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Posts Tagged ‘Indie’

Digital Values, Or Lack Of

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Not many publishers or agents accept email submissions, so it was refreshing to find an increasing number doing so when I began submitting Make a Move. Paper submissions take time to prepare and are relatively expensive to both produce and post (twice), so it was with some relief that I sent my first four or five email submissions out alongside a reduced number of paper-based queries. A lot of the publishers accepting submissions by email are independent, demonstrating their flexibility and willingness to stray from the traditional path when they see value in doing so, and the majority responded promptly with a stock rejection.

So far so good.

One indie publisher I queried seemed particularly well-thought-of, having won awards for their trade, and were advertising a willingness to view work of the type I was sending, so I had high hopes that this might be “The One”. I was reminded of that submission a couple of days ago when I received an email advertising their print-on-demand service, the second (or third?) I’ve received from them. Their service is actually a bit more than print on demand, as they’re offering to pick up top-selling POD titles with a “traditional” contract, so they’re effectively asking you to pay some money, do all of their marketing, promotion and market research for them, and they’ll step in at the last moment to pick up a sure-fire hit. Good business for them, but not for me, so I passed.

Thing is, this is the only communication I received following my submission about nine months ago. I didn’t even get a rejection letter.

If I was feeling charitable, I’d suggest a slip on their part that is not the normal way they treat people, but I’m not feeling charitable today, so I can only see it as a marketing ploy of questionable ethics. They offer a potential publishing opportunity, attract a market of writers keen to get published in an increasingly impenetrable industry, and make it as easy as possible for you to give them your email address for their direct marketing. That first advertising email from them shattered a few illusions I had, and I felt thoroughly let down, to the point that I’ve only now felt able to write about it dispassionately.

One other publisher failed to respond, but they’re much bigger and, to be honest, it’s easier to dismiss if you’re expecting it, but that’s kind of the point of this post. Email is easy and free, and that perceived lack of value impacts on how people behave in response to it. If you send a paper submission with return postage, the recipient is compelled to respond, but with email, it hasn’t cost you anything, so people find it easier to let their manners slip.

I wrote before about how the perception of poor quality in one self-published book affects all self-publishing writers negatively, and I don’t want to reinforce negative preconceptions about independent publishers and small presses by suggesting this behaviour is commonplace. It isn’t, and most indies are far more open and engaged than their larger, traditional counterparts, and should be a valid, if not preferred, target for your submissions. Just take care, do your research, and don’t be surprised if your eSubmission fails to find its way back to you.

And, no, I’m not naming names.

Independent Preconceptions

Monday, December 7th, 2009

I came to a realisation today – one that is both unsettling and reassuring. But first, the background.

I’ve been out talking to independent booksellers (or trying to) regarding selling my new book, and a friend was doing the same on my behalf further afield. She spoke to one bookshop owner who thought my book was too modern for his clientele, and that it would struggle to sell as it didn’t have a local setting or anything to provide an angle he could push. Fair enough – I’ve learned something there. What he said that set me thinking, though, was that he was very impressed with the finish and design of my book (both the binding and the cover) and that it was refreshing to see an independently produced hardback, as most indie books he saw were in paperback, and were typically of low quality, printed on cheaper paper and with basic or unskilled cover designs. And this is a man who is happy to deal directly with indie publishers/authors; this is not a hostile market.

After my friend had reported back, I was thinking about what I’d learned from the encounter, and that was when I came to my realisation; the perception of my book, in concept, is shaped by the actions of every independent author-publisher out there. Every rushed, unedited, cheap book that someone has tried to sell damages the perceived value of my book with potential readers and retailers. That’s pretty unsettling.

But I’m looking at that situation another way now. I’ve flipped it around. Every one of us, by doing the best job we can to produce a quality product, can reinforce the reputation of indie books as an alternative, rather than a second-rate option. That’s pretty reassuring. With the tools and technology now available to everyone, both in production and communication, the time has never been better for us to work together and create a new market – one where an indie book is judged on the quality of its content rather than its cover.

Indie is the new Indie

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

I’ve been reading a lot of opinion likening the rise of indie/self publishing with the punk movement of the mid-seventies – the key similarity being the separation of the form away from the unaccepting mainstream. Thing is, punk rock offered something the current indie-publishing crowd don’t, and that’s a new voice. A new sound. Something different. I’m not saying punk rock was great – I want to listen to the Sex Pistols as much as I want to listen to freeform jazz – but they had something new to say, and it was that message that justified the departure from the status quo. If you look at most self-published books, they’re the same as the titles being churned out by the “traditional” publishing houses, only with less money spent on cover design and marketing. So they must be inferior, right? Otherwise they’d have a book deal? Well, no, but you could forgive any potential reader for thinking that.

Remember the UK indie music scene of the late-eighties, early-nineties? Bands like Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Thousand Yard Stare, Power of Dreams – so many great bands putting out music on indie labels and reaching an audience, but unable, or unwilling, to make it into the top 40 (although, I think Ned’s managed it with “Trust”…). Their music wasn’t so different, but they were a bit dour, or downbeat, or scruffy, or just happy with the following they had. They made a living in their own niche, and they had fun doing it. That, if anywhere, is where the indie publishing crowd are heading.

It doesn’t have to end that way though. We just need a new voice. A new sound.

Why are novels 300 pages long, with a beginning, middle and end, three key ideas and plot reveals at 25% and 75% of the word count? Because that’s what people have grown to expect. But no one is expecting anything from the indie crowd, so why tie ourselves to those expectations? I love short novels  - say 150-200 pages – but so few are published as people want fatter books. Novels used to be shorter, but fashions changed. They can, and will, change again.

I’m not saying that my novel, Make a Move, is the answer, but it is different, both in structure and narrative style. I’m not saying I’m taking indie novels in a new direction, but someone who reads it and likes what I’ve done with my idea of what a novel can be, might. I’d like to meet that person, maybe have a beer and a conversation, and see what ideas emerge. Maybe if enough of us have conversations and support each other in breaking away from traditional ideas of what constitutes a novel, indie publishing can evolve into alternative publishing – offering a product that appeals to smaller markets, but which is no less valid for filling a niche. That difference is what would attract readers away from Amazon or Waterstones or, shudder, Tesco and back into independent bookshops. With fewer middlemen, there would be more money for writers, and fewer obstacles keeping writers and readers apart. It would be a new movement of interactive, responsive, original, daring and, above all, fun fiction.

Now that would be punk rock.