Writers, without whom there would be no books, bookshops or publishing industry (and no films for that matter) are generally treated surprisingly badly. The Big Six offer ever smaller advances and more comprehensive contracts; writers are the only people involved in publishing who mostly don't make a living wage. Anyone submitting work to agents is resigned to slow responses, form rejections or being ignored. We keep quiet about the worst horror stories (though they'd make riveting blog posts) because we want to be seen as professional.
And everyone, it seems, sees opportunities for making money out of writers thwarted by the near-impossibility of getting a legacy contract. I believe there are three sensible ways of reaching your readers today:
- A traditional publishing deal. Though this is probably still most writers' dream, it's less advantageous than it was even ten years ago. Increasingly, publishing is more about marketing than the product and new or mid-list authors can feel neglected.
- Small press publishing deal. There are some small presses, such as Ridan, that do very well for their authors. Others, such as Night Publishing, are more like co-operatives. You need to look carefully at each one to see exactly what they offer and what their terms are, but if you are not happy going it alone this might suit you.
- Self-publishing. You control everything, but will need to learn how to do or commission covers, formatting, editing, proofreading and uploading to Amazon's KDP.
So right, Lexi.
ReplyDeleteI read David's post when it came out, and was astonished that Penguin had drifted into what looks like the vanity press market.
I do understand that there are some writers who, for whatever reason, choose the vanity option - maybe they are only interested in a few copies of their book for friends and family and lack the ability to tackle the challenge of going it alone. But what troubles me is agencies that seem to promise so much more than that - the myth of marketing etc. and then they suck in the unwary, leaving them with so little.
Yes - one accepts that businesses exist to make money, but good businesses offer the consumer good value as well. Publishing has become too much about making money above all other considerations.
ReplyDeleteThis just makes me sick. I am so disgusted by unscrupulous businesses jumping in to take advantage of desperate gullible writers.
ReplyDeleteAnd Penguin will do so little for the money and their 30% - no editing, proofreading, cover, or promotion. And definitely no little penguin logo on the spine.
ReplyDeleteThe whole of the publishing world is in a big mess! No one seems to know what will happen next.
ReplyDeleteYes Jamara, but these are interesting times, and change means opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I derive a certain mean enjoyment seeing publishers getting it wrong with a capital W like this - assuming Penguin's venture gets a lot of bad publicity and fails.
Oh shame on Penguin!!! Methinks someone inside smelled (smelt? what is the past tense of to smell? oh well! LOL!) a money making opportunity using the beloved Penguin's reputation and the eagerness of many a writers keen to self-publish!
ReplyDeleteYou shoe 'em how it's done lovely Lexi!! Yay!
Take care
x
p.s. erm.. I meant "show" not "shoe". Ahem.
ReplyDeleteTake care
x
Smelt is a small silvery fish, I believe, Kitty. And indeed Penguin's offer is very fishy :o)
ReplyDeleteHere's the comment I posted on David Gaughran's blog, in which he talked about Joe Konrath's blog post about Penguin's new self-publishing venture (thankfully, influential blogs like yours, David's and Joe's are getting the word out about the pitfalls of Penguin's new program):
ReplyDeleteSection in stars is from my post on Joe Konrath's blog:
*********************
As shocking as this is, it probably shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. After reading your blog, I looked up who owns Penguin. The Penguin Group is owned by Pearson PLC, a global company with headquarters in London, which is part of both the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. This is all about the money, another big corporation run amok.
Why would any self-respecting writer pay that much money for self-publishing services, plus extra royalties on top of that?!!? In order to sign up for such a truly horrible deal, a writer would either have to be such a complete newbie to the publishing world, they have absolutely no clue how easy it is to self-publish their own books, set their own prices and decide their own royalties on Amazon and other sites, or they would have to be clinging to some mistaken notion that they need to be published by a Big Six publisher in order to sell significant numbers of books. Also, weren’t the big publishers carrying on a while back that lowering the prices of eBooks on Amazon would dilute the psychological value of eBooks in readers’ minds...but now, for money in their own pockets, Penguin is suddenly OK with flooding the market with self-published eBooks?!!? This whole thing seriously stinks.
*********************
Like you and Joe, I’ve also been totally dismayed by the unquestioning praise for Penguin’s Book Country self-publishing venture dished out by the likes of the Wall Street Journal. However, the Wall Street Journal is currently published by Dow Jones & Company which is a division of News Corporation. Huge corporations almost always support the predatory practices of other huge corporations. Unfortunately, many people still think they’re living in the recent past when big publishing houses were primarily interested in publishing the best books, even those that only achieved mid-list sales. That’s no longer the case. Today, the main goal of the big publishing houses and media companies is to make huge sums of money and continue to experience rising stock market prices, whether or not they’re publishing the best books or the most honest piece of journalism. Interestingly enough, this year, three of four National Book Award winners were published by independent publishing houses!
Yes, publishers used to care about books in a way they don't now. Longman showed faith in Mary Renault over several books that were not big sellers, because they correctly believed she would one day write great novels. Their confidence in her paid off.
ReplyDeleteWho would do that today? If a new author's first effort does badly, he is likely to find himself minus an agent and a publisher, back where he started, his only recourse to adopt a pseudonym and try again.
When I first heard Penguin was doing this, I thought, 'ooh, another distributor' and then I looked at it and was thoroughly confused.
ReplyDeleteDo they really think they'll make any money? They're just going to make a terrible name for themselves for all the self-pupped writers who wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole. The trad writers and other publishers will likely be frustrated at their venturing into the e-Book waters like this. And readers who might be expecting Penguin-quality work and not always getting it will boycott the name.
It's just weird how the big companies are handling the new market. Instead of learning from the inside (they should have been on top of this from the get-go - it's their business to have been on top of it - and be leading the way instead of making these ludicrous offers that will benefit no one, including themselves.
My two cents, anyway!
I think probably enough people will fall for it to make it worth Penguin's while. And the books certainly won't go out under the Penguin imprint, though that mistaken assumption is a big part of the draw.
ReplyDeleteI agree publishers have been slow with digital - but there are signs they are catching up now. They still have huge power, alas.
Lexi, I like your comment about writers being the only people in the publishing process who don't make a living wage. Although not 100% true (I'll come to this in a minute) there's a lot to be said for your observation... which is ironic given that writers are the only essential part of the process. If all writers refused to sell their work to publishers the entire industry would collapse in a matter of months... all of which begs the question why are we treated so badly?
ReplyDeleteThe one qualification about 'living wage' I would make is that the junior positions in publishing (eg editorial assitant) are very poorly paid... which is why lots of people who do these jobs are independently wealthy... which is why publishing is full of posh people. (OK, a generalisation - but my experience finds a lot of truth in this statement). All of which may explain why publishers don't think it necessary for writers who are starting out to make a decent wage!
Just a thought...
Guy, Blogger sent your comment to Spam and I've only just rescued it.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of writers refusing to sell their work to publishers unless they are properly paid. I can't see this happening, such is new authors' desire for a publishing contract at any price, and trad authors' fear of the unknown. But a few successful self-publishers have turned down contracts offering less than they can make as indies.
I don't see why underpaying posh editorial assistants should make underpaying writers okay. But it's a bit like government; rich politicians make decisions for the masses on ordinary incomes. They don't think they are rich, though they earn multiples of the national average; and they don't wonder how other people manage on money they would deem totally inadequate.