Most people aren’t aware that being published simply means getting your manuscript prepped and ready to be shared with readers. Thats it. Given a time when printing was still something only the rich or the apprentice of printers could do, getting published was not the easiest act. Similar to the music industry, companies or wealthy individuals would pop up and offer a writer the opportunity to be published for a share of whatever royalties were made. As the process, and competition, scaled, getting published became an official activity only when financed by top companies. These companies would become known as publishing houses. They employed individuals who read page after page of submitted manuscripts to weed out the one or two deemed good enough to pass up the chain.
Today, not much has changed. Publishing houses still scrutinize every line and plot point to determine how marketable a manuscript is, or potentially could be. In some cases the manuscript can be trash but the personality of the author is so contagious that the story falls far behind in importance. Because, today in the time of Instagram and Snap, it’s actually easier to sell a real life drama than a made up one.
I started thinking about all of this as continue to work to ready my manuscript in August. Self-publishing is still seen as “less-than” in professional circles. It is only when you breakthrough like an E.L. James (Fifty Shades) or an Andy Weir (The Martian) that you begin to get a level of notoriety and respect given poorly recieved authors published through larger, prominent publishing houses.
While traditional publishing offers a variety of advantages–more visibility, promo budgets and expense accounts, in-house editors, public relations staff, even creative directors who know the perfect spots for cover photos or to relax and find inspiration–they also come with disadvantages. Authors take minuscule royalties on first time releases. Again, similar to the music industry, if you don’t come into partnership with an established record of success or committed following, you’re dependent on that company to build these things for or with you from the ground up. In these cases, the company gets paid first. What’s left goes to you and you are still responsible for spying agents, managers, and the like out of your share.
Despite being the creator of this great story that holds dear to your heart, now you have a completely separate entity invested in its success, which means they have a say in changes that would potentially make it better. Imagine the song or story you’ve been writing all of your life, up to this point, being red-inked until it’s basically unrecognizable? You don’t see your words or sentiments anymore. Just words on a page set to a beat no one hears.
This is the power negotiated when considering traditional publishing offers. I’m not saying no one should ever do it. Look at JK Rolling who was turned down countless times until Scholastic accepted her little tale about a boy wizard. To get to that yes she had to be strong enough to swim around all of the previous no’s.
If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it. – Toni Morrison
I don’t know that I’m strong enough. I can’t say my story would never be published by traditional means because I never tried to have it done that way. I chose self-publishing because it’s easiest for me to manage and I don’t have to yield to anyone’s suggestions about characters to cut or plots to rethink. I want to tell the stories that I would read. Sometimes that’s a good simple story about ordinary love shit. Sometimes it’s a complicated thought rant about……well, ordinary love shit. Regardless, it’s my story to tell. It’s my art for you to reject or accept. It’s my way of adding another little string to connect a bunch of strangers who otherwise would never know one another.
I’m not looking to get rich. I certainly won’t complain if it happens, but that’s not the goal. I self-published 5 books of poetry and to-date have probably only sold 150 of them. However, that pails in comparison to the number of people who tell me I helped them feel like they weren’t alone. I gave them something or someone to identify with. In the end, I believe that is what should matter: the people you touch along the way. How you paid for the car that got you there is just fodder for the laugh-track.
