Comments on: Acclaimed Novelist Experiments With Self-publishing http://markcnewton.com/2010/03/10/acclaimed-novelist-experiments-with-self-publishing/ Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:07:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Alex http://markcnewton.com/2010/03/10/acclaimed-novelist-experiments-with-self-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-2890 Alex Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:48:39 +0000 http://markcnewton.com/?p=2362#comment-2890 I think you're confusing vanity publishing, which preys on the desire of writers to see their words in print to make money for the company, with self-publishing, where an author uses some technical tools (in this case Lulu, but it could be a pdf creator or a photocopier) to publish and sell their own work - the DIY ethos in action, if you will. I think you’re confusing vanity publishing, which preys on the desire of writers to see their words in print to make money for the company, with self-publishing, where an author uses some technical tools (in this case Lulu, but it could be a pdf creator or a photocopier) to publish and sell their own work – the DIY ethos in action, if you will.

]]> By: Phillip http://markcnewton.com/2010/03/10/acclaimed-novelist-experiments-with-self-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-2833 Phillip Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:41:17 +0000 http://markcnewton.com/?p=2362#comment-2833 Personally, I differentiate between vanity publishing and self publishing. They are not the same! Wil Wheaton uses Lulu as well and I love his writing. I also recognise that going through the usual channels can both filter out the chaff and hold back genuine talent. Therein lies the difference between vanity and self publishing, one is a person of little talent convinced that the world is out to get them and the other is someone with a great deal of talent unable to be heard over the 'noise' of all the others vying for the attention of the publishing houses. How to tell the difference between them? Well, people like Wil Wheaton posted a lot of their stuff online for feedback before going the route of self publishing, or put another way, confirmed that they had genuine talent before trying to get their work published. We all know what the other type does... Self publishing is a valid route to getting your work out there. As long as you do a public talent check first :) Personally, I differentiate between vanity publishing and self publishing. They are not the same!

Wil Wheaton uses Lulu as well and I love his writing. I also recognise that going through the usual channels can both filter out the chaff and hold back genuine talent. Therein lies the difference between vanity and self publishing, one is a person of little talent convinced that the world is out to get them and the other is someone with a great deal of talent unable to be heard over the ‘noise’ of all the others vying for the attention of the publishing houses.

How to tell the difference between them? Well, people like Wil Wheaton posted a lot of their stuff online for feedback before going the route of self publishing, or put another way, confirmed that they had genuine talent before trying to get their work published. We all know what the other type does…

Self publishing is a valid route to getting your work out there. As long as you do a public talent check first :)

]]> By: Mark C Newton http://markcnewton.com/2010/03/10/acclaimed-novelist-experiments-with-self-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-2832 Mark C Newton Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:47:23 +0000 http://markcnewton.com/?p=2362#comment-2832 SMD - I forgot about King doing that. I guess someone in his position could afford to hire the crew, but that's essentially starting his own self-pub firm. DJM - there is some extra stuff to do, but if you're in the industry, you can probably hire the right crew to help. Which means you're forking out for your own set-up costs, and therein lies the issue perhaps. SMD – I forgot about King doing that. I guess someone in his position could afford to hire the crew, but that’s essentially starting his own self-pub firm.

DJM – there is some extra stuff to do, but if you’re in the industry, you can probably hire the right crew to help. Which means you’re forking out for your own set-up costs, and therein lies the issue perhaps.

]]> By: D.J. Morel http://markcnewton.com/2010/03/10/acclaimed-novelist-experiments-with-self-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-2830 D.J. Morel Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:20:15 +0000 http://markcnewton.com/?p=2362#comment-2830 It's interesting that Wideman is doing this with a collection of short stories, which aren't much loved by traditional publishers and tend not to sell all that well. Still, this way the book does get out there, his fans get to read the stories, and he'll likely make a modest profit from it. But it is a whole lot more work. He'll need to handle all of his own editing, copyediting, proofing, and promotion rather than move on to writing the next book. My hunch is if he could have found a traditional publisher for this project, he would have, but he probably feels strongly enough about these stories to experiment with Lulu and see what comes from it all. Who knows? Going this route he may get a little extra publicity too, such as this blog post. It’s interesting that Wideman is doing this with a collection of short stories, which aren’t much loved by traditional publishers and tend not to sell all that well. Still, this way the book does get out there, his fans get to read the stories, and he’ll likely make a modest profit from it.

But it is a whole lot more work. He’ll need to handle all of his own editing, copyediting, proofing, and promotion rather than move on to writing the next book. My hunch is if he could have found a traditional publisher for this project, he would have, but he probably feels strongly enough about these stories to experiment with Lulu and see what comes from it all. Who knows? Going this route he may get a little extra publicity too, such as this blog post.

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