart. Like a sculptor or singer/songwriter or even an artist, we have to perfect our work and treat it like a craft. The only instant gratification we get is in that moment when we finish writing our book!
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LikeThe amount of time you have to put in could also be every waking moment. Sixty hours should have a caption after it that reads 'bare minimum'. There are some weeks you can break eighty hours and at times fall asleep on the keyboard (I've done many times). It's like working two full time jobs practically for free. Getting the first draft done is probably the easiest part of it. Edit, re-read, more editing, re-read again, more additions and changes (repeat these steps over and over again). Then submit it to a professional editor.
I also think the reason why the big press rejects so many authors is they want to stick the the more established authors they know will make them money first, then fill in the rest after that. They also limit the number of books the publish each year in each genre. If they exceed that number, they'll end up competing against themselves. Self-publishing not only gives the authors more control over their content, but it also gives them a chance to be seen. Readers also win because they have more of a choice when shopping for books.
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Likeswansonbooks I've never actually taken account of how many hours per week I spend writing and doing the other millions of things I need to do to get the word out there. My husband estimated for me a while ago. All I know is that my computer, phone and I are one in the same.
If publishers want to stick to more established authors, how does that effect the market? Say an 'established' author is relaxed, knows they'll get their work published and perhaps works less? Then you get us starving newbie authors, who work ourselves to the bone for nothing and produce killer material....who could possibly be the new up and coming author. Which is better for publishers? Is that a factor at all?
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LikeSandyAppleyard swansonbooks My typical day consists of 8 hours on a time clock, 5-6 hours sleep, the rest is on the computer. My two days off I can clock anywhere from 10-14 hours on the computer.
We are having to compete with track records of authors that have been published before. I'll use S. King. A publisher knows that every time they put out a new book with his name on the cover, they're going to sell X amount of copies in the first 90 days. Where as an unknown author, they have no clue. Their business is to publish, but they like betting on someone with a proven track record. Profits must be made to stay in business. They look at quality, but the $$$ factor must be present as well. They do keep a watch on what's happening. Although I don't recall their names, I read that two independent authors have been picked up by the larger press over the last year or so. But even with that, those authors already had a recorder of being some top indie sellers and that is part of what they look for.
I'm not saying it's impossible for an indie to get picked up, it can happen. But the odds are very slim. That is what makes self publishing so great. We have a way to get our work out there and have people read it. You can be successful as a writer without being signed with a large publishing house.
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Likeswansonbooks SandyAppleyard Also, you can have more say over the end product. You maintain the rights (which is really important, many authors have really gotten ripped out where the rights are concerned), you get more royalties. You aren't depending upon one or two other people to like it enough to send it on. Just as you pointed out, the readers decide..which is why we are doing this, isn't it?
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LikeHi Sandy,
I think that writing is the fun part! But you're right, as with anything else it takes a lot of work to do it right. Edit after edit, re-writes, beta readers, reviewers, graphics, marketing, blogging, social media...oh my! Plus it seems like the game is constantly changing.
I've only published my first book so far (second one almost there!), but I've been researching the land of publishing and self publishing for nearly a year now. It's no small task to self publish, anyone who thinks that it's the easy way out is fooling themselves. I think that self publishing is exciting and has a lot to offer, but it's definitely not a get rich quick thing. It's going to take work.
We have to love what we're doing or it won't be worth it.
Stacy
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LikeGrowWithStacy I agree Stacy, you have to love what you do or it won't work. For the amount of time and effort (unpaid) that you have to put forth, you have to love it.
The 'get rich quick' thing is kind of what gets under my skin. I'm on my fourth self published book, have two others (and 80% of a third) ready for publishing.....and I'm still here. The only way I'm rich is in my knowledge and experience from having gone through it :)
Hopefully our readers will be able to tell the difference.
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Like"Is this why publishers are closing the door on newbie authors? Is this why we are being forced to self publish?"
No. And no. And no.
First, "publishers" aren't closing the door on new authors, the Big 5 are. The reason why has nothing to do with the quality of manuscripts being submitted; that's an age-old reality that hasn't changed, and is the reason why the big publishers usually don't accept submissions without agents. The agents filter out the drek.
The Big 5 are closing their doors to new authors for the same reason they are now the Big 5 instead of the Big 6 as they were a while back. Their business model is designed for a world that no longer exists, and they are dying. Cannibalism has set in. They continue to be profitable only by gouging their authors on e-book contracts and eating one another. Smaller publishers, who are adapting to the new reality while the Big 5 fail to, are accepting new authors.
Second, we are not being "forced" to self-publish (see above), we are choosing to do so because that way we retain total artistic control and receive a larger share of the revenue.
That said, your general points about not submitting or publishing first drafts are valid and should be heard.
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Likebriandrush Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for pointing all that out in plain English! That is exactly why I wrote this post; not only to clarify to new authors to do the work first, but to ask someone out there the questions that have been on my mind for months. I've read article after article, and none point anything out clearly. All have a biased point of view and therefore only raise new questions in my mind. Cyber hugs for you Brian! Thank you!
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