I’m very happy to offer the Tumblemoose readership a guest post to finish out the week.
About the author
Brent Sampson is the best-selling author of “Sell Your Book on Amazon” and the award-winning “Self-Publishing Simplified.” As the president & CEO of Outskirts Press, Brent offers turn-key, on-demand custom book publishing services to authors seeking a cost-effective, fast, and powerful way to publish and distribute their books worldwide. Outskirts Press has helped thousands of authors realize their dreams of publishing profitably and is the third fastest growing privately-held company in Colorado. Call 888-672-6657 for more information or visit www.outskirtspress.com.
SELF-PUBLISHING: THE NEW AMERICAN IDOL
By Brent Sampson
Seeing Jennifer Hudson sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl reminded me of the recent article in the New York Times about the self-publishing industry, which received a lot of attention and has sparked ongoing controversy.
In spite of all evidence to the contrary, it appears conventionally published authors (and those striving to become such) still view self-publishing services with contempt because they feel authors are “cheating” somehow. After all, getting a book published traditionally is “hard work.” Those who have done it (or long to) perhaps feel as if self-published authors haven’t paid their dues.
But are they really cheating, or are they simply taking advantage of wide-spread changes taking place throughout the entertainment and business worlds?
Let’s examine other industries: The same Do-it-Yourself (DIY) fever is sweeping through the music industry. Or, to be more accurate, has already swept through the music industry. Talented musicians are no longer waiting for acceptance from the “establishment” and instead, are distributing their music through iTunes, finding their audiences through Myspace, and broadcasting their music videos via YouTube. It is safe to say the music industry has irrevocably changed. Musicians no longer give 95% of their royalties to the “industry” and customers no longer buy CDs from brick-and-mortar music stores.
Are these musicians cheating? No. They are still paying their dues, but now the invoice comes after their music has already become available. They still must market aggressively to obtain listeners, but at least they have something to market. The audience determines which of those musicians succeed and which of them fail.
This is no different from the self-publishing book industry.
I think it is safe to say that “becoming a rock star” is a dream that almost everyone can acknowledge, if not personally identify with; although if the ratings for American Idol are any indication, it might actually be a dream nearly everyone can identify with, too.
Other common dreams are “becoming an actor,” “becoming a model,” “becoming a professional athlete,” and yes, even “becoming a published author.”
Can you imagine the uproar that would ensue if all that was required to start playing for the New York Knicks was writing a check for $1000 to some internet company? Can you imagine the fervor if all that was required to obtain a recording contract was standing in line at some reality show try-out? Wait a minute! That’s already happening. Reality television has altered the search for “talent” and now, in rare instances, getting “discovered” is no harder than filling out an application.
Nowadays, instead of submitting audition tapes to countless producers, lyricists stand in line and face the possibility of public humiliation at the hands of Simon, Paula, and Randy.
This is no different from the self-publishing book industry.
Is this “cheating,” per se, or has the do-it-yourself mentality simply removed unnecessary hurdles that prevented talent from being discovered faster? You see, talent is the one common denominator and talent cannot be purchased. Cast members of Survivor have their fifteen minutes of fame and then disappear back into the abyss. The try-outs for American Idol feature thousands upon thousands of “hopefuls” standing in lines around city blocks and yet the main competition is comprised of just a handful. Most had their opportunity to shine, and their audience rejected them. But at least they received a shot.
As the New York Times article states, self-publishing companies are thriving, and that is because we give writers their shot, their fifteen minutes, their chance. We are American Idol for writers. We make it easy to publish a book. If “publishing a book” is your dream, you’re going to be happy with the result. And if your 
dream is to be successful, famous, rich, or a combination of the three, you’re going to receive your chance, but just like everyone else who is successful, famous, or rich, you are going to need to bring something special to the table.
Most reasonable people recognize this. Those who don’t may become disillusioned, but listen – if it were easy to become a bestselling author, a multi-platinum recording artist, a player for the New York Knicks, or a highly-sought-after runway model, then everyone would do it.
