Young Writers and the Self-Publishing Trap

Before the internet age, the common trap for the young/beginning writer was the vanity press. A vanity press advertised in magazines, saying they wanted writers to submit to them. They accepted all novels, no matter how flawed. And then they ask you for money.

They claimed that was how publishing worked. You had to pay to get published if you wanted to be the next Norman Mailer.

So young writers paid, and ended up with a garage full of books that didn't sell because bookstores didn't carry vanity press books, and libraries wouldn't even accept them as gifts. And if the young writer mentioned that vanity press book as a writing credit, he was written off as an amateur.

Self-publishing today is not the same thing. They don't, as a rule, lie to you in order to sell you on publishing with them. And there are respected traditionally-published writers who self-publish now, such as Holly Lisle who has used self-publishing to get some of her old novels back into print. A very few writers have even found self-publishing an entryway to a writing career, as in Hugh Howey, whose self-published book 'Wool' won a traditional publisher's contract for a print book version.

But for the young/beginning writer, self-publishing can be a trap. Perhaps you participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and you finish a novel. Then you find out you can get it self-published. Perhaps people tell you that no one has a chance with the traditional publishers, you HAVE to self-publish.

Then it gets expensive. The self-publishers tend to sell you editing and proof-reading services, cover art services, perhaps special book promotion services. So even with a 'free' self-publishing option you end up sinking hundreds into self-publishing that first novel. And it doesn't sell, except to your mom and your cousin Bill.

So you panic and read a few articles on using social media to promote your book. You end up being a book-spammer--- putting your book promo up on message boards and internet groups, causing many to vow never to buy anything you write because of your rudeness. And you sell a few more books. Only your self-promoting is taking up all your writing time and you don't know when you will start your next book. Your energies are absorbed in selling this one.

This is a special problem for the teen writer. The teenager simply doesn't have the life experience to avoid making some glaring mistakes. And the skills of the teen writer are not what they will be after a few more years of practice. The teen-written first novel rarely can compete with books written by more mature writers.

This isn't to say that what the teen writer produces is worthless. Fantasy writer Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote a story as a teen that went on to become the start of her Darkover series--- a wonderful series she went on with for the rest of her life. But the teen-written version was not what got published. She re-wrote extensively at a more mature age, and this became one of her first published books. Years later when she had improved her skills still more, she was so embarrassed by the lack of quality of that version, called 'Sword of Aldones', that she retold that part of the Darkover story in a new novel 'Sharra's Exile'.

So--- you have your just-finished Nano novel in your hands. What do you do? Now, I'm not saying you can't use a firm like Lulu.com to make a few copies of the book, either print or ebook, to share with your writing friends. That can be fun. But DON'T at this point decide you are a published writer.

Your next task is to put that novel away for a few months and begin your second. Check that first novel again. How does it compare to what you are writing now? If you still think it measures up, look up some traditional royalty-paying publishers and submit. You will be rejected. Your second and third and fourth novel will be rejected too. But the rejection letters will get nicer.

As well as continuing to write, you must continue to improve your writing skills by reading the best books on writing, and doing writing exercises. 

When should you self-publish? I firmly believe that you ought to have something published in a traditional way before you are ready to turn to self publishing. It doesn't have to be a novel. In my case, I published a story in a national 'confession' magazine, several poems in small press periodicals, and a column in a local humor newspaper. I then had confirmation that I was able to judge accurately when something I had written was polished enough for publication.

 To get that publication experience you may have to experiment with writing forms that aren't really your writing goal. You may have to try out some small press publishers. You might have to do as I did and volunteer to write a column somewhere. Write thoughtful letters to the editor of your local paper and see if your letter gets published, and what the reaction is. Just find SOME way to get your writing tested by the real world.

The main thing is, DON'T fall into the trap of publishing an unpolished, beginner's novel through self-publishing and then self-promote the hell out of it. That is self-defeating. Be patient, and in time if you choose to self-publish, your self-published novel will stand out from the others in a GOOD way.


This blog post originally published on Facebook.
 http://www.facebook.com/NissaAnnakindt