I write because I have to, I
publish because I choose to.
There is a definite difference.
AP Fuchs, publisher of Coscom Entertainment and writer extraordinaire, said it
best in a recent interview with The Black Gove e-zine, “I’ve learned two major
lessons and these were the hardest I learned, ones that I just didn’t learn
overnight but over many years: publishing is just one giant crapshoot. It
really is. Stuff succeeds and sometimes we know why, other times not. Same with
the failures. I’ve learned good books don’t get you contracts and sometimes bad
books do.”
Yeah, this is going to be one of
those blogs. Writing and publishing are two different animals. Writing is
solitary, just the author and the page. A book after the author hands it over
to a publisher is no longer a solitary effort. Publishing should be
collaborative, though that’s not always the case.
In a perfect world, a writer would
be able to concentrate on crafting stories without having to worry too much
about what happens after the story is sent out into the world. Sadly, in the
small press especially (though it seems to be happening more and more with
bigger publishers, as well) the authors have to spend more and more time promoting
and selling their work, than actually crafting new work. Just because you’ve
finished a story and a publisher has accepted that story, the work doesn’t stop
there for the writer. Now…you have to make readers aware the story is available
for consumption. More and more time is spent stumping for that newest story
that actually writing new work suffers.
I sat on and attended a few panels
at CONvergence 2010 and this was the subject on many of
them. Where does one find time to work on new stuff if all your time is being
spent on promoting stuff already published? Many new writers are still under
the false impression that they’ll be able to write a story, send it to a
publisher, and that’s the end of the cycle, but they are in for a rude awakening.
In publishing, you are only as good
as your last book’s sales. If that book doesn’t sell, it’s that much harder to
sell the next book. I should know, that has already happened to me this year.
At CONvergence, L.A. Banks and
Roy C. Booth had a very interesting discussion on the placement of books in
bookstores based off the name of the author. I was aware of this, but they
really opened my eyes to just how hard it is to catch a reader’s attention as
they scan amongst all the titles on a shelf.
Publishing is a business, first and
foremost. Books have to sell; the publisher needs to make money to be viable.
Many of us authors aren’t marketers, we’re writers. Many of us cringe at the
thought of self-promotion. But it’s a necessary evil, some of us do it better
than others, but it has to be done. We bemoan the state of publishing; nobody
reads these days or the publisher doesn’t support us, but if the reader doesn’t
know where to find our work or even know we exist, that’s on us. Let’s face it:
there are millions of books out there, with thousands, big houses, small press,
and self published books published every day.
There’s a lot to read out there
competing for a finite number of readers. Readers are smart and they’re
discriminating. They have their regular authors they read religiously. Bad books
have burned them and they won’t be fooled twice. Couple that with the current state of the
economy, they are that much more discriminating on whom they spend their cash
on. Readers talk about what they read to their friends. That word of mouth is
as valuable as gold to an author. That stamp of approval is needed for us to be
successful. You, as the author, have to deliver right out of the gate, snag
their interest and continuing delivering the course of the entire story.
Usually the first way a reader
becomes aware of your work is your book cover. Essentially, that’s your first
impression upon a reader. So far, I’ve been very blessed with great covers
during my career. I’ve heard the horror stories of being stuck with a bad cover
by other authors. A cover can either sink or make a book successful. It’s
debatable whether blurbs actually help sell books, but I feel that they do
factor into a reader’s decision to try something from an author they’ve never
heard of. (Plug: If you're an indie author, you should check out
Elder Lemon Design)
The publishing world is brutal and
can be very depressing. I know intimately, I’ve been in it for the past twelve years. There are highs and lows, more lows than not. I often wonder why I keep
trying some days. As I said at the beginning of this blog, I write because I
have to. I have to get those stories in my head onto paper or they’ll eat me
alive. I publish because I choose to. Every author who chooses to publish
craves to be read. If nobody reads your work, then what’s the point, right? As
I’ve already said, there are so many factors at play to reach an audience it
can become quite daunting very quickly.
There’s nothing worse than having a
new story or book published and then being met with ominous silence. Was the
work good? Of course, a publisher recognized its merits and agreed to purchase
and publish it, but without the reader’s feedback, your ultimate audience,
you’re left to wonder many times. No matter their level authors worry about how
their work will be received. Nothing scares me more than having a new story
published and hearing nothing from the readers about it. It can really shake
your confidence if you let it eat away at you.
Some books have “legs” as some like
to refer to it, and the book is a success right out of the gate, other books
take time, and as word of mouth builds, the book takes on a life of its own.
There are the blockbusters from established authors that are bestsellers before
they’re even released; there’s the books with great buzz that fall into this
same category as well. Recently, The Passage by Justin Cronin is a perfect
example.
In those dark hours where I’m
feeling like nothing is working, my career is stagnating, and the writing just
isn’t happening I force myself to look back at all I’ve accomplished since I
got into this business. I’ve had some success. I’ve had books published. I’ve
had a movie adapted of my work. I’ve heard authors I read and respect say good
things about my work. That helps immensely. I have accomplished many things and
beat some of the hardest odds in this business. Over the years, I’ve become cynical and bitter many times, but I haven’t
given up. I know there always more to learn to improve my craft. Hearing other
authors be brutally honest about this business helps as it lets me know I’m not
alone in feeling this way. Authors like
Gary A. Braunbeck, with his newest To Each Their Darkness, tell it how it is to be a
working writer. Reading his insights are what keeps me going. Others like Tom Piccirilli
and Brian Keene are quite candid on their blogs about the highs and lows in
this business.
Still, there is so much more I
would like to accomplish. I’d love to be capable of doing this full time, but
I’m realistic as well. It may happen, it may not. The point is to keep creating
new work, writing for yourself, dealing with your own demons through the page
and have that drive to succeed. You’re going to need it or you won’t last long
in this business.
(Originally appeared @ Apex Publications Blog - July 30, 2010)
