March 9, 2006
I co-opted RJ's blog space to post this rant and decided to bring it here for your viewing pleasure...


I hold these truths to be, well, true. Not necessarily self-evident.

1. I don't recommend self-publishing fiction. The only nonfiction I would recommend publishing would have a niche market or you're in a position to sell the books as a secondary aspect of your primary business. In other words, say you spend much of your time giving talks about practice management to proctologists. "Business Management For Butt Doctors" will sell well at your talks, but most people probably aren't interested.

2. Should you POD? See answer to #1. But... what is your goal? Is it to make money? To make a living? To start off a professional writing career? If you answer yes, then do not use print-on-demand.

If your goal is to see your book published so you can have a copy on the shelf and sell a few copies to friends and family, sure, this is a reasonable option that is more affordable than self-publishing.

3. Unless you're extraordinarily successful and your book receives a huge advance, a giant push by your publisher, great buzz, fantastic reviews and copies fly off the shelves, publication can seem pretty damned anticlimactic. For most writers, publication is preceeded and followed by marketing and promotion that is so grueling it makes the writing process seem like a day at the beach. Promotion and marketing is like trying to move Mt. Everest. Even with a backhoe there isn't going to be a noticeable difference. Mostly you'll feel like you're trying to move the mountain from Nepal to south Texas using a teaspoon.

4. Nobody--and I mean NOBODY--gives a damn about your book the way you do. Not your editor, not your publisher, not your agent, not your spouse, not your children, not your mom, dad, cat, dog, gold fish or the prostitute down the street with the heart of gold. Don't expect the world to view it the way you do.

5. If it was easy, everybody would do it. There would be so many damn books there wouldn't be any trees left on the planet. Contrary to popular opinion, everybody does NOT have a great book in them.


Best,
Mark Terry

p.s. 6. A note on self-publishing. Writing is a business. Publishing is a business. They do not have to be mutually exclusive, but being both writer and publisher is a job. To be a publisher, first, you need money. You probably need more balls (and money) than brains. You need to learn about layout, production, copy editing (hopefully), cover art, budgets and, ta-da!--distribution, the single most important aspect of successful publication, the one most overlooked by writers and small presses. It is, presumably, a labor of love. Heavy on labor, light on love. I've had 500 copies of Dirty Deeds that I agreed to try and hand-sell for my small press publisher, High Country Publishers, Ltd., on a consignment basis. In the 18 to 22 months or so since it's publication, I've managed to sell about 225 of them. I've done dozens of Rotary Club and Library Talks and book signings and book fairs. I've done mailings--thousands. I've sold copies to friends and family and a few neighbors. See above about moving Mt. Everest. And this is only 500 books! Imagine having a print run of 5000 in your garage?

Proceed with extreme caution!!!!!