Just because iTunes makes the distribution of music easy doesn’t mean every artist is going to become a success overnight. And just because standing in line for American Idol is easy doesn’t mean all those people are going to win an Oscar and sing the National Anthem for the Super Bowl. Lord knows there is only one Jennifer Hudson. American Idol didn’t make her a success; talent pours from her soul. She would have found success tripping through the dark blindfolded. But American Idol shined a light on her, and she reflected back.
Self-publishing companies shine a light on writers. It is the writer’s job to shine back. Some authors do, like Gang Chen, who earned over $39,000 in royalties from Outskirts Press in the 4th quarter of 2008. That’s $13,000 a month. Has his book sold a million copies? No. Is he making a lot of money as a self-published author? Yes. By any reasonable benchmark, Gang Chen is a successful self-published author who has given specific permission to have his successes shared.
And this brings me to my last point. All publishing companies are different, just like all writers are different, and just like all contestants on American Idol are different. Success is never guaranteed. But if you are going to self-publish your book, you’re better off publishing with a company where your chances for success increase. Above all, you have to believe in yourself and you have to work hard. Success rarely comes easily for anyone, but now, thanks to self-publishing companies, everyone has an equal chance. We’ll shine the light on you. What you do with that light is up to you.
So what say you, Tumblemoose Clan?
I think the music business analogy is right on the money. – George
Interesting post, it’s given me much food for thought. I think it’s become easier than ever to market your own work and find your audience, and in that light, self publishing makes sense.
And I agree, no matter who publishes your book, you have to work hard and have a quality product or you won’t be a success.
A question – could a self published author use Amazon or a similar large online retailer to sell his book and fulfill orders?
Tracy´s last blog post..Don’t Ask Stupid Questions – There Are No Stupid Questions – Book Review
Hi George and Brent – Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom on self publishing. With so many bloggers looking for a way to capitalize on their work at a minimal cost, self publishing appears to be the way to go. Thank you for the great reminder to research who we use before we sign on the dotted line.
Barbara Swafford´s last blog post..NBOTW Offers A Free EBook
Hi Tracy,
My understanding is that most of the self publishing services can include those kind of submissions as part of a package. Anyone have a more solid answer?
George
Hi Barbara,
Yeah, Brent did a great job of putting this together. We really live in an exciting age for writers. As I said, there is a lot to be learned from how the music biz has transitioned.
George
Hi George, I agree that it’s an exciting age to be a writer and a reader!
Tracy´s last blog post..How to explain that you’ve locked down your Facebook
Yes, publishers will distribute to Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, etc. Not all of course. And some will only distribute to those channels for a higher up-front fee or “larger package”. For instance, Outskirts Press has a Ruby package for $699 that will, BUT you should add the $499 Returnable program in order to have a chance at getting your book into a physical bookstore.
there are so many things to consider to publish yet at the same time, what is the worst that can happen?
Dee Langdon – BloggerNewbie´s last blog post..Do You Write Your Posts Each Day Or For The Week?
The establishment HATES that common people now have the means to compete with them. If the big name authors have a problem with more authors entering the game, then that is a sign of insecurity. People will buy the books that they want. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is that there are more choices now.
And as far as reality stars go, there have been more of them to come and go then there have been that have stuck around. They don’t have any real edge over each other.
Trey – Swollen Thumb Entertainment´s last blog post..Top 10 Problems With The Movie Industry
Dee,
I’ve become more and more convinced that self publishing is the way to go. Spend a little time on Nathan Bransford’s blog and the publisher news is morose.
George
Hi Trey,
Thanks for coming by and commenting. I am tending to agree these days. I like the fact that there are so many options.
Cheers
George
Hi George and Brent.
Brent, I have to admit I’ve only just heard of you and your book! I found Aaron Shepard’s Aiming At Amazon last year and used that. Anyway the more books the better and thanks for a very interesting article!
Self-publishing or New Publishing, is revolutionising the publishing industry and about time too! You’re right, Brent, it is exactly the same as happened with the music industry.
