I’ve come across a lot of free book giveaways by indie authors in the last few years, but I’ve been hesitant to download them for fear of disappointment.
That’s not to suggest that rejection by the major publishers is an indicator of quality, or that bypassing publishers isn’t.
But how does a writer make that call?
Curiosity piqued, I finally downloaded a bunch of indie books and tried three at random – authors I didn’t know.
The first was H.E.R.O. –Metamorphosis, by Kevin Gerald Rau. He is clearly promoting the book in the hopes of selling the sequels. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even checking out the five sample chapters that followed.
Despite that, I’m fairly sure a major publisher would reject it, but not by much – Kevin has an easy style and his prose is polished. He drew me in, and that’s what really matters.
The next two books needed some industrial-strength red pens. On a scale of one to five, both would struggle to reach one.
The first was so wordy and bloated I barely made it through a full three chapters, and only succeeded by skipping chunks.
The second was a struggle in an entirely different way – it began with a prologue that did nothing but summarise the story’s world-building and history (classic newbie mistake), and it didn’t get any better after that. I gave up.
My question is, could self-publishing be doing more harm than good by exposing authors to readers before their skills are up to the job?
There are certainly pros and cons to both sides.
What do you think?
If you like this post, you might like to browse through The Craft of Writing.
I think indie publishing is great!! There’s plenty of authors who do a good job, who get professional covers made and have their work professionally edited (both are musts). Those are the ones who stand out and you can usually tell by the cover. And if not the cover, then the first page.
It’s great that writers and readers have so much more choice now.
Definitely has some advantages – I would never have found Kevin Rau otherwise, and I really enjoyed his book. I’m still undecided about whether to purchase the sequel(s), but I think I’d enjoy them.
Totally. Wot she said. This is what the “look inside” feature is for. If I can’t stand the prose or the beginning is mere navel-gazing or backstory-central, or it’s simply not my thing, I pass on it. Easy. No skin off anyone’s nose.
Thanks Patty. I agree that it’s a great feature.
I’ll certainly be using it in future. 🙂
From my own reading and downloading perspective, I have read delightful short stories that would never have made it into traditional print, because there is no outlet to add it to a collection, and I have downloaded free e-books which were a complete waste of my time and data usage: two page e-books supposedly providing the answer to everything you need to know about a particular topic; full novel length stories where the writer needs to understand that traditional publishing rejected their manuscript for good reason. These ebooks have broken the trust I had in reliability, and quality.
But as a writer, I am tempted to cut out the middle men to put more of the profits into my own pockets – if I had a marketable product to sell. Why would I want more money going to others when I came up with the idea and did all the hard work?
The last few years has provided writers with great opportunities in digital self-publishing – with the pendulum swinging away from agents and publishing houses and creating a movement towards striking out on your own. But like all major swings like this, the pendulum will eventually reach its furthest point and start travelling back again – this time (I predict) in the form of readers becoming tired of all the poor quality resources that they will start looking to purchase their electronic books that have gone through a tried and proven process, like that of before easy self-publishing came into being.
Already I have read, only yesterday, that some readers will no longer purchase any ebook now priced below $4.99, with yet others suggesting that for them it will be not less than $9.99.
I think it takes more than just a create title and front cover for me to purchase ebooks nowadays. I most certainly look at the reviews, and try a sample before I download, because I’ve worked out that hardly any of the free, $0.99 to $4.99 ebooks (fiction and non-fiction) have been value for money. So I am getting ‘tougher’ and more selective, just like I used to be when I picked up the back jacket and read what a story was about, and then cracked open the spine to see if the story beginning would grab, and hold my attention, and suck me right in while I was standing in my local bookstore.
I don’t think self-publishing is quite ‘cutting it’ like it did one or two years ago… but I haven’t been paying too great attention until recently.
Hi Char,
I’m definitely aiming for traditional publishing, but will take the self-publishing option if that doesn’t pan out. I’m really only beginning to look into it.
Yes, the appeal of becoming traditionally published still holds quite strong for me too; but I haven’t completely ruled out the self-publishing option.
I haven’t really followed the Is self-publishing a good or bad thing topic until recently. I think there is so much to consider, and learn!
So for now, I’m just going to keep trying to increase my word count. I’m nowhere near having a final product to worry about which way I should go.
Good luck punching out those words then. They all add up, fortunately. 🙂
First of all, having self-published, I’ll admit I’m biased. Secondly, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. Self publishing is a good thing. Oh, and did I mention yes?
I was overwhelmed by reasons why the answer is yes, more than I have time to write, really. But it boils down to the fact that legacy publishing is just a clunky, ineffective tool for getting books to the populace. It’s bad for authors, as it doesn’t treat them as a vital part of the process, or pay them what they’re worth.
There are definitely flaws in self-publishing and the biggest is that there is no quality control out of the gate. There’s some serious crap out there. However, there are magnificent stories that would never have seen the day of light too.
At the moment, there’s no balance. As time goes on, companies of editors, marketers and businesspeople will fill the gap, creating legitimate tools for authors. It will be somewhere between the extremes that currently exist. But for now, we have legacy and we have anarchy.
I’ll tell you what though, I’m having a blast. 😀
I think you’re spot-on in regard to self-publishing. It’s a bit of a two-edged sword – lots of potential, but it’s balanced by pitfalls.
Already the indie scene is beings used as a farm system. Those writers who float to the top (or fight there leaving a trail of enemies behind) are the ones that the majors get interested in. Could writers be harming themselves? I don’t think that matters at all. The competition is so strong that even terrific writers have to get lucky to land contracts. I’m an indie because I accept that my prospects are horrible.
Personally, I think it’s good to have an indie writing scene, like it’s good to have an indie music scene and an indie art scene. Those are the incubators for the next big thing. Being an indie, I can wander off on in a non-commercial direction just to see what I create.
Personally, I think the indie writing scene is the best thing about self-publishing – it’s definitely an incubation ground, and will give (is giving) so many people an opportunity that would never have been there before.
Many up-and-coming writers don’t have much of a choice. I am one of them. But it does not mean their writing is poor. Sometimes it is, but other times it is really good. Books published by major houses are guaranteed to have some positive aspect to them. In the world of indie publishing, you’re playing a game of chance. It is a rough venue, but it doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea. The “search inside” feature is a plus, for sure. In regards to your last question, all I would say is: what a writer sows, that he/she will reap. If he/she is a good writer, people will start to like his/her work. If not, at least he/she tried.
Fantastic points Tim. Traditional publishing is a difficult nut, and the chances of succeeding there are rapidly being balanced out by the sheer numbers of books being produced by self-publishers.
‘My question is, could self-publishing be doing more harm than good by exposing authors to readers before their skills are up to the job?”
The most amazing thing about self-publishing is that I’ve discovered there are people out there who REALLY like my writing. I’m sure that I’ll be a better writer in 10 years, but I don’t think that my early works will hurt sales of my later writings. One of the great things about self-publishing is that it is very easy for fans to access their writers — there is no agent or publishing house in the way. I’ve made great friends self-publishing, and a lot of my readers are very vested in me. They read because they like my work, but I think my fans also read because they’re rooting for me…if that makes sense.