The Writer's Site  continued
 

Another "what if" for writers: What if you can't get published?

Not every writer is able to obtain an agent or, by extension, a publishing contract with a traditional publisher. Does this mean his or her work is any less deserving of distribution to the masses? The honest answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no.

In truth, getting published does not ensure the best work is put into print --particularly nowadays. What it does mean is that a group of marketing people sat around a conference table reviewing short summaries of proposed works, and based on their best guess about what John & Jane Public want to read, they either give the editor permission to purchase that manuscript or direct her to reject it.

The books that get to this stage have been put through filters (agents and editors) and have theoretically been vetted in terms of quality: in other words, those manuscripts containing substandard writing are weeded out and rejected. (What's substandard writing? A good writer, agent, or editor can point to it with his eyes closed; but briefly, it's prose that's clichéd, unoriginal, flat, or wooden; the plotting is poor, the pacing is uneven, the dialogue is bad.... The list is long.) Still, there are plenty of well-written manuscripts that most readers would find enjoyable and even riveting; yet these are never bought and published because the marketing department doesn't feel the time is right for a _______ hero (you fill in the blank: blonde, female, British, Israeli, Japanese, deaf) or they have recently offered a contract to a different author for a "similar" novel.

There are plenty of agented manuscripts that never see the light of a bookstore bookshelf, for a variety of other reasons. The rise in sales of used books is a big one--these "sales" are not reported in the Bookscan sales tracking database, because they are not sales that result in money to the publisher (or royalties to the author). As a result, an author can have 10,000 used book sales, which, when added to his very respectable 20,000 new copy sales, would likely result in the offering of a new contract by a publisher. But since those 10,000 used book sales don't count, that author's Bookscan figures are lower than a publisher is willing to accept. Why? Because Bookscan has defined that author's sales profile: 20,000. They don't believe there can be an upside with the author's next book. (They'd prefer you don't bring up Dan Brown, whose first few books were less than successful before his editor moved to another publishing house and took Dan with him. Dan's next book was The DaVincii Code. Big oops! on that one.)

So. Back to the original question posed at the top of this page...what if you can't get published? Have you done everything you could've done? Are you at the point where you know nothing else will change the result? Everyone's circumstances are different, and only you can answer when you have truly reached that point. Let's assume you're there. What next?

There are a few options open to you. You can self-publish your book. This is always a possibility, and it is an option backed by a number of entrepreneurs who've done exceptionally well: The Chicken Soup for the Soul series founders self-published. And everyone knows what a colossal success that's been. But a caveat here: those guys are expert marketers. I've met Jack Canfield and he's a brilliant business person. Not everyone is. So before you plunge into your bank account to pay for printing a thousand copies of your book (which may sit in boxes in your garage) understand that no one will do the sales work for you. You must become your own sales force. And you have to know how to do that--let alone spend the time and money to make it work. 

Another option is one that has gained tremendous popularity over the years. There's little up front cost, no garages filled with unsold boxes of books, and, depending on the genre in which you write, can be marketed from your computer screen, without leaving home. Again, this isn't a panacea, but under certain situations and in specific markets, it is the ideal alternative to traditional publishing. I'm talking about e-publishing. Many years ago, Steven Schneiderman, a longtime friend of mine, founded and developed eBookoMatic.com, a website designed to automate the process of publishing an ebook. Steve's worked hard to make the process as easy as possible, and to provide the author with the tools he or she needs to give his or her book the best chance of succeeding.

The beauty of it, of course, is that you control your own fortune. If you market your book properly, it could turn into a successful venture. The downside is that you need to provide the marketing muscle to sell your work. But if you're convinced the traditional publishing route is closed to you, this may be the best option available.

I'm not advocating e-publishing as something every author should do. It has to be right for you, and for your specific circumstances. One thing I can say with certainty is that I've followed the site's progress over the years and it's come a long way. There's a plethora of information on how to make such an endeavor work. In fact, some of the books on the topic are ebooks themselves. I suggest you peruse the eBookoMatic.com site to see if it's right for you. It could be just what you're looking for.

◊        ◊        ◊

DISCLAIMER: Any “advice” or information provided on this website is based on the author’s experience and knowledge, and is intended only as background, and for purposes of general interest. It is NOT LEGAL ADVICE, and, in fact, could be incorrect. If you have questions about this information, how it applies to your particular situation, or anything else of a legal nature, CONSULT AN ATTORNEY.