Recently came across this priceless quote from Dick Cavett:
“Both minor and major publishing houses long ago perfected the art of unselling an author’s work. That excellent writer Calvin Trillin has threatened repeatedly to do a book titled, ‘An Anthology of Writers’ Atrocity Stories about Publishers.’ I think the most likely reason he hasn’t yet produced this tome is that no one would be able to lift it. (Could he be having trouble finding a publisher?)”
That’s from Cavett’s own publisher horror story, shared in tragic and deliciously hilarious detail in the New York Times a few years back.
Of course, observations like Cavett’s comment above will no doubt bring on consternation and bewilderment among all the “aspiring published” out there. I can hear them now…
Wait a minute. Here I am hoping, praying, okay, aching, to attract a publisher. Any publisher. I’ve honed my book proposal to a work of art. I’m chanting my positive mantras every morning. Religiously doing my visualization exercises. I’m focused, laser-like on my goal. And now you’re telling me that even if I beat the lottery odds, and actually get chosen out of the vast sea of other similarly deserving scribes, that my sense of triumph and euphoria may quickly devolve into despair, disillusionment and perhaps even homicidal inclinations? That the hallowed “Publisher” I’ve put on a mile-high pedestal is truly the “Emperor with No Clothes”? You’re kidding me, right?
Okay, okay, calm down. Yes, bad experiences like the one described above by Cavett are lamentably common (and, um, he’s a celebrity. If it can happen to someone of his stature, how does that bode for us mere mortals?). But, publishers do get things right a lot of the time. But, then again, even when they do, under the best of circumstances, the conventional publishing model is just no box of chocolates for authors…
Royalty rates are pathetic (5-8% on average), and that’s usually based on wholesale cost of the book (so, like .50-.75 a book…woo-hoo). You lose control of the creative process – cover, title, interior, etc. Time to publication can easily top 18-24 months. You give up the rights to your baby, and may never see them again.
You’re largely shunted aside when it comes to creative and editorial decisions about this labor of love to which you’ve devoted copious quantities of blood, sweat and tears. But, don’t worry. They won’t forget about you. In fact, once the book’s been printed, you’re back in the center ring. After giving up all the above, now the lion’s share of the marketing/promotion burden falls squarely on your shoulders. Are we having fun yet?
Okay, so I’m painting a particularly grim picture (and, I don’t think for a second that most publishers are evil, greedy people. Rather, the economic model they’re operating under yields a less-than-ideal outcomes for most authors).
Fact is, many authors love their publisher and editor, and the feeling is often mutual. But, mutual warm fuzzies aside, the terms of the author-publisher relationship are much as I’ve outlined them above. And to even make, in most cases, grocery money off their books, it assumes smooth sailing. Cavett’s story reminds us we can’t assume…
Since releasing The Well-Fed Self-Publisher, I’ve heard from countless authors who’ve gone the traditional route, only to end up short on patience, respect (for their publishing house), optimism and money. And often because the publisher seems, amazingly, to be working at cross-purposes with them.
I’m a proud self-publisher (and have been since 1999). But, guess what? Not because I couldn’t land a publisher (I’ve been approached by four over the years, but frankly, there’s little they could offer me that I’m not doing far better on my own). But, rather, because I think it’s the best option.
And while it’s certainly no cakewalk, it does keep you in the driver’s seat on all levels – something you’re unceremoniously kicked out of the moment you sign a publishing contract. And if, in fact, you’re going to have to do most of the marketing grunt work yourself anyway, do you really want to be doing it for well south of a buck a book?
Heck, if an author sells his book for for $2.99 as Kindle download, they’ll make twice that! Though, as we’ll explore in the next post in a few weeks, the DIY route isn’t some sure road to riches, either. Just sayin’…
Have you had an unpleasant/unsatisfying experience with a traditional publisher?
What happened?
Where did the publisher do a good job? Where did they fall down?
What lessons did you learn from the experience?
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I had my first book published by Baker Book House in 1995, and I was very excited. I mean, at the time, publishing choices were pretty limited, and it really was an honor to be accepted. This is not a horror story by any means—the editors and publicity people at Baker were good to work with. More than a decade later, I had the rights to that book reverted back to me, and I re-published it myself, freshening up the content and giving it a new title. I’ve made more money from my self-published version of the book, but yes, I’ve also invested a lot more time and energy into it. The advantage of a traditional publisher is that they front all the costs, and they have far more marketing muscle than I do (although social media are closing that gap). But the advantage of self-publishing is that I have complete control of my book. I designed the cover, updated the content, produced it in multiple formats (ebook, audiobook, paperback, PDF), set the price, offered coupons, held book signings, and was written up in local newspapers—all on my own. Yes, it’s been a lot of work. But like you, Peter, I prefer control, even if it means more work. Plus, I love the opportunity to learn by doing! If people are interested in more details, here’s a blog I wrote about the experience: https://lifelinespublishing.net/2010/08/26/cancer-freedom-a-living-memoir/
A lot of time, but it’s a one off. Learning how to format the books, do the covers, etc did take some time, but now it’s easy. You wonder what you were scared of. Querying agents and editors week after week was more time-consuming, and disheartening when you just get ignored.
