Many congrats on working with Sea Stone Press, Deborah. I am excited for you to get your book/s printed and I look forward to reading them!
I think the hurdles of publishing a book are potentially similar to trying to show one's art. Finding a gallery space willing to take you on and give you an exhibition is the first hurdle of what feels like getting into an exclusive invite-only party. Galleries obviously work with the intention and mindset of selling. If they see work they don't feel they can market to their audience, then the door is often closed.
Thanks, Michael. Yes, the artworld is becoming more and more competitive, no doubt because there's more of us creating all the time--which is a good thing. Also good is the fact that there are more ways for us creatives to display our art and sell our work without relying on the so-called gatekeepers. I like to remind myself of all the great writers, like Walt Whitman and others, who self-published their works, and the artists like Van Gogh who found it difficult to get showings at major galleries. As artists, our business is to simply create our art, do what we can to get it shown/read, and let the world do what it will with what we have to offer.
I've had two novels published so far, in both cases by really small presses. Working with them was great (for the most part) and I have lots of respect for the people who work at them, but they have no marketing muscle. I have to take care of that on my own.
At the same time, I'm not sure I'd want to be published by a Big 5 imprint. They tend to devote all their resources to promoting a handful of "star" authors. They also might edit your book into something you barely recognize, and (as per your experience) make you wait forever to actually get published.
I've read horror stories about presses both big and small. Maybe self-publishing really is the best way to ensure that your work gets out there in the way you want it to be. But self-marketing is an awfully big job in its own right.
Thanks, Scott. It appears even the Big Five make their authors do the heavy lifting when it comes to marketing these days. More and more Big 5 authors it seems are deciding to go indie now too. It's the right time to do so I think.
Yes, I'm afraid of falling into that trap too. It's easy to do. Even the numbers game here on Substack can sidetrack us from what's important--the writing. Thanks for reading and responding, James. It means a lot.
Many congrats on working with Sea Stone Press, Deborah. I am excited for you to get your book/s printed and I look forward to reading them!
I think the hurdles of publishing a book are potentially similar to trying to show one's art. Finding a gallery space willing to take you on and give you an exhibition is the first hurdle of what feels like getting into an exclusive invite-only party. Galleries obviously work with the intention and mindset of selling. If they see work they don't feel they can market to their audience, then the door is often closed.
Thanks, Michael. Yes, the artworld is becoming more and more competitive, no doubt because there's more of us creating all the time--which is a good thing. Also good is the fact that there are more ways for us creatives to display our art and sell our work without relying on the so-called gatekeepers. I like to remind myself of all the great writers, like Walt Whitman and others, who self-published their works, and the artists like Van Gogh who found it difficult to get showings at major galleries. As artists, our business is to simply create our art, do what we can to get it shown/read, and let the world do what it will with what we have to offer.
I've had two novels published so far, in both cases by really small presses. Working with them was great (for the most part) and I have lots of respect for the people who work at them, but they have no marketing muscle. I have to take care of that on my own.
At the same time, I'm not sure I'd want to be published by a Big 5 imprint. They tend to devote all their resources to promoting a handful of "star" authors. They also might edit your book into something you barely recognize, and (as per your experience) make you wait forever to actually get published.
I've read horror stories about presses both big and small. Maybe self-publishing really is the best way to ensure that your work gets out there in the way you want it to be. But self-marketing is an awfully big job in its own right.
Thanks, Scott. It appears even the Big Five make their authors do the heavy lifting when it comes to marketing these days. More and more Big 5 authors it seems are deciding to go indie now too. It's the right time to do so I think.
Amen. I agree 100%. I like the quotes you used. I wrote something similar in my last post: I spent too much of 2024 fretting about sales.
Good luck and more power to your writing elbow.
Yes, I'm afraid of falling into that trap too. It's easy to do. Even the numbers game here on Substack can sidetrack us from what's important--the writing. Thanks for reading and responding, James. It means a lot.