My Choices in Publishing

"The future ain't what it used to be."  ~Yogi Berra

If only a peek into a crystal ball could tell us which road to take. 

A group of children's writers had some interesting discussions via email about traditional publishing vs. nontraditional. We decided to blog about our choices and link the posts together. The links for the others who are participating are at the end of this post. I hope you'll visit their sites, too.

We're witnessing mind-boggling, historical changes in publishing. I have mixed feelings.

Sometimes it drives me crazy.

And it's kinda scary, in a way.

When I hear about writers being conned or taken advantage of, it makes me monster mad.

Over the past two years, I've given a lot of thought as to which direction to go with my writing, and I've decided self-publishing is for me. For now. 

Would you turn down a half a million dollars to self-publish?

Best selling authors Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath discuss this very question in an interview. Eisler explains why he turned down a half-million advance in favor of self-publishing. It makes sense to me. Warning – contains some colorful language:  Here's a link that weighed heavily in my decision.

These are some reasons I'm foregoing the traditional route, at least until the industry becomes more stable:

• It's as hard to get an agent as it is to get a publisher. 
• If I do get an agent, there's no guarantee the agent can sell the manuscript since publishers are acquiring fewer and fewer titles.
• Some agents are publishing their clients' works, which some people consider a conflict of interest. It's stirring up quite a controversy. There are a lot of other strange things happening where authors are being slighted by publishers, agents, and others, so I just don't know who to trust! 
• I've known several authors whose book deals fell through. Talk about disappointment.
• Bookstores are carrying less books in lieu of promoting toys and specialty items.
• Publishers expect authors to promote themselves. Debut authors aren't sent on book tours or given much help with marketing, plus most publishers expect writers to have a good following and a strong social media platform before even considering taking us on.
• Once published, our books are given a three- to four-month window to do well. After that, they're pulled from the shelves, if they even get a coveted spot on a shelf in the first place. They could end up in a bin at a dollar store! Yikes! After all that hard work. 
• Publishers are still charging high rates for eBooks. With little overhead, they pocket most of the profit, while the author gets 25% royalties or less. 

Here are some reasons I'm choosing to self-publish:

• I can control the price of my books and offer them at an affordable rate in this sluggish economy.
• My books won't go out of print. Ever.
• I've already tested the waters with an eBook of three short stories, "Trio of Haunting Tales," so I know what I'm in for. Formatting for the Kindle was a nightmare. Since then, I found a formatter whose prices are affordable and she does a professional job. She formatted the first two books in the Monster Moon series (see below).
• I know better than to expect instant results, realizing it will likely take years of hard work before bringing in a decent income. I'm in it for the long haul. (Thanks to Bob Mayer's blog posts for making me aware of this common sense strategy. See his links below.)
• With each new title I publish, the odds in my favor will increase (realizing the books I publish must be well written and professional). Right now, there are more Monster Moon books in the works, and I plan to publish a chapter book (ages 7 to 10) in 2012. I'm excited to have more titles to share with kids when I do author visits.
• Publishers are having a hard time collecting from some of the major wholesalers, which is one reason we're not publishing future Monster Moon books through Stargazer Publishing. If the publisher doesn't get paid, then the authors don't get paid. 

I'm off to a good start with a picture book and two middle grade novels (ages 8 - 12) under my belt, plus the short eBook mentioned above:

• MERRY AS A CRICKET, 2002, a picture book by WhipperSnapper Books, a small press. They were wonderful to work with. They did all the marketing and supported me in any promoting I did on my own. Unfortunately, a second title I wrote on assignment with author Janet Reyes never came to fruition because they closed their doors. Again, problems with collections contributed to their closing down.

• Two books in the Monster Moon series for ages 8 to 12, by Stargazer Publishing: CURSE AT ZALA MANOR and SECRET OF HAUNTED BOG, co-authored by Kathryn Sant, Maria Toth, and myself under the pseudonym BBH McChiller. (Links are in the sidebar.) Stargazer is a small, independent press that sells to schools and libraries.   

One of my friends, Stephanie Jefferson, is self-publishing her debut novel in February. It's about a warrior princess in the ancient kingdom of Nubia. She wrote a blog post about her decision HERE.

Awesome cover, Stephanie!