There are still a lot of people out there who sneer at self-publishing. Some of them because they’re confusing it with vanity publishing. Others, from Old Publishing, sneer because finally they are losing the control they have wielded over authors for far too long. Agents don’t have time to read for pleasure, and for too long they have controlled what gets published and what doesn’t. Their only concern is “Can I sell it?” because agents are saleswomen and salesmen. There are decent agents out there, Dee, you’ve mentioned Nathan Bransford and I reckon he is one of them.
However, the moment that changed my life was when I realised that if a raggedy piece of paper were forwarded to an agent from Britney Spears with “I wanna tell my side of da story rite an I need sum1 to rite it 4 me, yeah?” then that agent would chuck my polished submission package on the floor and rush to the phone to pitch Britney’s celeb-bio to all the editors on file. That’s what made me realise I was barking up the wrong tree.
Just to clarify, here’s a list of some authors who have self-published.
James Joyce
Rudyard Kipling,
Edgar Allan Poe,
Virginia Woolf,
D. H. Lawrence,
E. E. Cummings,
Deepak Chopra,
Benjamin Franklin,
Stephen Crane,
Zane Grey,
Thomas Paine,
Ezra Pound,
Carl Sandburg,
George Bernard Shaw,
Upton Sinclair,
Gertrude Stein,
Henry David Thoreau,
Walt Whitman
Mark Twain.
In John Kremer’s 1001 Ways To Market Your Book, which, as I’m sure Brent will agree, is an essential purchase for any serious author, John says “Indeed the PW (Publishers Weekly) and NYT best seller lists are more or less works of fiction.” He goes on to say “Greg Godek sold more than a million copies of his self-published 1001 Ways To Be Romantic without ever appearing on a bestseller list. Since selling the rights to Sourcebooks, he has sold another million copies, but still no appearance on a bestseller list.”
Just as the large music companies used to control which songs made the top ten, so large publishing companies control bestseller lists. This is just one of the myriad reasons why it is about time authors started creating more power for themselves. I’ll tell you what happened in my own case…
I can honestly say that since deciding to take control of my writing career I have never been happier. After having articles published in the mainstream music press in the eighties and the mainstream rock-climbing press this millennium, I started writing my debut novel in 2005. It’s called My Adventures In Cyberspace and is inspired by my own experience of falling in love with a man on an internet forum merely by dint of his writing, without knowing what he looked like. I finished the writing eighteen months later, but struggled to find an agent, despite one of the top agents in the UK telling me parts of the novel were “brilliant” and another highly respected agent saying she was interested in representing me, but only if I cut the novel by 50 thousand words (I politely declined.)
Then in 2008 a publishing friend, Jim Benstead of Tallis House Publishing, encouraged me to set up my own publishing company. I decided to write a new novel to use as a guinea pig on which to make my inevitable newbie publisher mistakes (and boy, have I made some mistakes and learnt some lessons!), so last spring I wrote the sexually explicit Mother-in-Law, Son-in-Law, to meet the existing market demand of at least 10 people a day arriving on my blog having googled “mother in law son in law sex” (of which there was none at the time, they got there by keyword association from separate articles.)
The title went on sale in November, and 2 months before its official book launch, it has been dipping in and out of the top few ten thousands on Amazon purely by word of mouth. And last week I got a double page spread about me and my work in the mainstream Sheffield press in an article entitled “Today’s Woman: Taboo sex, a winner for author Jude.” which is here if you’re interested, about how, using a clipboard and pencil, I used my partner and editor Brian as a guinea pig to test out whether my erotic writing was “working” or not.
http://www.thestar.co.uk/features/TODAY39S-WOMAN-Taboo-sex-a.4919459.jp
If you go to my blog at this link: http://tinyurl.com/asg7nw and whizz down the page (past the shots of me as a granny now, and as a teenager in Custom Car Magazine), you’ll see an article entitled Why New Publishing Lead To Fleur De Lys Publishing Ltd, in which you’ll find,
Why I decided to set up my own publishing company
Why I decided I didn’t want to continue wasting time begging agents to take 15% of my income.
Why the New Publishing revolution is so important.
