ah, the classic "my words are gold and no one has the right to tell me otherwise!"...
Sheryl, the one thing that runs through my mind when I read just about every PA author writing on their boards or wherever is the simple fact that they
truly seem to know little about how publishing works at all. No doubt that they
think they do (and they will offer some of the most off-the-wall opinions about it), but since most of them are trying to re-invent the wheel the fact remains that few of them have a grasp on the reality of publishing or the concept of producing/marketing their work to a geographically broad and diverse audience. They all think that they can somehow buck or massage the system and make a great success of themselves despite the immeasurable roadblocks they place in their own way. The ironic thing to me is that their ultimate goal is almost always to
join and be a respected member of the
very system that they are trying to make an end run around.
And to me, that kind of mindset smacks of one specific thing: a lack of confidence in your own best work being able to compete with the best work of your fellow authors.
Perhaps, on reflection, when they say they don't want to wait for an actual reply from a traditional house, or when they say that they do not want to wait for the (inevitible?) rejection and thus they decide that they will go the PA/self published route, it all comes down simply to
fear.
Fear that you are not good enough.
Fear that the rejections will tear down the carefully constructed image of yourself as an author.
Fear that no one, ever, will recognize you as a writer or author.
Perhaps what they do not appreciate is that
ALL OF US go through that fear. The difference is that those who are strong, confident and tenacious enough end up with a chance to being published with a traditional publisher, having their books in bookstores available for purchase from coast to coast, earning the respect of thousands (millions?) of readers worldwide and spending time writing their next (and better) book. Those who give up usually end up with a slapdash job of a book which large chain bookstores will not stock, for which they will have to do all the marketing themselves and most likely will end up selling them out of the trunk of their car. Those who go with PA can add to this that their work will be overpriced to the market, not edited in any meaningful manner and sporting a recycled artwork cover (if not the almost exact same cover of a previous PA book).
Like I said before, I don't have a dog in this hunt, but it nonetheless makes me sad to watch.
It is one of the reasons I don't often go to read the PA boards (although I do read the links provided here for context) because it is simply the same discouraging tales recycled over and over again as the old authors disappear or are banned, the new crop rolls in all dewy-fresh and excited and and the months just keep rolling by.
Okay, thats all.
Postscript: I realize that there are certain specific instances when self-publishing makes sense and do not wish to include such instances in my comments above. Thanks.
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