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Friday, March 19, 2010
What shall I complain about today? How about Self-Publishing?
10:36 AM | 
Posted by
Geewiz387
Let's start with..........I am tired.
Odd way to start a blog, don't you think?
I have a complaint. I am so tired of everyone telling me how unskilled I am. I am tired of them telling me that I could not possibly be as good as they are. I have been told that I should be ashamed of myself for thinking I could possibly be as good as WELL-KNOWN authors. I have been told, "How dare you think that you could get published when there are well-known authors out there losing thier publishing contracts." "The nerve, the audacity, to think you could compete with them."
I read several comments earlier today about how the only reason people self publish is because they don't have the patiences to go through the PROPER publishing channels. What a crock? I actually started the book, CONDOR 5: Where Thoughts Become Pleasure, 10 years ago. I finished it and started sending out queries two years ago and to this day I am still sending queries even though it is on CreateSpace and Amazon for sale.
Then why the rant you may ask? Because even though I am upset with the publishing industry at this moment I still feel that they have the added experience that I lack.
I have been told that I should be ashamed of myself for even considering self-publishing (by an agent that won't get fee's from my books). I have been told that someone like me could never make it onto the NYT best sellers list. I have been told that I should be ashamed of myself for thinking I could edit my book as well as a professional editor (who wanted to charge me $120). I have been a Master Proofreader for The Gutenberg project for years but they didn't want to hear that either. It's not the same thing they tell me. It's not good enough they reply.
Now I will catch hell for this because, "All publishers and agents are not like that." I have received nothing but rude comments and insults because I decided to self-publish. I have received nothing more than, "I can't help you." I even asked what I could possibly do to make my query better, what about it did you not like, can you give me a small hint or clue as to what I am doing wrong. I was sent links, I was even sent a long letter explaining to me why they did not have the time to telll me what was wrong. Yet they had the time to write a 10 paragraph letter telling me why they didn't have the time. I was sent rejection form letters telling me there was no market for Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Adult Fiction, Romance, and/or Erotica. WHAT!!! Your kidding me right.
I was told the best market going right now is non-fiction, self-help books. I was told I could get a website created for only $1,000, which only costed me $9 for the domain name and I created the website myself for nothing. I was told I could get a cover for my book for only $569, which costed me nothing to create with the free online GIMP. I was told, "I don't write reviews on self-published work but I can do it for you for only $75." I was told I can edit your book for $200.
Then I have a hundred other people telling me I shouldn't have to pay for any of that. IF I get a valid agent or publisher. The thing is all these came from agents, editors, and publishers along with the rude comments about my self-published books taking away from DECENT, HARDWORKING authors.
I will not mention any names here. If you send out queries and submissions you will find out for yourself. Most of the links I have on this page are from fairly decent agents and publishers but there are a couple that are included in the rant above.
I am just angry because these people put words in my mouth that never even entered my head. If I had for one minute thought that I was better than any of them then I would not to this day still be sending them revised queries and submissions. Of course, many of them will not even consider my books now because they have been self-published. I would just like to know; WHY NOT?
Who's to say that I won't let them change the story line (not likely but it could happen), or change my covers, or edit my books, or even change my name. Why is it so impossible to get anyone to just check it out? Is it because once it is self-published your reputation is already damaged. Not likely! Or is it they don't like self-published books because it takes away THEIR profits. I was told it was because it takes HONOR away from really authors.
Let me see now. So are they telling me that the few hundred agents and publishers have the final say? That they know what the reader likes more than the reader does? Is it not the reader that buys the books? I was even told that agents and publishers DO NOT even read the writers blogs or even look at their websites. SO they honestly and truly ONLY SEE the two paragraph query that we send them and THAT is what decides whether or not the book is any good and THAT is what decides whether or not they will represent you or ask for a manuscript. IF they don't like the query they DELETE you. If you do not send them EXACTLY what they want they DELETE you. If you have a few typos in your query they DELETE you. If it is not double spaced some of them will DELETE you. If you self-publish they DELETE you.
All I can say is the NYT best seller list is not the only best seller list in the world and when I do hit a best seller list every agent and publisher that rejected me will recognize my name. Even after all this I still would like to get an agent and publisher but any of them will tell you it takes no less than 18 months to get a book published. I sent out queries for the first one for almost two years. When I decided to self-publish it, it was edited, cover created, and online for sale in less than three months. The second book was the one I wrote for NaNoWriMo in November of 2009, which I was able to get the 50,000+ words in less than 4 weeks. I decided in February of 2010 to self-publish it. It was edited, a cover created, and went online for sale March 17, 2010. Yes, one month. I plan to set up book signings this Spring, which I can do myself. I had already sold several copies before the book even went online. I have already talked to bookstores in this area and a few out of state and out of the country. The ones I talked with buy the books from me at a 10% - 15% discount. Then they sell them to the customers.
