One thing I see among many writers in these digital days is an overwhelming sense of wanting instant gratification. Especially in this time of electronic wizardry where you can publish your eBook relatively quickly and then check your sales numbers the next day. People are thinking in terms of days, weeks and months instead of years.
While the technology has changed, I don’t think writing has, nor have the fundamentals required for success in publishing. In Warrior Writer, I teach having a strategic goal. Where do you want to be with your writing in 3 to 5 years? Not next week.
I wrote my first manuscript in 1988. I was on my third manuscript and had accumulated hundreds of rejections before I linked up with an agent and got published in 1991 (Eyes of the Hammer) which we’ve just republished in eBook, but which was not my first manuscript). That’s three years right there. Just to get published. Additionally, I had to rewrite and rewrite after getting so many rejections. If I had been able to slap my first manuscript up on Kindle, believing that I knew what I was doing, I would have never had a career in writing because it sucked. Let’s be honest. Most first manuscripts suck. Sometimes manuscript number 50 sucks.
I think one thing that has to be accepted is that a good editor—not just a copy editor—is an integral part of the publishing process. The vast majority of ‘indie’ published books are lacking that feedback. They are also lacking agent feedback.
I hit my first bestseller list around 2000. That’s nine years to do that. And it was the third book in my Area 51 series, after building an audience for it.
Now the flip side. At Who Dares Wins Publishing we sold 347 eBooks total in January. Now we’re averaging a thousand books sold a day. But a big reason for that is because I have an extensive backlist and have spent years building an online community, which I had not really tapped into until I woke up and realized the need. Atlantis is currently the #10 science fiction bestseller in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Behind a bunch of books about some Game of Thrones.
But these are backlist books, which were professionally edited. Chasing The Ghost, my first original title that I’ve published, took ten years and a lot of feedback before I decided to publish it. Seriously. 10 years of rewriting.
Duty, Honor, Country, a Novel of West Point & The Civil War took me two years and a lot of feedback. I think the work shows as it’s had five reviews so far on Amazon and all are five star.
There was recently an article in the Washington Post about the “gold rush” to self-publishing. Here’s the deal on gold rushes. The people who succeed are:
Those who found gold before and really know what they’re doing (backlist).
Those who make money off the people trying to find gold (editors, packagers, promoters, etc).
The lucky, and also sometimes, very hard-working few. (Amanda Hocking)
I’m not as concerned with what’s selling right now, because that work is in the past, I’m focused on where I’m going to be a year from now, two years from now, three years from now. I used to say in traditional publishing that you had to look three years ahead at least to stay alive. I was also always one manuscript ahead. What I mean by that is even though I was under contract for books I was writing, I always wrote an extra book that wasn’t under contract. That saved my ass more than once.
So here’s my advice for those who want to join the gold rush: you can publish your book or you can play the lottery. The latter takes a lot less work and the odds are the same.
I’m not being negative or mean. There’s the old saying: if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. And many are. But to be successful is a whole different ball game.
The bottom line is good content= good books= sales.
Great post
I think I’ll start playing the lottery LOL.
Seriously now, my business opinion is that when a business project has not delivered at least half of the planned results in 12 months, max. 18, then something is wrong and needs different approach or a complete change in course. Sometimes, also to abandon a particular project and try a new one.
Quote:”The bottom line is good content= good books= sales.” Yessss. I will only add to sales – “at least marginal profit”
Thank you for the interesting post.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m curious to see how self-publishing will affect the quality of the books out there. I’m taking on my own task of learning the craft and I’ve created “Writers’ Uni-Verse-City”. I’ve already finished reading the “Writer’s Toolkit” which was gold to me. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
*sigh* Even those is the category of “found golf before” need to know what they’re doing. Some published authors are throwing up books on Amazon with bad covers and text riddled with errors. Then they tell me I’ll never succeed because their sales are so bad.
But publishing my own books is still more fun than the lottery.
“Gold.” I meant “gold.” LOL Though I like writing a hell of a lot better than “golf.”
Congrats on #10 Best Seller with SF Atlantis. Now I know I’m going to buy it because . . . well, heck, it’s gotta be your best work so far.
