It’s OK to say “no” to publishing - or at least “not yet”
A few days ago, I noticed a blog post by Tim Peoples on the subject of the next steps of publishing his recently-finished-first-draft-of novel. (Yes, I have extensive ego filters set up on the term “podiobook”.) He expressed some concerns about publishing right away, and I seconded the argument in a comment to the post.
A new post has appeared on his site where he responds and makes a plea to the rest of the “underpublished” masses:
EvaEvo makes a point that seems very obvious but, unfortunately, must be expressed by more people. As “alternative” publishing increases–especially in online formats–people rush their works to press earlier and earlier. Some works, of course, simply do not belong in press because they are not good enough. It is up to the author to have humility enough to distinguish which books belong and which books do not belong in the hands of ordinary readers.
Well said, Tim, even if my gender was a little confused in the post. It is difficult to put a finger on those distinguishing marks. That’s one of the reasons I like the concept of a publisher. In theory (but too often not in practice) the job of the publisher is to act as a filter — not just on quality, but also content. (Note: Podiobooks.com is not a publisher. We think of ourselves more as a distributor.) Other filters exist as well, like editors and agents. Again, I’m talking about the theory behind these titles and job descriptions, as I know that the practice of these jobs can and does fail at least some of the time.
August 30th, 2006 at 11:01 am
Unfortunately, these days - probably all days - there is no way to know what books are going to catch on; and plenty of less than sterling works become huge hits. Publishers are filters, but their focus is on the bottom line - or rather, their predictions of the bottom line. There are plenty of books out there which should find no audience, and yet do. So I am grateful for online publishing - it opens the door for everyone. See Tom Friedman’s “The World Is Flat”. The author makes a judgment that the book is ready; maybe it is and maybe it isn’t, but it’s up to the public to say.
September 5th, 2006 at 9:13 am
Here’s a question… Let’s say that an author wants to get the filtering and feedback that an editor can provide to strengthen the book before publishing it, BUT the author would prefer to self-publish via the many distribution options on the net like podiobooks.com. What should that author do? How could the author wind up like Mr. Sigler with Earthcore, having a professionally edited and revised book but still get to self-publish? (This is hypothetical. I’m not saying that’s what I am planning on doing.)
Thanks for your time!