The only thing I see here is that I have cut out the middle man and the middle man is pissed off about it. Instead of giving the agent 10%-15% commission and the publisher a 30%-55% commission. I am giving the bookstores a discount and bringing in customers for them with the book signings. I have not paid out thousands of dollars to do this. As a matter of fact I have only paid $39 for the pro-plan (which is optional) and the NaNoWriMo proof copy was free. Oh! I did pay for the S&H. I just made a lot of phone calls and sent a alot of emails. I have unlimited long distance on my phone so there is another plus for me.
You see, my author friends the thing is if an agent picks you up and you sell let's say a hundred books. Then you have sold 100 books. The agent or publisher, on the other hand, has a hundred more authors just like you. If they all sell 100 books then the agent or publisher gets comish on 10,000 books where as you only get 45% on 100 books. If you don't sell any more than that they can drop the book and still have 99 more authors with several more just waiting to get published. If I sell 100 books on CreateSpace I get 75% approx. The books are also on Amazon.com which only pays me 45% but still I am not paying anything for it to be on Amazon. If I sell them myself I can give the reader a discount if I choose and still make a 65% - 70% profit and sign the book for them.
If you do not have the computer skills to do all this yourself then, yes, it can be very difficult. My website may not be the best but I have seen some professionally done that I would not pay two cents for. There are good ones and bad ones. There are awesome ones and horrible ones. But I don't think that the agents have the exclusive on who is good and who is bad. If I sell one book I will be happy. It was never about being famous. For me it is all about seeing my hard work entertain someone else. I never could write queries but in my opinion I wrote three damn good books.
As far as what people say about me. I don't care. Even bad publicity is still publicity and bad news gets around alot faster than good news.I have had one book published and guess what? I had to distribute the book myself. Yes, the publishers name is in the book with the publishers logo. I had the book professionally edited and I found several mistakes that no decent editor would have missed. A HUGE MISTAKE. How many editors or publishers would not check for copyrights? No, it was not plagarized. I gave credit for the work but still had to remove it from sale.
Odd way to start a blog, don't you think?
I have a complaint. I am so tired of everyone telling me how unskilled I am. I am tired of them telling me that I could not possibly be as good as they are. I have been told that I should be ashamed of myself for thinking I could possibly be as good as WELL-KNOWN authors. I have been told, "How dare you think that you could get published when there are well-known authors out there losing thier publishing contracts." "The nerve, the audacity, to think you could compete with them."
I read several comments earlier today about how the only reason people self publish is because they don't have the patiences to go through the PROPER publishing channels. What a crock? I actually started the book, CONDOR 5: Where Thoughts Become Pleasure, 10 years ago. I finished it and started sending out queries two years ago and to this day I am still sending queries even though it is on CreateSpace and Amazon for sale.
Then why the rant you may ask? Because even though I am upset with the publishing industry at this moment I still feel that they have the added experience that I lack.
I have been told that I should be ashamed of myself for even considering self-publishing (by an agent that won't get fee's from my books). I have been told that someone like me could never make it onto the NYT best sellers list. I have been told that I should be ashamed of myself for thinking I could edit my book as well as a professional editor (who wanted to charge me $120). I have been a Master Proofreader for The Gutenberg project for years but they didn't want to hear that either. It's not the same thing they tell me. It's not good enough they reply.
Now I will catch hell for this because, "All publishers and agents are not like that." I have received nothing but rude comments and insults because I decided to self-publish. I have received nothing more than, "I can't help you." I even asked what I could possibly do to make my query better, what about it did you not like, can you give me a small hint or clue as to what I am doing wrong. I was sent links, I was even sent a long letter explaining to me why they did not have the time to telll me what was wrong. Yet they had the time to write a 10 paragraph letter telling me why they didn't have the time. I was sent rejection form letters telling me there was no market for Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Adult Fiction, Romance, and/or Erotica. WHAT!!! Your kidding me right.
I was told the best market going right now is non-fiction, self-help books. I was told I could get a website created for only $1,000, which only costed me $9 for the domain name and I created the website myself for nothing. I was told I could get a cover for my book for only $569, which costed me nothing to create with the free online GIMP. I was told, "I don't write reviews on self-published work but I can do it for you for only $75." I was told I can edit your book for $200.
Then I have a hundred other people telling me I shouldn't have to pay for any of that. IF I get a valid agent or publisher. The thing is all these came from agents, editors, and publishers along with the rude comments about my self-published books taking away from DECENT, HARDWORKING authors.
I will not mention any names here. If you send out queries and submissions you will find out for yourself. Most of the links I have on this page are from fairly decent agents and publishers but there are a couple that are included in the rant above.
I am just angry because these people put words in my mouth that never even entered my head. If I had for one minute thought that I was better than any of them then I would not to this day still be sending them revised queries and submissions. Of course, many of them will not even consider my books now because they have been self-published. I would just like to know; WHY NOT?