Ditto the previous comment by Nicole, Bob. Your words are gold. I live by them. Well, sorta. I’ve been following your blog for a while and I like it because it reinforces my belief that the craft of writing is mastered by very few, while the “gold rush” to ePubbing is like feeding time in a bowl full of pirannhas.
I have a plan and, as Irene points out, I understand the need to keep it flexible. At least I know where I want to be in five years, so it’s a little more reassuring than playing the lottery.
Great post. Thanks and, again, congrats on Atlantis.
Excellent post, Bob, thanks. I agree with you that the need for quality content has not changed, and the way to get that content into shape hasn’t changed much either. Authors who do as you suggest, and take the long view, are putting themselves in a position to succeed. Rushing content out because you read somewhere that there’s a “gold rush” on is simply reacting. Your blog is a fantastic case study in how to move from one publishing model to another, and it’s happening in real time. The only thing left is to upgrade your covers! Best of luck.
As the lotto says, “You’ve got to play to win.”
If you don’t play, you can’t win. If you don’t do everything you can to be a better writer, write the better book, produce quality products, you won’t see the dollar signs.
Yup.
It sounds discouraging, but it really shouldn’t be. To do anything well takes years of hard work. My husband is an IT guy. He started out as a technician at 19, went to college, then grad school, all the while learning and working his way up. It would be ridiculous to think that his first job could have been the job he has now, the director of an entire IT department with three subdivisions under him. This was 20 years in the making. For most really successful writers, that’s true for them too.
I think it’s the best time ever to be a writer. We have opportunities we never had before. But the key is BEING a writer.
I agree with Bob. He’s not being negative or mean — just stating things they way they are. Anything you do, and do well, requires a lot of work. He’s been working at his writing for several years and it shows in his writing and his success as a writer.
People watch me type and say they are amazed that I can type so fast (Non-typists don’t realize that speed and accuracy don’t necessarily go hand in hand, and I’m not what typing instructors would consider a fast typist — 60+ wpm at most and there are more than a few typos.) and I tell them it’s the long hours of practice — anywhere from 8 to 18 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week, for 30+ years. After doing a skill set consistently over a lengthy period of time, you should (hopefully) master the skill — no matter in what field you work. And this applies to writers as well!
If I could find time and peace and quiet (emphasis on the peace and quiet) in which to apply my so-so typing speed to putting words of a story on paper, I could type (not necessarily anything publishable) 20,000 words a day — then spend six months rewriting!
This quote says so much to me, “While the technology has changed, I don’t think writing has, nor have the fundamentals required for success in publishing. ” Too true.
A book has to be well written, well edited, and well recieived to have any chance at success. Just because we can write a series of scenes on our own, edit and then format the words on our own and quickly publish the completed novel all on our own doesn’t mean it’s worth reading.
I agree with another commentor, I’m curious to see how the quality of fiction will be affected in the next year, or two, or ten. Will content take a nose dive or will the sudden freedom help elevate more authors into the clouds? We’ll have to wait and see. Whether we like it or not, the state of publishing is evolving daily. Who knows what the future holds?
“The bottom line is good content= good books= sales. ” I totally agree with you. In the end, no matter the publishing road we choose, the story has to be damn good.
Thank you for reminding me to focus on where I might be (as an author) in the years to come. That’s something I haven’t thought about.
Thank you for your wisdom, and have a nice evening,
Tamara
I agree. However, since the odds are the same, I’ll have more fun publishing the book.
*shakes head* Instant gratification is never a good reason to do anything.
I’d rather self publish than play the lottery. I agree that it’s more fun, and I influence my own odds, when I self-publish. The rule of thumb I’ve heard is 5 years or 5 novels, whichever takes longer, to get a good readership. The way I figure it, focus on the “5 novels” end, and we’ll find out if I can’t make that “5 years” a bit shorter.
But some books take a long time to write. I have one that I’ve dabbled in off and on, for years, and I still can’t figure out how to pull it off. Lord willing, I’ll figure it out eventually, but for now, it’s one book that I’ll later look at and say “Wow, that took me [probably at least a decade]“.
