Getting Published in 2009
Need I say that it’s damn near impossible?
A look at Publisher’s Lunch only details more and more high profile books being purchased than debut authors, and those who do publish (within the romance genre of course) are being offered those “nice” deals. Not that I would sniff at a “nice” deal, but it makes me wince when I look at the deals brokered during the first three quarters of 2008 that ranged from “nice” to “good” to “significant” for debut authors and mid-listers. Deals that publishers wouldn’t think of giving out in today’s climate.
What does this mean in the context of this blog? It means that getting published is going to change, and hopefully, for the better. Since I primarily write historical romance, I pay the closest attention to historical romance deals, and the last one of note was that of an author who had established herself in the e-publishing world while submitting projects to NY. I also have many industry feeds on my Google Reader and to my surprise, the Writer’s Digest blog and Romancing the Blog featured posts about e-books and e-readers (iPhone, Kindle, Sony Reader, etc). Also, the Smart Bitches posted a video from MSNBC where Kate Duffy, editor of Kensington Books, professed her love for the Amazon Kindle.
Despite the naysayers who cluck over the price and feel (or lack thereof) of e-readers, folks are taking to them with alacrity. And I foresee the e-reader to change more than bookstores or publishing, but how writers become published. Yeah, yeah, yeah, publishers still need books, people will stick to regular paperbacks/trade paperbacks/hardcovers, and bookstores won’t die, but things may change to the point where an author is expected to build an audience before a publisher (via agent) acquires them. Which, in a way, seems like a good idea: it will make the publisher/author relationship more of a partnership than that of a “gatekeeper.”
What does this mean for indie writers? The playing field will probably level. Instead of being sneered at and being accused of self-publishing because you’ve been rejected by everyone, producing your own work to build an audience will become just as important as selling a book to NY and waiting 12-18 mos before going on a promo spree in hopes that your book will swim amongst the multiple books in the sea. Not to mention that with so many industry professionals wading through e-book stores and apps like Stanza, it’ll be a bit easier to get your work in front of their faces–and they’ll be able to read the entire thing for free if it grabs their attention.
(sorry for the delay! I was having a case of the mean reds for a while!)
zoewinters
Moriah Jovan
R.J. Keller
robinaltman
Evangeline Holland
alanbaxter
It’s hard for those of us over the age of 30 to imagine a book-less civilization, that is, a culture that doesn’t need the form of the “book” to deliver reading material, but I think that is what’s coming. Just as the age of the physical newspaper will be over by 2015, I believe that day is approaching when “books” will be antiques and museum pieces, as relevant to future society as papyrus scrolls. This may be hard for our generation to accept, but the younger generation — and the generations not yet born — will do most of their reading on screens of various shapes and sizes.
Right now, I think two things are standing in the way of a faster adoption of so-called “ereaders” and “ebooks” (somebody needs to come with better names for these devices and software). First, the readers are too damned expensive. They have to be brought down to under $100 — at least. Second, the software has to be standardized. PDB, PRC, LIT, OPF, EPUB, AZW, CHM, DJVU, PDF, XEB, LBR — it’s ridiculous. Just as competing music formats eventually gave way to the mp3, something similar has to happen with ebooks.
Yayay, couldn’t agree more. I see there is still this mixing up of ’self-publishing’ and ‘independent publishing’ in your terminology. Getting published has in fact never been easier. You just did it when you hit publish on this post. That is why all the ‘editors’ are crying in their lattes. Never before has it been so possible for a writer to connect directly to a readership, the only pre-requisite is that you can write. Oh and that you are not full of bullshit, that is to say, have something to write about something other than yourself. Your blog here is an amazingly honest and articulate presentation of many issues I have pondered for a long time and I thank you for it.
J.M., I don’t think books will ever disappear. CDs are still sold in stores despite the preponderance of iPods, Zunes, other MP3 plays and the ease of buying a song or two on itunes. I think the multiple reading formats will create competition, thereby driving the prices down and allowing writers to be just as “independent” as musical artists, commercial artists and fine artists.
Paul, thanks for stopping by! I tend to use both terms concurrently because most people don’t know what “indie publishing” means. And I agree that I just “published” when I hit the button. I won’t say it’s time for writers to storm the gates and overthrow editors, agents and all the other folks in the biz, but I think the change will cause writers to be less worried about fitting into a box (i.e. the current trend) and be more willing to try new things–and not wait around for a big publisher to acquire them to get paid for their work.