Traditional publishing has been in the toilet this millennium. Big news flash, right?
As publishing houses scaled back, imprints closed, editors were fired, the door opened wide for self-publishing.
Now, however, traditional publishers are growing lists again. Nothing stays the same for long in this business . . .
One way or another, however, traditional publishers have been at this a very long time, and have learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t.
So what can we learn from big publishers’ successes and failures? A lot. Let’s dive in and talk about these issues, in order to gain their knowledge.
To begin, what’s the main point where new writers are failing these days? No, it’s not the marketing. It’s not the cover art.
What are new writers missing all over the place? Putting the product, the book, first.
This really does seem like a no-brainer. I mean, we’re writers, right? It’s what we do—we write, we hone our craft, we study, we get critiqued, we write some more. At least, that’s the way it used to be!
One of the issues new writers (and many seasoned ones as well, although they handle it differently) have with the Traditional folks is that this takes f o r e v e r.
Yep, it does. At every single stage of the process, writers get to hurry-up-and-wait. Hurry up and produce exactly what that agent, editor, etc., requests, and then sit on their hands for months and wait on responses. It can drive a sane woman batty.
I’m in the process of getting one of my great Western writers agented, and of course, even though I know the agent very well, and have highly recommended the writer, it’ll take said agent two months to get to it. Hey! That’s actually quick!
But once she does get to it, my writer will get a full read.
Back to our point, though. What this enormous time lag did was to give writers all this glorious waiting time to actually focus on the book. On writing. To learn the craft.
While they banged their heads against publishing’s seemingly impenetrable wall, they wrote. Joined critique groups. Got bashed there. Went back and dove in again to make the story better. Worked with an editor. Wrote some more.
All of this took years. But now, with the advent of instant publishing, you don’t have to go through all of that. Presto! Your book can be published without having to do all that incessant waiting. You’re an author!
But not a very good one. The waves and waves of schlock being “published” these days boggles the mind. Oh my, is so much of this stuff just terrible. Cringe-worthy awful.
And here’s the dirty little secret Traditional publishers know: You can put megabucks behind a new release’s marketing. Hire PR agents. Get the best cover in the world. And maybe sell a lot of books because of all that. But if the book’s bad, readers won’t buy the second one.
In other words, you’ve totally lost the audience you worked so hard with marketing money to create.
You’re the same way, right? You buy a highly touted book and by page five, it’s so awful you toss it into the trash, never to read that author again. And I mean, ever. No matter if said author ends up on the morning television shows touting her next one.
What sticks with you is the awfulness of what your hard-earned money was wasted on.
But then, the converse is also true, no? You read something wonderful, and seek out that author’s backlist, while waiting eagerly for the next one. I did that very thing with Pat Conroy not long ago. For whatever reason, I picked up The Prince of Tides for the fourth time (one of my all-time favs, obviously). Then I got on a Conroy jag, reading the ones I hadn’t read, while waiting eagerly for The Death of Santini. Conroy could have written the yellow pages and I’d love it.
Oh, how I already miss him.
Of course, Pat Conroy came of writing age during the time when the only choice was to hone one’s craft . . .
Learn from him! Dive in, learn your craft, hone it and hone it and hone it. Have a great editor sign off on it before the presses run. Ah, now you have a budding career as a book author!
Additional Reading:
- Lessons From The Traditional-Publishing Model Part Two: The Genre’s the Thing!
- Lessons From The Traditional-Publishing Model Part 3: Timing
- Lessons From The Traditional-Publishing Model Part Four: Distribution
As an award-winning author and editor, since 1993, 50 + of my authors’ books have sold to Traditional publishers. Many have won awards, been made into films, been featured in Publishers Weekly, and become bestsellers. I also love English Labradors, red wine, and write literary fiction and co-authored nonfiction,
I always enjoy your articles, Susan. They cover the topics we enjoy seeing.
You’re so right, there is tons of schlock out there and it seems everyone wants to be an author because it’s become so easy–millions of new books going online this year alone. And it’s making it increasingly difficult for serious writers to get noticed.
