The Stigma of Self-Publishing
I am the self-published author of four books. Three of my books are currently on various bestsellers’ lists on Kindle. My second novel, In Name Only, won a Gold Medal in Religious Fiction in the 2010 IPPY Awards (the first Catholic novel to win this award). It has been #1 in its category for nearly three months (dropping to #2 for two weeks when my third novel Stealing Jenny took over the #1 position). Stealing Jenny is #2 in one category and has been in the top 20 of four other categories for three weeks. In the past year, my books have been downloaded by tens of thousands of readers. And yet, when I recently asked a local Catholic newspaper if they would write a review of my latest book, they replied, “We don’t review self-published books.”
Another time, I attended a large “book fair,” where hundreds of local authors set up tables and sold books. There were other self-published authors at this event. At first glance, however, it wasn’t obvious that I was a self-published author. My books had professional looking covers and book trailers. I sat beside a published author who began conversing with a prospective reader. “Did you self-publish your book?” the reader asked. “Oh, no, I would never have done that. My books are published by a reputable publisher.” She would never have stooped so low as to self-publish. Ouch.
Self-publishers have come a long way. Years ago, authors who took the “vanity” publishing route were rarely taken seriously and they rarely sold more than a few books.
That attitude has improved in the seven years since I published my first novel, although many professionals in the publishing industry and some traditionally-published authors continue to have a bias against self-published authors and books.
I believe part of the reason is because self-publishing is so easy nowadays that just about anybody can do it and the quality of some self-published books is poor. Some naive first-time authors think they can do it all. Some newbies think that they are great writers and don’t “need” an editor. Novice authors often think they can design their own cover without any sort of advice from a visual designer. I have seen more than a few self-published books in my capacity as reviewer for Catholic Fiction.net in which the quality of writing was so bad I won’t even review it.
Another reason there may be a negative bias toward self-publishing could be the belief that self-published authors wouldn’t be able to get published by a traditional publisher or that perhaps they have already been rejected. This may be true for some self-published authors. But consider the case of self-published millionaire, Amanda Hocking who was rejected by traditional publishing houses and who is selling 100,000 books per month on Kindle.
On the one hand, I understand why some newspapers, magazines and websites need to have a blanket rule in place for self-published books (since there are many poorly written self-published books). On the other hand, I have also read extremely well-written novels by authors who self-published: Elena Maria Vidal, Gerard Webster, Christopher Blunt, Krisi Keley, Regina Doman, to name a few.
Although self-publishers have come a long way, we have not arrived yet with regard to “stigma” of self publishing. Despite the stigma, I don’t believe I would ever go the traditionally published route. After self-publishing four books (with lots of assistance) and after having 100 percent of the control, it would be hard to give my books to a publishing company. For me, it would be like giving my baby away to someone else to raise.
The stigma and negative bias of self-publishing will likely not disappear completely. However, if self-published authors continue to publish quality books, sell to thousands of readers and raise the bar for self-published books, it will hopefully lessen the stigma.
To learn more about self-publishing, I’ll be giving two chat presentations at the Catholic Writers Conference Online in March: Self-Publishing and Kindle e-books.
Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach Images purchased from iStock
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On the question of quality-control and rejection by traditional publishers:
One of the realities of self-publishing today is that overhead — the cost to produce your book — is so much lower for the self-publisher than for a traditional publishing house. Which means that traditional publishers can only afford to publish a very limited portion of the works that are useful and enjoyable for readers.
On the one hand, like you I’ve seen a fair number of very poor self-published works. But realistically, often a rejection from a traditional publisher has nothing to do with the merits of the work, and everything to do with the reality of firm’s business model.
I’m thrilled that self-publishing is now a realistic choice for those of us who write in the more narrow genres. Or in your case, for those who are basically setting up shop as a small publishing house.
I am one of those authors who will not self-publish, but it’s not a matter of “stooping.” I know myself well enough to know I don’t have the business sense to handle the details on my own. I have a lot of respect for self-publishers who are treating this as a business (meaning putting out a professional product that competes well for readership.) Ellen is a master, and I’m so glad she’s presenting at CWCO.
Thank you for the wonderful article, Ellen, and I am honored to be mentioned. While the hardcover editions of my first two books still have a traditional publisher, the other softcover and ebook editions I self-publish, and all editions of my third book. The books I have published on my own completely outstrip in sales the two editions by the traditional publisher and the royalties are higher as well, especially those from Amazon Kindle. It is a great deal of work. Unfortunately, most professional reviewers such as Publishers Weekly still will not review self-published books. However, the excellent Historical Novels Review does review self-published historical novels for their online edition so things are changing for the better.
Thanks so much for your comments, Jennifer, Karina and ElenaMaria. I agree, Jennifer, that a rejection often has nothing to do with the merits of a work, but more with the merits of the business model of a particular publishing company. ElenaMaria, thankfully, there are more and more magazines and websites who will post reviews for self-published books. Karina, you’re the master of promotion! Again, thanks to you all for the comments…