I have a terrible confession to make

[Buck]

Not only would that be depressing, one really has to weigh the potential cost and whether one's interest in writing a book realistically translates into audience interest in reading it.
That is ashuming one is realistic that one can competently write a book.

Perhaps the cost issue is allayed a bit via virtual publishing, but that again changes the audience factor.

I guess in a way I liken it to the dream of opening one's own business.
I used to think, and many on here have expressed it, 'I'd love to own a used bookstore.'
Of course, that is a terrible business idea, and one's own interest in books and love of bookstores does not make it viable.
Likewise, a book about the history and demise of small, community banks might seem like an interesting subject to an earnest, would-be writer.
However, it might not find much of an audience.

 

[Hermes]

The really fun moment for me was when I realized 370 pages into a novel that I don't have the intellectual horsepower or writing ability to pull it off. In hindsight I'm glad I tried, but that was a tough pill to swallow for a month.

It was that moment in your mid to late 20s when you realize your limitations, but I had a physical monument to it sitting in a Word doc.

 

[da man]

The really fun moment for me was when I realized 370 pages into a novel that I don't have the intellectual horsepower or writing ability to pull it off. In hindsight I'm glad I tried, but that was a tough pill to swallow for a month.

It was that moment in your mid to late 20s when you realize your limitations, but I had a physical monument to it sitting in a Word doc.

You got way further than me. I couldn't even put together a decent short story.

I honestly have no idea how people can write fiction. It really does seem like magic to me.

 

[CD Boogie]

I will confess that I used to be leery of anybody self-publishing. It seems like a path to real heartbreak. (I know a woman in town who self-published a novel. It is awful, and she has sold zero copies, and I fear it might kill her.) But I know of at least one non-fiction writer who self-published—against my advice, in fact—and that's the reason today he has a deal with an actual publisher. So it can work, and maybe today, with the help of the Internet, it's easier to make a go of it. But the idea of having boxes of your unsold books in a storage unit somewhere makes me gaspy as hell.

I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger and self-publish my fiction. I realize the novels I've written are not up to snuff. The more I read and the more I write, I recognize that as true. I think the novel I'm working on now can break through and hopefully get pubbed. Whether it's a big press or a small press, as long as I'm not running print-on-demand I can stomach it. But the situation you describe -- of a self-published author who can't sell at all -- is just mortifying. Does she have no friends or family? If I self-pubbed, I'd hope I could garner at least 100 pity purchases.

I know people rail against gatekeepers, and god knows I've railed against my share over the years. But I'd say the overwhelming majority of so-called taste makers know what they're doing. For every Walt Whitman who self-published and found success, there's a million deluded writers who went that route and did not benefit.

 

[The Big Ragu]

I will confess that I used to be leery of anybody self-publishing. It seems like a path to real heartbreak. (I know a woman in town who self-published a novel. It is awful, and she has sold zero copies, and I fear it might kill her.) But I know of at least one non-fiction writer who self-published—against my advice, in fact—and that's the reason today he has a deal with an actual publisher. So it can work, and maybe today, with the help of the Internet, it's easier to make a go of it. But the idea of having boxes of your unsold books in a storage unit somewhere makes me gaspy as hell.

The world has changed so much with digital publishing. ... But I own a small business that does custom publishing work. Vanity press stuff isn't the focus of it, but years ago I did a bunch of that work. There are these odd niches where it makes absolute sense. For example, one is for college professors who want to have their own textbook. ... if they can convince a few others to use it in their courses, it can even turn out profitable for them. Another (and I did a couple of these) is for a business executive (usually in some sort of sales role) who wants to show off his or her expertise about something. When you meet a new client or prospect, you hand them a copy of your book. But the money I got paid to edit and produce those books was more of a marketing expense for them, and I realize it isn't what you are talking about.

I could easily have a designer I work with lay out my novel, and I can get copies printed at relatively low cost. The idea does nothing for me. The fact that I would sell zero copies wouldn't kill me. But it would feel ridiculously senseless. An expense. ... and I would derive no psychic benefit.

