Basically, I get to sit and edit my client's manuscript all day long. How wonderful is that? Of course, there's much more to it than my paltry description includes -- text formatting, editor-author relations, filing skills, symbol categorization, research, history -- but every aspect of it caters to my love of words, of organization, of total and unrepentant geekitude. I'm coining that word right now. The next Shakespeare, right here ladies and gentlemen.
Well, sort of anyway...
The greatest thing about my workplace, though? Working here gives me more than just insight into being a copy-editor. I learn just as much from my coworkers as I do from my work and my clients. And I learn just as much from them outside of the work sphere as I do inside it.
One of my coworkers is a published author in the young adult fiction field; gothic romance and urban fantasy are her specialty. She and I also share a not-so-secret passion for Diet Dr. Pepper. Maybe it's an editor thing. Check out her website here to read her FAQs and look at her books. She is entirely self-published. Which means she wears so many more hats than just the 'author' bowler cap. She has the editor top hat, the public relations fedora, the social media beanie...she works. A lot.Now, many of you probably remember me speaking to this topic before. I am a traditionalist, for now anyway-- until the self-publishing industry stabilizes (which could be about as oxymoronic a statement as passive editor) I'm going to try and go through a publishing house. But I'm always interested in hearing about self-publishing, especially in specific cases. She and I have talked briefly about self-publishing already, and she sent me some articles for consideration. So here: take a read, tell me what you think.
As my coworker describes, "this article gives a good breakdown of some advantages of self-publishing. One route many writers are pursuing is to become 'hybrid'-- as some of their books come out through trad. publishers, they choose to release others themselves (often their works in a different genre)."
This is Hugh Howey's story of how "Self-Publishing is the future-- and great for writers". Basically, self-publishing isn't nearly so high-risk as everyone thinks it is, and the 'pros' of traditional publishing aren't nearly so sparkly as everyone thinks, either. Yet again this balance thing I keep talking about-- anyone else seeing a pattern?
"The story of self-publishing is Jan Strnad, a 62-year-old educator hoping to retire in four years. To do so is going to require supplemental income, which he is currently earning from his self-published novels. In 2012, Jan made $11,406.31 from his work. That’s more than double what he made from the same book in the six months it was available from Kensington, a major publisher. He has since released a second work and now makes around $2,000 a month, even though you’ve never heard of him."
Wow. So self-publishing can actually be fiscally advantageous? Hm. I never thought of that. I always imagined having to chuck out a couple grand to get the book printed and advertised and spread and...but the digital age has changed that, too. Self-publishing takes a lot of work. But then again, so does traditional publishing. My initial excuse for not exploring self-publishing more was that I didn't have the time to do all the public relations and advertising on my own: keeping up with trying to spread this blog is one thing enough! But at the same time, many traditionally published authors are having to do that already, anyway. They have to maintain a website, a facebook page, an FAQ, answer emails, spread their readership. Er, well, yes. Now that you mention it, that does sound like 90% of the advertising for a book anyway, as the industry is going more digital these days, anyway. So what am I waiting for? As Hugh Howey states,
Well, the whole purpose of this blog and all of my publishing efforts over the last six or seven years have been to learn about the industry. And I'll be learning a ton more at my new job in the publishing house. Besides, I already have a potential readership started. I'm pretty sure most of my family (and a cousin in particular comes to mind who would die for me to self-publish so she can finally get her hands on my sequel) would buy my books; maybe they would even give them as gifts. I have a decent readership following on Facebook for even just this blog, and if I did an eBook that was cheap enough, I'm sure I could do an initial spread of the work pretty decently."Promotion will be up to you. Your publisher will want to see your social media presence before they offer you a book deal. Learning the ins and outs of self-publishing before signing with a major house is the best training imaginable. Not doing so would be like a hopeful race car driver not caring what’s under the hood. I’ve been shocked to discover, having worked with major publishers, that many of my self-published friends know more about the current publishing landscape than industry veterans with decades of experience. The more you learn and the more you keep an open mind, the better your chances for success."
Is it fear? Maybe. Fear of the unknown. I've never really researched self-publishing too much. Self-printing, yes, but that's a different animal. You can get Office Depot to do that if you don't care too much about it looking like an actual, bound book. And the more we look at self-publishing, the more it's beginning to make a bit more than a bit of sense...
"People I interacted with every day were appearing on bestseller lists or emailing me for advice on handling calls from agents. The hundreds appeared to be thousands. And this could only be a fraction of the actual number."America is a country full of self-starters. Why should it be so surprising that self-publishing is taking off?
I guess I'll have to give this whole self-published thing another thought...
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