Question: Are you planning to hold out for a traditional publisher, OR are you planning to publish direct to the marketplace with Amazon through Kindle Desktop Publishing?
Discussion: Although there are many, MANY, books giving pointers for engaging a traditional publisher, publishers still only want to bet on established writers. And, we've all read about the writers who were told NO so much that they either quit writing, committed suicide or self published. The list of successful self published writer just keeps getting longer. This is just ONE place that traditional publishers are NOW looking for print deals.
So, there are many more writers eschewing this frustrating process and getting the satisfaction of being published NOW via Amazon's publishing platform.
What are your plans?
md
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Those aren't your only two options. You can still do print books in addition to Kindle by using CreateSpace or the like. I've done both twice.
I think many people who write strictly for Kindle are probably creating shorter works and publishing often, to try to build up a fanbase, through a regular series or whatever. That doesn't appeal to me, beause I only want to read an author's best efforts, with the same time they'd have spent on a traditional novel and its editorial process, not something slapped together just to offer a product.
I think that Gordon has a great point, but I disagree on one key point: there are authors who both put as much work into their self-pubbed novels as a traditionally-pubbed novel and have great success by publishing as a series. Robert Brockway comes to mind. He had a traditional publisher but disliked it and the traditional pricing model, so he self-pubbed Rx as a serial novel for $2 a piece. He did it that way so that you never pay $20 for a book you only read 1/8th of. This way, you pay for what you read, and keep paying if you like it -- or stop if you don't.
That model is incredibly attractive to me, both because I get more control over my work and because I agree that the traditional pricing model is bullshit. I haven't decided what route I'll take, but I like keeping my options open and researching both well.
I'm interested in trying out an ebook self-pub, but I can't say I'm writing with that in mind or tailoring my writing to suit the ebook market. I don't know what else is in this particular market, nor do I have any sense (apart from what I've read) of how it works. Serials seem cool, but I don't read any. I mostly read old/old-ish stuff and don't have an e-reader, so the simple fact is I can't target readers like me. Who, then, would I be targeting? No one. I'd throw it out there and try and get some honest reviews, I guess.
I try to assume everyone will hate anything I put down so I don't have to worry about it, make it the best I can, and worry about what to do with it (if anything) when I'm done.
Great comments!
Regarding Gordon's comment: You forget people like Hugh Howey who found his audience with epublishing. He did quite well with his Wool series...well enough to drive a mainstream publisher for his 'print only' deal...and he is getting a separate movie deal.
He wrote and his audience spurred him to write more.
Also...you forget Amanda Hocking. No publisher wanted her. So, she published her stories on Amazon in digital format, hoping to make enough to attend the Jim Henson Muppett fair in Chicago. You know her story...she made enough to go AND...become one of Amazon's phenomenons in her genre. I think she stated that she made over $2 million last year without a brick-n-mortar publisher. Now they court her.
My question is simply IF you are writing to 'be read' or to 'be published'. If you want to be read sooner than later, than maybe it behooves you to publish digitally. I am well aware of Create Space. Short stories usually are not published physically until you have a collection. Also, digital publishing has brought back the novella, as this is just about the right size for ereaders.
I ready Stephen King's "Mile 81" that way, as well as David Farland's shorter works. For his longer works, I opt for the print book, unless I need to read something by him now. Just my thoughts...
I am publishing everything digitally first.
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Of course there are success stories. Numerically, at least. But the writers you mention support my previous comment that they produced these works—largely in series form—at lightspeed just to get them out there. Availability is the advantage e-publishing offers. And no middleman, at least for some.
Will e-success attract traditional publishers after the fact? Possibly, if you've the sales numbers and/or demographics they covet. There probably aren't many examples of "Wow, this guy's talented; I can't believe everyone passed on that manuscript the first time around." It's hindsight, purely a business decision. "Wow, he's sold a ton all by himself. Let's get in on that action and hopefully broaden the audience." Will they want to reprint something you've already published? Not likely, but maybe.
If you simply want your books available, and/or are impatient, do it yourself (both of my novels are self-pubbed, with dismal sales — thankfully that's not my measure of success, which was the caliber of the writing itself (around 4 years spent on each) and appreciation by those who read it). But if your expectation is for financial success, you'd better be writing in genres that readers eat up en masse. Availability doesn't create demand. e-Books aren't like some demo tape that talent scouts seek out for signing. Not often, anyway. Especially if you're a fast writer and want to do serials, have at it. I predict a proliferation of novellas, though that's not much of a prediction, as it's happening already.