 

[typefitter]

I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger and self-publish my fiction. I realize the novels I've written are not up to snuff. The more I read and the more I write, I recognize that as true. I think the novel I'm working on now can break through and hopefully get pubbed. Whether it's a big press or a small press, as long as I'm not running print-on-demand I can stomach it. But the situation you describe -- of a self-published author who can't sell at all -- is just mortifying. Does she have no friends or family? If I self-pubbed, I'd hope I could garner at least 100 pity purchases.

I know people rail against gatekeepers, and god knows I've railed against my share over the years. But I'd say the overwhelming majority of so-called taste makers know what they're doing. For every Walt Whitman who self-published and found success, there's a million deluded writers who went that route and did not benefit.

See Lessons 12 through 15. Hope you get this one done and out.

 

[typefitter]

The world has changed so much with digital publishing. ... But I own a small business that does custom publishing work. Vanity press stuff isn't the focus of it, but years ago I did a bunch of that work. There are these odd niches where it makes absolute sense. For example, one is for college professors who want to have their own textbook. ... if they can convince a few others to use it in their courses, it can even turn out profitable for them. Another (and I did a couple of these) is for a business executive (usually in some sort of sales role) who wants to show off his or her expertise about something. When you meet a new client or prospect, you hand them a copy of your book. But the money I got paid to edit and produce those books was more of a marketing expense for them, and I realize it isn't what you are talking about.

I could easily have a designer I work with lay out my novel, and I can get copies printed at relatively low cost. The idea does nothing for me. The fact that I would sell zero copies wouldn't kill me. But it would feel ridiculously senseless. An expense. ... and I would derive no psychic benefit.

It wouldn't do anything for me, either. I need the validation of someone paying me to write. I really think of writing as a trade more than a craft.

 

[Buck]

Funny that you mention that.
I aspired to be a novelist as a teen and into my early 20s.
I'd say I have an above-average writing sensibility. But it wasn't becoming realistic about my ability that changed my mind - recognizing that I was simply a little better than most rather than genuinely talented.
It was realizing I have nothing to say.
I used to write short stories and vignettes for pleasure and as a means to hone my skills for a future novel.

When I started writing for the newspaper, the idea of writing for pleasure, without being paid, became anathema.

 

[typefitter]

Funny that you mention that.
I aspired to be a novelist as a teen and into my early 20s.
I'd say I have an above-average writing sensibility. But it wasn't becoming realistic about my ability that changed my mind - recognizing that I was simply a little better than most rather than genuinely talented.
It was realizing I have nothing to say.
I used to write short stories and vignettes for pleasure and as a means to hone my skills for a future novel.

When I started writing for the newspaper, the idea of writing for pleasure, without being paid, became anathema.

Right. I love writing and have felt a compulsion to write my whole life, but the only writing I do is for money. It's my profession.

I hope that doesn't sound crash. And that's in no way a judgment of people who do write purely out of love. I'm glad they enjoy it. I enjoy it, too. But words are money to me.

 

[Buck]

Right. I love writing and have felt a compulsion to write my whole life, but the only writing I do is for money. It's my profession.

I hope that doesn't sound crash. And that's in no way a judgment of people who do write purely out of love. I'm glad they enjoy it. I enjoy it, too. But words are money to me.

Does not sound crash to me at all.
I get it.

 

[Dick Whitman]

For the record, I'm not even suggesting that Ragu consider self-publishing for the love of writing or any such b.s.

But, rather, as a last resort and a shot in the dark, if all other avenues have failed, as an alternative to the finished novel sitting in a drawer.

 

[Buck]

I didn't think you were suggesting that.
I was thinking about the amount of work it takes to write a novel and the idea of doing it on spec made me think of my own former literary ambitions.

It seems like self-e-publishing genre books might work as viable way to monetize work that is already completed, but I'm guessing Ragu's work isn't erotica or urban fantasy fiction.
I know a few folks locally who have self-published local history books and the like. I don't think they make any money at it.

I know the author of 'Droughts and Floods in the Tulare Lake Basin,' which is great work, if you like that kind of thing.
Which I do.