Who's to say that I won't let them change the story line (not likely but it could happen), or change my covers, or edit my books, or even change my name. Why is it so impossible to get anyone to just check it out? Is it because once it is self-published your reputation is already damaged. Not likely! Or is it they don't like self-published books because it takes away THEIR profits. I was told it was because it takes HONOR away from really authors.
Let me see now. So are they telling me that the few hundred agents and publishers have the final say? That they know what the reader likes more than the reader does? Is it not the reader that buys the books? I was even told that agents and publishers DO NOT even read the writers blogs or even look at their websites. SO they honestly and truly ONLY SEE the two paragraph query that we send them and THAT is what decides whether or not the book is any good and THAT is what decides whether or not they will represent you or ask for a manuscript. IF they don't like the query they DELETE you. If you do not send them EXACTLY what they want they DELETE you. If you have a few typos in your query they DELETE you. If it is not double spaced some of them will DELETE you. If you self-publish they DELETE you.
All I can say is the NYT best seller list is not the only best seller list in the world and when I do hit a best seller list every agent and publisher that rejected me will recognize my name. Even after all this I still would like to get an agent and publisher but any of them will tell you it takes no less than 18 months to get a book published. I sent out queries for the first one for almost two years. When I decided to self-publish it, it was edited, cover created, and online for sale in less than three months. The second book was the one I wrote for NaNoWriMo in November of 2009, which I was able to get the 50,000+ words in less than 4 weeks. I decided in February of 2010 to self-publish it. It was edited, a cover created, and went online for sale March 17, 2010. Yes, one month. I plan to set up book signings this Spring, which I can do myself. I had already sold several copies before the book even went online. I have already talked to bookstores in this area and a few out of state and out of the country. The ones I talked with buy the books from me at a 10% - 15% discount. Then they sell them to the customers.
The only thing I see here is that I have cut out the middle man and the middle man is pissed off about it. Instead of giving the agent 10%-15% commission and the publisher a 30%-55% commission. I am giving the bookstores a discount and bringing in customers for them with the book signings. I have not paid out thousands of dollars to do this. As a matter of fact I have only paid $39 for the pro-plan (which is optional) and the NaNoWriMo proof copy was free. Oh! I did pay for the S&H. I just made a lot of phone calls and sent a alot of emails. I have unlimited long distance on my phone so there is another plus for me.
You see, my author friends the thing is if an agent picks you up and you sell let's say a hundred books. Then you have sold 100 books. The agent or publisher, on the other hand, has a hundred more authors just like you. If they all sell 100 books then the agent or publisher gets comish on 10,000 books where as you only get 45% on 100 books. If you don't sell any more than that they can drop the book and still have 99 more authors with several more just waiting to get published. If I sell 100 books on CreateSpace I get 75% approx. The books are also on Amazon.com which only pays me 45% but still I am not paying anything for it to be on Amazon. If I sell them myself I can give the reader a discount if I choose and still make a 65% - 70% profit and sign the book for them.
If you do not have the computer skills to do all this yourself then, yes, it can be very difficult. My website may not be the best but I have seen some professionally done that I would not pay two cents for. There are good ones and bad ones. There are awesome ones and horrible ones. But I don't think that the agents have the exclusive on who is good and who is bad. If I sell one book I will be happy. It was never about being famous. For me it is all about seeing my hard work entertain someone else. I never could write queries but in my opinion I wrote three damn good books.
As far as what people say about me. I don't care. Even bad publicity is still publicity and bad news gets around alot faster than good news.I have had one book published and guess what? I had to distribute the book myself. Yes, the publishers name is in the book with the publishers logo. I had the book professionally edited and I found several mistakes that no decent editor would have missed. A HUGE MISTAKE. How many editors or publishers would not check for copyrights? No, it was not plagarized. I gave credit for the work but still had to remove it from sale.
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Gloppora
CONDOR 5
You can now click on the image above to purchase your very own copy.
LGBFTM
You can now click on the image above to purchase your very own copy.
1 comments:
I totally get that. I have several friends who are self-publishing and they go through the same things.
My sister-in-lawn is a children writer. She has written her own novel but no publisher has taken it as yet. She has published a couple of picture books in her own name. Otherwise, in order to survive, she is a freelance author. She has to write Disney Princess books when she's not a princess person and so on and so forth. On these commisioned jobs, she gets a flat fee and no royalties. While I understand her need to make a living, I have difficulties understanding how she can write stuff she doesn't enjoy.
On the other hand, she knows I am writing too but does not consider me as a writer because she has an agent and a creative writing degree and I haven't.
I am in a situation where I am at high risk financially because I don't feel like 'prostituting' my muse to write stories I don't like. I am also a freelance proofreader and copy editor but I am getting less and less work because publishers aren't willing to spend money on proof reading and copy editing. This is terribly obvious when you read paperbacks. Even some famous authors have blatant mistakes and typos in their books.
I've heard of authors and other freelancers getting together in communities to offer each other the services that are only offered to them at high cost. Something like: I'll proofread your book and you'll design my cover. I think it's a very good idea but there an awful lot of work to be done...
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