Self-Publishing

A few of the Clarion Class of 2004 have been knocking around the pros and cons of self-publishing. Although self-publishing has experienced an enormous amount of growth during the past few years, my friends and I agree that:

1 – Self-publishing is not the route we want to take.
2 – Self-publishing may be good for special projects (especially non-fiction), but it's probably not going to get you long-term wide exposure/recognition.
3 – In most cases, Self-publishing is a cheat.

Let me explain each point:

1 – Only one of us involved in the discussion could name a self-published sf/f book that was very good (and it was eventually picked up by a major publisher). The traditional route – while it often provides little room for feedback on what you're doing right or wrong – still accounts for 99% (or more) of the significant sf/f fiction being published today. Having said that, a friend of mine who is a very good mystery writer insists on self-publishing. He's also very much a people person and enjoys promoting himself 50 weekends out of the year. Self-publishing works for him and he's very satisfied with it. But I believe he's the exception.

2 – My friend Trent has a relative who self-published a non-fiction work that he was passionate about, but realized would probably have very limited appeal. I think in those cases, self-publishing is probably the way to go, especially if you can target that limited audience by word-of-mouth, conventions, web sites, whatever. I've got a book for first-year band directors that's about one-third finished. The market for that book is so limited, self-publishing might be an option. (But first I have to get off my ass and finish it. That's another topic for another time....)

3 – The biggest problem I see in self-publishing is that many writers either don't know the truths of the publishing industry or else they're running away from them. As one of my friends commented, many writers probably think "Hey, my stuff is just too different; that's why it's not being published." Could be. Could also be because it's not very good. But my shunning the traditional channels, most never learn that.

I know that many writers send work out through the traditional channels, get a few rejections and think "Screw this." What a lot of them have never been told is that there's a process that you have to learn. It's not an easy process. I certainly haven't figured it all out yet or I'd have stuff published on a larger level. But even long-time published writers still get rejection slips. (And conversely, crap still gets published every day.)

The first thing you have to know is what an editor wants. Sometimes even a magazine's guidelines aren't much help. Reading the magazines you submit to certainly helps and reading good writing helps. But as some famous coach once said, somebody's got to tell you what you're doing wrong or you have no chance.

An old band director mentor once told me, "To have a good band, you've only got to go through three steps: Step 1 – Know what a good band sounds like. Step 2 – Know what your band sounds like. Step 3 – Know how to get from Step 2 to Step 1.

How do you do that? Read good work. Study it. Imitate it for awhile if you have to. (Just don't try to pass off someone else's work OR style as yours.) Go to conventions, meet editors, talk to them, ask them what they're looking for. They'll tell you. Really, they will.

Find good readers who will give you an honest assessment of your work. Not Mom, not Aunt Susie, not a family member. Find a first reader who you can run things by.

Send stuff out. Send more stuff out. Keep sending it out, even after it gets rejected. I've got stories that have been rejected eight or more times. I still send 'em out. (But eventually you've got to either rework the story or forget it and move on.)

I know, the form rejection letters tell you nothing. But if you've got a first reader, if you're studying good work, if you're giving yourself to your writing, if you believe in yourself, EVENTUALLY you're going to get a different kind of rejection letter. It will not be a form letter, but a typed or hand-written note from an editor. It will convey that fact that you're close and getting closer. When that happens, throw a party. You've made a major step.

Maybe I'm crazy (just ask Cindy), but I think the journey is the fun part. If it was easy, everybody would be a published writer. My rejection slips show I'm getting better. I'm much better than I was this time last year. I'm getting closer. I'm just afraid that writers who self-publish never learn any of the lessons you learn from going down the traditional route. Sure, it's frustrating. Sometimes it hurts and sometimes it's depressing. Sometimes you even regret what you've done to trees. But you keep trying and keep believing. Keep on keepin' on. Hang in there.

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