But, as your article states so well, it’s all about “the book,” and not just a book, but a high-quality book that will create a loyal readership. Those are produced by writers who will continue on and publish worthy reads hopefully gaining attention.
Thanks for sharing…
You hit it, Randy–“high-quality books are produced by writers who will continue on and publish worthy reads hopefully gaining attention.” And that’s exactly what you as an author are doing! You’re writing such wonderful books.
Write On!
Susan
Time. It takes time. Time to experience life; have something to write about. Time to write it and, like you said, hone it. Time to submit to agents and then wait months for them to respond, take it on or reject. Yes, years. Patience is essential, besides accepting that you are not perfect; that even the best authors’ books are dissected and criticized. Be flexible, too. A tree that does not bend breaks. Most of all have faith that when the “time” is right, you will get published.
Beautifully said, Jeanie. And during all that time of learning patience, writers hone their craft. Which is so the name of the game! In this day of instant publishing, we’ve lost the positive things all that time helped to foster.
I love how you ended this as well. It’s great to hear an agent say, “Most of all have faith that when the ‘time’ is right, you will get published.” Great motivation! Thank you!
More pearls of wisdom from you, Susan! A reminder that we have to continue to put in the work to reap lasting rewards!
No one embodies that better than you, Kevin! Your books just keep getting better and better!
Thanks Susan for sparking interest and ideas.
I am about to finish a book on a subject that publishers refuse to touch because they thing the subject will harm their brand — without reading the submission.
So I am self publishing. As I consider the pros v cons of self publishing, I am coming to the conclusion that publishers have already become an obstacle to successful writing careers by their institutional stultification.
In the near term, 50 Shades of Grey and others will light a new path for writers.
I am beginning to embrace self publishing as a great vehicle, certainly compared to the institutional publishing world of today.
Keith Long
Sometimes that happens, Keith, when a subject is too controversial for publishers. And when that’s the case, self-publishing provides a viable option.
The world of publishing is surely changing. Just learn from the Traditional-model’s mistakes, and what it got right, and use that!
Best of luck in your new venture!
Susan
Sensible, relevant, to the point and, more importantly, true. Thanks Susan.
Thanks, Stuart! You’ve written enough to have a great perspective!
I’m not so sure that publishing should take all the time it has, traditionally, required.
But I’m absolutely sure that it should take attention to detail.
It’s astounding how many authors can’t manage to have even a single paragraph of promotional material that’s grammatically correct and punctuated properly!
It’s a principle for me now: if there’s a typo in the promotional paragraph, I don’t care who wrote it, I’m not buying!
Isn’t it the truth, Lenann! I see book after book where typos abound and grammar . . . don’t get me started 🙂
I do think a lot of writers are snapping to that now, however, and getting their books edited beforehand. We can only hope!
All Best,
Susan
I have raised (through Kisckstarter) $1500 to publish my book. I have had all kinds of people tell me to publish it myself. I am not going to do that. I never was a fast learner & since I am more passionate about the creative side of any business, it would take me months, maybe years, to learn the business side of publishing.
So, I need an editor (though I have been through the book, editing, deleting & revising several times) so it shouldn’t be a big job. I also need a cover designer & an e-publisher. I would prefer to get some kind of promotion package that includes a trailer video.
If any of you know of someone that can do all that, please let me know.
Thanks!
Sherrie
Hi Sherrie,
Sounds as though you’re on your way! Shoot me an email: maloneeditorial@hotmail.com I know some good copy editors. And I’ve just seen some covers from an e-book designer that look really cool!
All Best,
Susan
Thank you for a timely reminder, Susan! It does seem that absolutely everyone is writing and publishing a book these days. Self-publishing has made that possible, and it’s great. But, that also means there is a vast sea of junk to navigate to find a good book anymore. The traditional publishing industry knows a lot about what makes books both sellable and great, and there are many lessons to be learned from it. Authors are talking a lot these days about self-publishing, social media marketing, etc., but, bottom line, success always boils down to basics. Learn your craft and write a great book. Junk is just junk, but magic always sparkles.
Thank you, Valorie–all very well said! I especially love: “. . . but magic always sparkles.”
Perfect!
Susan
Thanks, John!