How spurious submission hoaxes have demonstrated that agents and large publishers whose only motivation is profit, do not have a viable quality control system in place.
Some useful links.
I’m now in the position where my debut novel, My Adventures In Cyberspace, is due for publication in 3 weeks, at the end of February, I’m completing the sequel which will be published this Autumn, and I’ve just spent a very happy weekend designing the book cover for the sequel and the bookmarks to hand out at the Book Launch Party this March at a bar in the centre of Sheffield.
This is all under my control and every aspect of it is a joy. It is not that difficult to set up a company! If you have the organisational skills and discipline to write a book you can run a company. It takes hard work, perseverance, courage and determination but it can be done, and it is worth the effort, just to have such control and freedom over your work. I am completing this sequel KNOWING that it WILL be published this autumn, and I don’t have to beg or argue with anyone to get that book on readers’ bookshelves, I just have to work very hard. And the book has the cover I want and have designed, not the cover someone else wants.
Some people sneer “Well the advantage of a “proper” publishing company is that they vet your work.” My company IS a proper publishing company! It is a limited company with all the responsibilities that entails! And my writing is ruthlessly vetted by a brilliant editor, a process which has on occasion completely decimated my ego. Not a bad thing. Even though my editor happens to be my partner, it doesn’t make it any easier to have the odd paragraph of what I thought was beautiful prose marked “This is pretentious shit. Get rid of it.” Anyway, “Large reputable company” does not necessarily equate with responsibility, quality and dependability. I give you Lehman Brothers.
I encourage every author to go for New Publishing. We have the technology. Our pens are mightier than swords. Let’s take control and get our work out there.
George – make a writing schedule and finish that novel. Although I am not in a position to publish other authors for the time being, I’ll be rooting for you.
Jude Calvert-Toulmin´s last blog post..Scherer González flower platforms – the shoes I want for my Book Launch Party
Jude,
That is one of the most fantastic comments to ever grace the website here at Tumblemoose. The tagline here is “Inspiring Writers, Every Day” and this comment certainly does that. What a great story to motivate writers to take some control. I imagine the freedom that comes with such a decision. To not worry about finding an agent, or wonder if a publishing house in the crucial times will extend an offer to a new author – it is very encouraging.
Thank you for taking the time to put together such a thoughtful and helpful comment. I hope to see you again soon!
Cheers
George
Brent and George – thanks for this poignant article.
To my eyes this is clearly the future. Your simile of the music industry is spot on. It’s a more advanced example of an industry in transition. You can’t tell me that in 10 years there won’t be tens of thousands of successful tiny labels and/or self publishers.
I can’t be 100% sure on this but I’m pretty damn sure that the rise of the mp3 player was a catalyst for this.
If ebooks become as ubiquitous then there’ll be no turning back for the book industry and it’s bye bye to the big print houses.
But even the little music artists need someone to make their CD’s, and that’s where I see Brent is ahead of the curve. His print house is the future and there’ll always be a spot available for his services.
Even now I reckon if you are an author and you don’t at least consider self publishing you are missing out.
One day I hope to have something enough worth saying that it should be bound between two covers, and that’s where George is ahead of the curve. Inspiring writers everyday.
Indeed.
Patrick
Patrick,
Thanks for coming by and for the kind words. I do sense a change in the wind.
This post by Brent has opened my eyes and inspired me to look at things in a different way.
I agree with you Patrick, in that we are going to experience a very different publishing system than those before us. Wise writers will recognize this and start planning now. I’ve decided that is what I am going to do.
Patrick, after spending time at your site, I’ve no doubt that you’ve something great to say in you. I’ll be anxious to see it one day, and an autographed copy would be appreciated.
Cheers
George
Some good observations about going the direction of self-publishing. I’ve got a manuscript I’ve been kicking around, and I just need to take the time to see this gets published.
Hi Gina,
I tell ya, if I had a manuscript I would try everything in my power to go the self pub route at this point.
Best of luck to you, I’m sure it will work out well for you.
