Times Are A-Changin’ By Em Petrova

Lately I’ve been part of several conversations concerning e-publishing, self-publishing and New York publishing. Like any good debate things got heated—and not in a good way! Authors and readers alike are on the fence about these different methods of delivering new books to you. Blogs and workshops are dedicated to it. There are even publications about the avenues of publication.

Any newbie writer knows there are many options available to us. You can query your heart out to NY agents in hopes of them picking you up. For the most part, their agencies only take on a handful of new authors a year. That’s about a 2% chance you’ll shove your foot in the door before they shove theirs up your ass.

Writers can submit to many e-publishing houses—and even some NY ones—without agents. But even more confusing is the question of self-publishing. I know authors who have dipped their toes in the waters of all three of these venues in hopes of finding their own answers.

To me, it seems like NY carries a lot of prestige. One thing remains the same with all venues though—no writer really makes the “big bucks” unless they’re selling a bajillion copies. And sometimes not even then if their contracts suck. In the past few years since e-publishing has skyrocketed, many authors are making good money here. And in the world of self-pub I’ve heard of authors making even BETTER sales because they get a higher cut and don’t have to share with a middle man.

So what does this mean for readers? We’ve all picked up print books and put them right down again. Just because it’s paper and ink doesn’t mean it’s good. I’ve unfortunately doled out many wasted dollars on print books I couldn’t get through and donated to the church rummage sale later.  Ditto with e-books. I’ve found some fabulous reads and some that bored me to tears. Luckily the e-versions are often cheaper so you don’t feel as ripped off and you’re not left with slogging the remains of your hated paperback to the bring-and-buy.

And lastly self-published works are as hit and miss as NY publishing and e-publishing. I’ve read a few that needed the work of a professional editor and some that rocked the world with their fabulosity (yeah, I know—not a real word but it fits!) As far as I can tell though and in my personal opinion, readers are confused by which book they should sink their money into. E-pubs barely hit their strides and they were overturned by self-pubbed authors. Many are floundering for submissions and losing valuable authors who want to make a bigger buck somewhere else. I’m by no means saying authors shouldn’t self-publish. The writer must take many factors into consideration. Genre, readership…even the thickness of one’s own skin in comparison to the number of rejections she can tolerate before saying screw it—I’ll do it on my own.

I think in the end the readers must try to make better decisions about what they’re buying. Take an extra minute to open Amazon’s “Look Inside Me” feature and actually read the first page. Read some reviews on Amazon or by doing a Google search for reviews on that book. Ask your friends what they’re reading. Tweet “anyone ever read this book?” and see how many responses you get. We consumers work hard for our money. Why should we throw it away? No matter what type of book you buy or from which house, what still matters is quality. Yeah, sometimes the best product wears the prettiest label. And sometimes the generic version works just as well—if not better. A few minutes of research will help you choose which book will best satisfy your hunger.

Em Petrova

~where words mean so much more~
www.empetrova.com

Deux:  http://www.breathlesspress.org/Book/305

Trois: http://www.breathlesspress.org/Book/290
Tattoo Dream: http://www.breathlesspress.org/Book/273
The Tempest: http://tiny.cc/78ydb
Runes: http://tiny.cc/rh5yl
Trefoil: http://www.eredsage.com/store/product859.html
Runestone: http://www.eredsage.com/store/Runestone.html
Forbidden: http://www.eredsage.com/store/Forbidden.html
My Sexy Valentine: http://tiny.cc/2w5ea
Isolde’s Wish: http://www.loose-id.com/Isoldes-Wish.aspx
Market Place: http://tiny.cc/l1gch
Bound for Romance: http://tiny.cc/k7huy
(all books are with e-pubs)