Hey Peeps!!!
I hope you are all recovered from your turkey and shopping induced hang overs and are ready to get to reading and to thinking! C.S. Splitter is here today and we are doing something fun and new. We are tag teaming our blogs!! Whoop Whoop. So read his guest post here and then click over to his blog http://www.splittersworld.blogspot.com/ and read my guest post there! An while you are visiting maybe you could follow his blog! It’s great! We are both talking about writing and the in’s and outs of the publishing industry (mainly traditional publishing vs. Indie pubishing). Splitter has some really level headed a wonderful insight on the publishing world and I reccomend reading ahead. Then… leave a comment tell us how you feel about what we are talking about and don’t be afraid to share your opinion!!!!
So let’s get things rolling……
Haters Gonna Hate
Cambria and I are trying something new today. We are tag-teaming our blogs. Read her guest post on my blog and then come back here to read my response. Hey, hit the follow buttons on both!
Cambria’s story about her path to getting published reminded me of an argument I witnessed recently. Cambria went with a small press publisher that is growing rapidly. I am going the self pub route. Which is better?
That has been a hotly contested debate going on around the internet and it has created a lot of animosity between “traditionally published” authors and the self pubbers (I won’t even get into the differences between Big Six published authors and indies and self pubbers). Who is bringing all of this hate? On which side does it originate?
Cambria has said that she sometimes catches some heat from self published authors. I believe it because I have seen them say that traditionally published authors have “sold their souls.” I have caught heat from traditionally published authors because, as a self published author, my work is “obviously inferior” and “not worthy of a publishing deal.”
See? I told you there was some hatin’ goin’ on lol.
The truth is: neither is the better route to having people read your work.
Cambria just wants to write and then do reviews in her spare time (like she has spare time!). I wanted to learn the ins and outs of getting a book to market. Cambria had to suffer through a hundred rejections and three years of sitting on her work, I would have given up. On the other hand, I worked twenty hour days leading up to my last release and would have killed for the help a publisher could have supplied.
She has at least three titles coming out in the space of just a couple months (can you say “prolific writer?”). I just put out my second book seven months after the first. Her publishing company takes a portion of her royalties (that’s the selling of the soul part). I have to somehow pay for my editor and other services (but since they are not employed by a publisher, they must be as bad as me). Cambria is awesome about getting the word out on her releases, I get bogged down in formatting and figuring out Smashword’s MeatGrinder.
So you see: everything is a trade off. There is no answer to which is the better route for authors. The REAL question should be which route is better for YOU.
Why all the animosity between the two groups then? I really do not know. I love Cambria’s work and respect the snot out of her (nice turn of phrase, huh?). She has always given me honest reviews of my books and said nice things about me so I will assume she feels about the same way. I know we both thought about doing things “the other way” before deciding on our own courses.
My guess is that people who go one route or the other do not want to second guess their decision. They tend to look down on the people who chose a different path because that makes them feel better about their own choices.
It’s BS! Who cares how the other guy or gal gets their work into the hands of readers? Why waste energy tearing them down instead of doing things like promoting your OWN work…which every author has to do no matter how they go to market. We should be supporting one another in this changing publishing environment.
That is my take, at least. Feel free to leave comments.
I found it interesting that Cambria wrote in first person. I agree with her that it is more personal, but that is not the only reason I decided to also go that route with the “Crayder Chronicles.”
When I started writing the first book, I recalled something my highschool English teacher told me many years ago. He said; “Only amateurs and hacks write in first person.” Since I was an amateur and could only aspire to being a hack, I chose to write in first person. By the way, that teacher failed me one year because he did not like my attitude.
More hatin’ goin’ on lol.
The easy thing about writing in first person is organization. You can get inside of one character’s head for a while and stay there as long as you need. From that perspective, it is easier than writing in third person where you need to be able to change gears quickly.
However, first person is terribly limiting from a story perspective. You cannot just bounce around between characters to show the reader what is happening. The reader only knows what the character knows so when something happens “off screen,” you have to figure out how to get that information to the character in a believable and, ideally, interesting way.
I have seen authors (and readers) argue about this too. Some agree with my English teacher. Some agree with the names like Glen Cook, Jim Butcher, and Roger Zelazny, that did whole series in first person.
Here again, there really is no single answer. It depends on the writer, the story, and the characters.
In the words of Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along?”
I have this strange feeling that if writers spent more time on their own craft, and less time worried about how others do things differently, there would be a lot more good books being published from all directions.
Splitter
Wasn’t that a really great post? I couldn’t agree with his insight more….. “Can’t we all just get along?” I respect ALL authors no matter where they are from. We all work hard.
Here’s a little more about Splitter:
C.S. Splitter is the author of The Reluctant and The Willing both available now where all Ebooks are sold.
I highly reccomend both books. They are fabulous reads and I am not just saying that. He writes with talent and makes unlikable characters likable…. its a gift.
Here’s the link to buy it on smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52864
and his second book out just days ago….
Here is the smashwords link to buy it:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/105983
Don’t forget to leave a comment on what your views on publishing and anything else writing that pops into your mind…. Splitter and I both will be here to get some dialogue going!!
*Special thanks to C.S. Splitter for being here today.
Great post!
Totally agree!
how interesting..it leaves me wondering a bit at who it is that takes your had…live or die…i think i will choose live and if it is below the waves i will take it…smiles. logo designs
Hey, I FINALLY got my side of the blog tag team up and going lol. Sorry, I was busy trying to self amputate my leg this morning. No stitches though :).
Splitter
If the story is good and you have taken something from it, Why would it concern anyone one way or the other as to how it came to you. I myself would like to make it as an indie publisher. Would I turn down an offer by the Big Boys? Am I crazy? Maybe but either way, I would have to entertain the offer. I write stories so that they can be read by the larger public, and if someone made me an offer that would make that easier for me, I would have to do it. Some people are not cut out to be the middle man between themselves and the public. They may have a hell of a story to tell but because of their lack of ability to sell their own work, it would never get out there. What a shame that it is even an issue. Get your work out there in a way that works best for you.
I totally agree, Bill. I think we are sometimes our own worst enemy. If a publisher of any size and with a good reputation hit me with a good offer, I would sign with them. I am not seeking those deals so it would be a matter of luck, but I wouldn't hesitate for the right deal. I don't have an ego investment either way, I just want people to read my stories.
Splitter
What a great post and I totally agree. I like to ask most of the authors I interview this question, and now (finally!) most are starting to agree that the argument is kind of pointless and it's the author's choice
Hearing everyones views is totally interesting and i agree – it is the authors choice and everyone has their reasons for going the route we go. 🙂