Cheers
George
Wow, George, you were really serious about great conversation happening over here! I loved this post–and the comment thread is amazing!
I’ve never understood the negative feelings toward self publishing. I mean, if someone is talented and they write a book and edit it (or hire an editor), who says they can’t design (or hire a designer to create)a great cover? And, with all the networking opportunities available now the possibilities for success are endless!
Don’t this just make ya want to write a book and self publish it?!
Great stuff here, George.
*smiles*
Michele
Michele´s last blog post..25 Fun Facts You Didn’t Know About Me
Hi Michele,
Thanks for dropping by and checking it out.
It is pretty amazing. With the internet what it is, all of the resources that otherwise were impossible are now at an author’s fingertips.
And yes, it has inspired me to go that direction!
Cheers
George
Thank you for responding to my comment, George. I was a little wary of making such a long post about my own experience for fear of coming over a bit “me me me” but maybe that is because I’m English and we are generally very gauche and embarrassed about self-promotion. In fact on British forums being called “A shameless self-publicist” is a common insult to people following the American way of wanting to be proud of and share one’s achievements in an attempt to motivate and inspire others.
I should have added a couple of thankyous to my post, and that is thank you to Iain Broome for @ing me on Twitter a link to this wonderful post. For two years Iain co-ran Sheffield’s premiere open-mic night for writers and poets, Words Aloud. Forcing myself to overcome my fear and perform excerpts from my work at Words Aloud in front of a packed house every month, was one of the main things that gave me the courage to go for it with respect to self-publishing. You can see some of my performances along with the performances of other writers and poets whom I filmed, on my YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/judecalverttoulmin. YouTube is a very good way for writers to promote their work! My last performance at Words Aloud has had nearly 10,000 views – OK it does have the word sex in the title though
Anyway, Iain has now started a blog for writers who are struggling with everyday obstacles to their writing, called Write For Your Life at writeforyourlife.net, which you and some of your readers may find useful, motivating, entertaining and interesting, George. I know I do, and the comment trails are as friendly and welcoming as yours.
The other thanks (gosh it’s getting a bit Oscar-acceptance-speech this, considering I’m just responding to thanks on a comment trail, LOL!) has to go to my partner Brian, who has agreed to financially support me for the last 4 years so that I could devote myself to writing full time. I realise how lucky I am that all my children have now left home and my partner supports me, and that others are not in such a fortunate position…
@Gina Go for it! Life is so brief, and if you don’t do it now it may never happen, and something in your book could well change one of your readers’ lives…
btw if anyone wants to follow me on Twitter I will follow you back, I’m at http://twitter.com/jcalverttoulmin, and I’m Tweeting scheduled daily lines from a selected chapter of my novels at http://twitter.com/MILSIL and http://twitter.com/MAIC_book.
Jude Calvert-Toulmin´s last blog post..David Winge – photographer of the cover shot for Mother-in -Law, Son-in-Law
Sorry the direct link for Iain’s site is http://writeforyourlife.net
Jude Calvert-Toulmin´s last blog post..David Winge – photographer of the cover shot for Mother-in -Law, Son-in-Law
Thank you, I really need to know this before buying it.
Jessica,
I’m glad this has helped. Thanks for stopping by and contributing, I look forward to more.
George
thank you george, it’s a beautiful information
An excellant article; but be careful which self-publisher you choose. Here’s one to avoid: Llumina Press. They do a sloppy job with both text-formatting and the cover. And when you want to pull out they won’t give any refund even though that’s promised in their publishing contract.
WF
Hey WF,
Thanks and it’s always good to hear which places folks need to be a bit wary of. There are a lot of above-board publishers out there and there are others that behave just the way you mention.
I hope your next venture treats ya a lot better.
George
I think the future is going to be that many writers will take their books to a self publishing house. With the advent of the internet it is not really to hard to hire at very reasonable fees freelancers who can help you design covers as well as help lay out the book for publishing. This way you are not at the mercy of the large publishing houses as long as your willing to take the risk of self publishing.
Jim Sandler´s last blog ..Wheeled Backpacks