So, self publish or play the lottery? Maybe I should do both.
I have appreciated your posts and podcasts since I found them, Bob, and I will tell you this, I’ve played the lottery off and on (for fun) for years. I have much more control over my book. I think I will take the chance of getting my little ol’ self published.
Thanks for your insight.
Making the decision to self-publish one of my manuscripts, TREE SOLDIER, was one of the hardest decisions I’ve made, but I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. It had finaled in a lit contest, did well in the ABNA and had received good, positive feedback. A couple of hours face to face with an editor helped to clear up some pacing issues. But before all that, I had it edited. Besides the cover, this is the most important component of publishing. A novel years in the making. I’m still pitching my work, hoping to get an agent and published. I have some essays published the traditional way and am thinking of e-publishing.
Great advice. I’m starting to face up to the fact that you can’t rush quality. Writing a good novel takes times, there’s no way around it. Unless you’re high on crack and coffee I suppose…
I’ve come around to the idea of self-publishing but I agree that it’s just as important to be meticulous about what is published. Perhaps even more than traditional publishing. I’m considering publishing an anthology of short stories. I’m taking it very slowly though. I want to make sure that I’m making good decisions about the business side of writing as well as carefully polishing the work I put out there.
Good post, Bob. Aspiring writer need to know the truth is that good writing sells books. I know, I recieved a great jolt when my first book was edited. I thought it was good, but it was shit. Now I believe it is good and I’ve had a positive response from a publisher. If you think you cannot afford a good editor, the truth is you cannot afford not to hire a good editor.
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Congrats on your success, Bob. Your post is absolutely what I needed today. I’ve had significant bites, nothing solid, and rather than go off on my own at this point, I’m reminded my story may not be the best it can be. Back to work for me. Thanks so much.
“While the technology has changed, I don’t think writing has, nor have the fundamentals required for success in publishing.”
Amen, Bob. And don’t forget what Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is sh**.” If you aren’t willing to revise until your fingers bleed, I don’t think you’re ready for self-publishing.
Obviously, you are a seasoned pro. I’m happy for your success.
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I agree with the post and almost all the comments, especially that editors should be a given- you have to find a way.
Just one thing I’d like to address. I keep hearing people suggest that the quality of literature as a whole will decrease due to more badly written self-published crap.
There are many thousands of books published every year, and quite a large % of them are of questionable quality. The best (in one way or another) rise to the top, the rest languish in obscurity. How many really wonderful books do you think come out in a year? I’m going to pull a meaningless example number out of the air and say 200.
There are ridiculous amounts of horrible self-published books, that’s true, along with a wide range of mediocre-to-good. However, there are also some wonderful self-published books. Let’s say right now that number is 20 per year. The gobs of awful books don’t diminish the brilliance of those 20 books, books which would not have been available to readers otherwise. Those books increased the total of actual wonderful books for the year by 10%.
Facetious math, but I hope you get what I’m saying.
People also ask how readers will ever find those books in the giant slushpile forming out there, and I have to wonder, do none of those asking that question have Netflix? Or even access to Amazon? We’re not talking about plopping a person in a giant warehouse sized bookstore with a million titles they have to physically sort through. Websites are sophisticated enough to learn and seek our preferences, to a degree that’s sometimes startling- and I’m sure they’re going to get better. I’m sure netflix carries thousands of 1-star movies, but never recommends them to me because if my choices in the past. I’m also sure there are people out there who watch only movies I’d hate, and they get those as their recommendations.
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So many writers think you can just throw any ebook up and instantly make a mint. No matter whether you’re taking the tradition route or the self-pub ebook route (or both, like I am), a professional author has to think long-term. The hardest thing these days is to shut out all the frenetic online activity and actually WRITE once in a while. Thanks for reminding all authors that you need to produce quality and have a plan.
Very wise words. It takes a while to build an audience. It is SO much easier now adays with social networking and ebooks – but if you don’t have a good book to start with you have nothing. The trick is persistence … to keep working at it… and little by little the wheels start to turn on their own as word-of-mouth grows.
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