Well, what a week that has been. Coffee spilled on a lap-top, three days of lecturing in Evolutionary Psychology, Bonfire Night, Halloween and some stomach troubles I'd rather not share with the rest of the world...but I just have.
If that weren't bad enough, I was doing my usual skim through the blogs of other Twitter users when I found an article called Self Pub Suicide. Now there are several things I could do here: 1) I could dismiss this article as literary snobbery - 2) Engage in a debate about Traditional vs Independent Publishers or 3) Descend to the level of calling names and throwing tantrums. I'm going for the fourth option. Rationality.
I see the publishing industry as not being too dissimilar to the music industry. For most writers, it's the ultimate goal to get picked up by one of the Big 6 and having their book plastered across poster sites at railway stations across the country. Personally, I'd love nothing more that to walk into Waterstones and see my book in a prominent position with a five star review from somebody famous. But for most authors, that isn't going to happen. That's a fact. Regardless of whether you get picked up by one of the Big 6 or one of their subsidiaries, as an author there is a high likelihood you are going to sell less than 1,000 copies in your first year and then get dropped. This is where being an independent has it's advantages as you just carry on writing and hope the next one will be better.
Perhaps Indie writers have lower expectations, but we know that outside of our friends and family we're going to get less sales. For most of us, the dream is not to sell thousands of books, but just to sell one to somebody we don't know. Be that a downloaded E-book or a copy through a POD publishing site, seeing our work read by somebody who wouldn't normally read our book is an achievement. Indie writers are the bands that tour in the back of a transit van, lugging their own equipment, getting their music (or stories) out for the public to judge. Often we'll get bottles throw at us on stage, sometimes we'll get a free bar, but all in all, we're at least letting people see our work. Do we sit and home and send out letters saying 'please print my book'? Sometimes. Do we dream of the big stadium gig (in this case - national distribution in leading bookstores) of course. But we don't wait for it to happen. We take risks and try and write, and write for the public to see and judge.
I don't want to say that the traditional route is not worth going down. For many people it is. If you write literary fiction or chick-lit or even crime and thrillers, it can be an incredibly profitable avenue to explore. Just like with indie authors, if you have faith in your talent, then why not give it a go. The traditional route is much like the pop music industry or even classical music. Do you think that the London Symphony Orchestra has ever played a gig in their local pub? Can you ever imagine Britney Spears or Beyonce busking in the street? No. Because they don't have to. Indie writers on the other hand do. We don't have the access to the same level of resources. We don't always fit into neat little genres or have target demographics. Yes we have rough edges and sometimes we sing out of tune, but for me, personally, I like that. We make our mistakes in public, but sometimes those mistakes lead to moments of beauty. I'd much rather be a Seasick Steve or a Jeff Buckley than a Take That or a JLS, but that's my preference. I appreciate that others will have different tastes.
Which is the best option? Indie or Traditional? In the words of Harry Hill, there's only one way to find out - FIGHT!!!!
C J Evans
No comments:
Post a Comment