Stephanie has a wild card in her favor - a raving review by Publishers Weekly when her young adult novel qualified as a semi-finalist in Amazon's contest. She didn't win, but that review is like gold. If Stephanie wasn't recovering from a serious illness, she would be participating in this blogfest. 

Here are a few comments explaining why she's choosing to self-publish: 

"My thinking is, with the economy in a serious decline and bookstores closing, the publishers are taking less and less, they are accepting even fewer debut works. Add to that the reality that the royalties are getting less, the support for marketing is nearly nonexistent, and writers have little to no input in covers and illustrations (even when it changes the direction of the story). Do I want a contract? If I can develop a product that is of equal/or better quality, what do I need them for?

"The likelihood of earning out my advance within their prescribed limit is pretty low, which is a mark against me. Instead of being an unknown and high-risk investment as a debut author, I would be labeled a money-losing author."


Another writer friend, Susan Kaye Quinn, wrote an insightful post on 10/5/11, Investing in Your Writing Career, or Why I Decided to Self-Publish Open Minds (click here). She draws an analogy how publishing with a large publisher is like investing in high-flying individual stocks: 

"This is no shock to anyone who has examined the odds of making it through the big pub gauntlet, which is really an all-or-nothing deal: either you win the lotto or you trunk your novel. The return is potentially large (or not - most traditionally pubbed authors don't outsell their advances), but there is a risk of losing years of time waiting to win (at least in writing you only lose your time, not your money).


"My writing investment portfolio has a novel and an anthology with a small pub company, paying small monthly dividends (like bonds). I also have several unpublished novels in various states of 'completeness,' including a middle grade SF, middle grade fantasy, Open Minds (young adult paranormal/SF), and another project not listed on my WiP page (that will be going through the big pub route)."

OPEN MINDS will be launched November 1st.

I love this cover!

Laura Pauling's blog, Exercising the Right to Ramble, has some interesting posts that leave us with a lot to ponder:      

Warning: Changes in publishing industry may cause whiplash - 7/6/11

Let's Talk: Agents as Publishers - 7/13/11

What exactly is self promotion in today's world publishing? (part 2) 7/22/11

Vanishing shelf space and self-promotion (part 3) - 7/27/11

Did the Mayan 2012 apocalypse refer to traditional publishing? Or not? - 8/31/11 

Here are some helpful posts from best-selling author Bob Mayer's blog, Write It Forward:
The Perfect Storm is Looming in Publishing - 9/27/11
The myth of backlist and a dramatic change in publishing - 8/13/11
The real gatekeepers in publishing now? Authors - 9/14/11, "99.5% of indie/self-published authors will be gone in two years.  Other will take their place.  And be gone in two years." 
"Should your agent self-publish you? Can your agent self-publish you? 7/26/11
eBooks as the new mass market paperback and don’t be Buridan’s Ass - 7/19/11
Publish your book or play the lottery? 6/6/11
There is Gold in self-publishing - 6/2/11, "Is there gold for the unpublished author who self-publishes?  Yes.  But the odds are roughly the same as getting an agent, who can sell to an editor, who gets the publisher to put the book out, and readers find the book, and read it, and recommend it, etc. etc."

From Agent Kristin Nelson’s blog, Pub Rants, her post dated 5/18/11 – 21st Century Evolution Of Agent’s Role

It's been a long, wonderful journey this past decade. My writer friends and I have attended many writing conferences and workshops, studied the craft of writing, and learned from each other. Many exciting things are taking place among us: Some are self-publishing, some are choosing a small press, and some are sticking with the traditional route. A few are branching out and choosing more than one way to publish. We'll support each other and new writer friends we meet along the way as we pour our hearts into our writing and work hard to make our dreams come true. 

"The magic is inside you. There ain't no crystal ball." ~ Dolly Parton 

Have you been keeping up with all the changes in publishing? What do you think about it? Please share your feelings and opinions.  

Here are the links for the other writers in this blog ring. I hope you'll check out their posts to read about their choices in publishing:

Heather Kelly - Edited to Within an Inch of My Life

Kristine Asselin - Writing. For Real.

Ansha Kotyk - A Writer's View of the World

Tina Laurel Lee - Watch Me Practice

Anita Laydon Miller's Middle Grade Blog

Tom M. Franklin - Franklin, Ink