AP reporter Candace Choi has a misguided story at Business Week about self-publishing, which MediaBistro's GalleyCat corrects with some intelligent commentary, noting that: "...yes, technology has made it possible for just about anybody to become a published author—but that's only the first step in becoming a successful author, and only the people who have the courage and tenacity to see the project through, with or without a big company's help, will reap the full rewards."Amen to that, brothers and sisters.
3 comments:
Self-publishing is so very, very cool.
I published an Ebook this year that was profitable within 24 hours. And money from it keeps pouring in, every day. Also, I'm reaching international readers who are often turned off by having to pay shipping costs for physical books, so to them, buying an ebook and downloading it is a lot more "sexy." :)
I've already made more from this book than I would have made for an average non-fiction book advance at a major publishing house, plus I don't have to worry about the bookstores taking it off the shelves in three months, which is the average time a printed book from a major house sits on the shelves. After that, a book will be technically be "in print," but it won't necessarily remain on the shelves. Instead, my eBook can continue to reach readers for as long as I choose to leave it in print. Heck, I can lengthen it, revise it, and republish it as something else and turn it into more sources of revenue. And I don't have to get permission from my publishing house to do so because -- guess what, I am the publishing house!
So yeah, self-publishing is good, very good. Whether eBook or POD/publish-on-demand, the industry is finally allowing the "little guy" to make serious money - in his sleep, from the comfort of home. (No book tour required; just take the money and the emails from fans and count them. :)
Jennifer
Yeah, I'm with Jennifer.
The publishing industry is like musical chairs with 2,000 butts for every seat. Why does anybody play? "Because it's the only game in own."
(By the way, sorry for commenting on so many of your old posts at one time... I'm an insomniac and I just found your site.)
Self-publishing rules. Courage and tenacity is the key whichever path to success you take... but why waste so much time and energy trying to scurry on board a sinking ship? Why give away the lion's share of the value of your work to support the layers of people who mostly just stand in the way of getting published?
I've got money trickling in from book sales. I've got money being donated from readers because I give my work away first and THEN sell it. (Sounds crazy? Crazy's doing the same thing and expecting different results.) I've got ad money coming in. It adds up to enough that I don't have to work a day job in order to support my further writings.
Granted, I live somewhere with a decent cost of living and I have no mortgage and no kids... I don't think everybody could live off my thus-far modest income. But hey, how much money do you make not getting published?
Of course, it's not all about the money... it's about the three R's: respect, recognition, and readership. Well, how much of that are you getting, not being published?
For that matter, how much money/recogntion/etc. does the average, non-blockbuster author get, getting published?
The web does change almost everything. It doesn't take away the need for courage and tenacity... but it does give more productive channels to apply them to.
Glad to have you with us. And glad for your comments. But sorry about the sleep thing.
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