I’ve started publishing my books (CULL, DEATH TRAP, and YOU’RE NEXT). I’ve only sold one copy so far, but it feels great! I could’ve been stuck with some horrible agent and publisher for life. Freedom feels good.
Melanie got her rights back and self-published. A lot of authors are doing that, so publishers caught on. Now they’re trying to secure rights for duration of copyright: until 70yrs after the author died. Disgusting mistreatment.
We’re so lucky to be published in this era. I’m glad I only spent 5yrs of my life trying to get trade published. I pity the authors who spent decades just TRYING to make it and died never having the chance.
Love this new blog Peter…
To me, publishing houses are the “yesterday” way of publishing any book.
They are middlemen. Sure, they have resources plugged into their networks, contacts, some (very little) marketing for the average author.
They can help an established (a la Robert Kiyosaki) author with some leverage as time becomes more of a scarce resource for an established author due to their popularity.
But for the average author, which is soon to change… they are almost useless IMO. Self publishing is the easiest way to go, so long as the average author is willing to put work into building their platform and audience from which to launch their book.
IMO, it takes just as much work to build a following for a book yourself, as it does to query and set up with a publisher to act as a middleman for your book.
I’m so glad you’re writing this blog Peter… thank you my friend.
Thanks everyone! Apologies for the “radio silence” – just got back from a two-week vacation, and I tried to work as little as possible while away…;)
Thanks Melanie! And yes, not all experiences with publishers will be bad ones… Sounds like you had a decent one. But good for you for getting the rights back. I think you can do far more with it on your own. PLUS, if you can create companion products like I have (especially digital ones with zero costs after their creation), you can really ratchet up your profitability, without having to wrestle with a publisher for those rights.
And I’m not convinced that a publisher has so much more marketing muscle than authors do. I think that’s certainly the perception, and sounds like your perception might have changed some over the years, and not just because of the Internet, social media, etc.
But to many authors starting out, especially if they’re straight “creative” types, it’s easy to put a publisher on a pedestal as being SO much smarter than they are. And the fact is, they’re not (per Cavett’s comment above).
Fact is, a publisher that has 20-30 books in their stable can’t devote more than a small amount of resources to any given book (unless it’s a very hot book, in which case, all the other books in the stable will suffer), and much of those resources will be cookie-cutter in nature. Only the author can really craft a marketing plan tailored specifically to their book (and will care enough to do so).
But, as you point out, just having control over the process is a good enough reason to take back the reins of your book, and I think you’ll discover, as time goes on, how much more you, in fact, CAN do on your own.
And thanks Zia! I love what you said about how once you learn these things, they have no ability to scare you anymore. So true. It all feels overwhelming at first (though, hopefully, I’d like to think that books like mine can help demystify much of what seems so scary at the outset…), but it truly does become second nature after you do it.
And good point about publishers trying to lock in the rights for a long period of time. I don’t consider that evil as much much as just doing what THEY need to do to maximize their own profitability (just like we’re all doing), but the fact that it’s happening more just means that, if you’re planning on going that route, that you need to read over the contract carefully, and not agree to such a condition.
Thanks Joseph (as always!). Yes, publishers are becoming increasingly less important to an author’s success. That said, the fact is, publishers DO get a lot of things right – mainly creating a superior physical product (i.e., quality editing, cover/interior design, indexing, etc). So, it’s wise to observe those entities who HAVE to invest a lot of money into making a book as good as it can be before they sell a single one of them. We don’t have to work with them, but it’s smart to learn from them.
I only say that because so many new authors, in their giddiness to flip off the traditional publishing world, naively believe that all they need to do to succeed is to upload their unedited, unformatted, un-designed dreck to Amazon’s servers, and the riches of the kingdom will be theirs. And then they’re shocked when that doesn’t happen.
And the smart authors – the ones who’ve gone the traditional route, and now are self-publishing – know all that. And they tend to be more successful (think J.A. Konrath).
Let’s hear from more of you!
PB