Monday, October 11, 2010

Here Be Dragons

I wrote a post last April about myths and misconceptions in the industry, mes auteurs, and I think it's once again time to put a few rumours and unfounded fears to bed.

Onward! (Again!)

· You have to spend money to make money. Aside from incidental costs like paper, printer ink, and postage (and that's only for agents who still don't accept e-MSS), you shouldn't have to pay to submit your work. Let me say that again: no legitimate agent will charge you to read your manuscript or to represent you. Period.

· You have to know someone to get published. This one is sort of true, but let me re-emphasize: if your writing isn't good enough and you're not Justin Bieber or Lindsay Lohan or Kanye West, it doesn't matter who/how many people you know—you're not getting a book deal. Knowing someone greases the wheels; it doesn't build the machine.

· You don't have to promote your book; publishing houses have publicity and marketing teams for a reason. Unless yours is one of the publisher's lead titles, you're going to have to do some of your own legwork. Midlist authors at large houses and most authors at smaller houses have to be willing to do at least some self-promotion in order to give their books the best possible chance in the market. If you're asked to do podcasts, blog tours, physical book tours, readings, signings, or bookstore events, it's in your best interest to do as many as possible.

· E-books and self-publishing are going to make publishers, agents, and editors obsolete. It's true that the industry is changing rapidly and that, à mon avis, the Publishing World of Tomorrow will require fewer employees and companies. Roles will unquestionably change. But as long as people are willing to pay to read books, you're going to have people to sell them, manage their brands (i.e. you), market them, and make sure they're as strong as possible before publication. The future is not a bunch of people uploading their just-finished MSS to Amazon for immediate review and sale.

· Amazon is going to kill the independent/second-hand book store. While I can't say for sure this is 100% false, I'm very confident that Amazon will not kill independent, local, and second-hand book stores; there's no substitute for their ambience, knowledgeable staff, and propensity to stock hard-to-find titles. In fact, should Amazon manage to kill brick-and-mortar chains (which I think is the likelier scenario), indepedents might undergo a resurgence/renaissance of sorts. Think of it this way: chains are the dinosaurs, indies are the scrappy mammals, and Amazon is the asteroid.

That's all for today, meine Bros und She-Bros. Questions in the comments!

9 comments:

  1. As for the indie outlasting the chain brick and mortar bookstore, that is exactly what happened in the record store business.

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  2. I think a lot of the "you have to spend money to make money" talk is connected to your third point about having to promote your own work. Even if you don't have to pay to submit your manuscript, a lot of people expect to have to pay for publicity materials, travel expenses, etc., to promote their work, unless they're one of those lead authors.

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  3. · You don't have to promote your book; publishing houses have publicity and marketing teams for a reason.

    Okay, I'm not that dumb or naive. I do realize that. But when a publisher tells me I have to do it all, refuses to help me in any way, shape, or form when I ask for some suggestions, and then refuses to send review copies, help with book signings, or do anything at all to promote their own products...then what?

    Geez, that came out whiny and I didn't really mean it to be. It's more a case of frustration. I know I have a certain amount of the work to do and I am glad to do it. Eager in fact. But what about a publisher's responsibilities? Don't they have ANY?

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  4. The better marketeer a writer is, the less he needs a publisher.

    And here is another notion to consider, as Amazon becomes more and more accessible to writer/marketers, large publishing houses may be in the same boat as chain book stores. Another big lumbering dinosaur endangered by leaner, meaner boutique publishers who treat each writer as a deal they are happy to have.

    AL aboard the landship, Jolly Swag

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  5. I would be happy if the big chains went away and the neighborhood booksellers once again flourished. In Seattle, the Elliott Bay Book Company is a hugely popular independent bookstore and definitely my favorite one around. Of course, we also have several B&N. And I will admit I order books from Amazon. I suppose I should stop.

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  6. Encouraging post, Eric. I still support the small bookstores, but I do shop at the bigger ones occasionally as well. Convenience -- that's the reason.

    I don't Twitter, but I did catch the link to the article about Shakespeare and Co. in Paris. Having just come back from Paris -- and having searched out this bookstore in the Latin quarter, I enjoyed reading about it. I knew about Sylvia Beach, having read much of Hemingway. It makes one wonder how France can protect what's old and venerable, but in the West (US & Canada) we seem to toss out what's old and venerable -- like the small independent bookstores for the mega-hunk store or online ordering. We deserve no less if we can't see the value of protecting that which has served us well. Another venerable bookstore is City Lights in San Francisco -- it also has a rich legacy.

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  7. I like the dinosaur analogy...and tend to agree with you on that one.

    Having spoken to a few published authors that are not household names, I will have to disagree slightly with the "you don't have to market your own novels" idea.

    In fact, one author gets so little return on his novels that after 7, he will no longer go through a publishing house but instead self-publish as he feels he markets himself better than his publishers.

    He also advised that no one can make a living as an author unless you're JK Rowling or Stephen Kind - at which point I stuck my fingers in my ears and said "LA LA LA LA LA LA LA" very loudly.

    But thanks for the post, it's nice to have professionals in the industry offering advice and support :)

    Best,

    Gabrielle

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  8. @DG Hudson:

    LOVE Shakespeare & Co! Exactly what a bookstore should be all about. I missed the link though, would you or Eric mind posting it again please?

    Best,

    Gabrielle

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  9. Your article is really great and i truly enjoyed reading it. Test King

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