What am I insecure about? And what does that have to do with gatekeepers and a disappearing Beth? Sales. I'm insecure about sales. Book sales. You want to know why? Because in the past month I've talked to so, so, so many writers whose well-written books are not selling well. I'm not saying well-written as in my personal stamp of approval. I'm saying well-written as in a 4-5 star overall rating. People who read it seem to enjoy it. The problem is no one is picking it up. I'm not talking about unknown self published writers, small press writers, or big 5 writers. I'm talking about all of the above. That's right the cries I've heard have been across the board. So what's an overanalytical girl to do if not search for a cause? So search I did. I learned 1.5 million more books were created in 2012 than 2011. So that's N (number from 2011) plus 1.5 million our books have to compete with. The main reason for this is the self publishing phenomenon. That's why I've jumped ship. I now believe we do need gatekeepers. Before you start rolling your eyes hear me out. The extra 1.5 million books is extra competition for us all. Truthfully, a lot of these 1.5 million extra books are unedited crap slapped inside a pretty cover and rest comfortably on some amazon bestseller's list. While I have nothing against self published writers, (I'm actually self published) if you are publishing unedited crap for me to compete with be assured you are so not on my Christmas list. Here's the thing the old way took longer to get published, but once you did you had a better chance of making a comfortable living. Self publishing allows anyone and everyone to be published. The downside is a saturated market.
And what about the disappearing Beth? I'm hoping to add another book to the mound. This could very well be my last post until next IWSG as I need to finish my book.
It's true that there are so many books out there to compete with. I can't make sense of why some books sell like crazy when they aren't even well written and why books I love sit with poor rankings. What I do know is that self-publishing isn't going away, so we have to figure out how to rise above the slush.
ReplyDeleteI like the term you used, "slush." We've traded an unpaid slush pile for an almost paid slush pile.
DeleteI feel a new blogpost coming on. You're bad for me! LOL. I'm not supposed to be here.
DeleteIt comes down to readers. They are buying the slush. I don't what about the slush appeals to them but that's what they're buying.
ReplyDeleteI've given up trying to figure out why some books, well written with a great story line, sell and other do not. All I can do is write the best book I know how, promote it as much as I can, and believe that some readers will enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThe old way really wasn't that much better. The vast majority of books published traditionally sell only enough copies to break even, which may be way more than they would sell self-published but still only a very few authors make a living. The gatekeepers make sure the worst of the trash is discarded but competition is still fierce for those few positions that actually make money.
ReplyDeleteI have to tell myself that slush melts. So I'll keep studying and writing until I figure out how to rise above the slush.
I've heard that if you have many books out there you do better than if you have just one. The only problem with that is that it's far easier for the people who don't care about professional editing to pump out books quickly. By the time my books comes out, it will be after two-and-a-half years of writing, revising, going through my CP group, my agent, and my publisher. Well, at least it'll be polished even if it takes me a really long time to get another one out. ;-)
ReplyDeleteLexa is right, and I'm trying to become a faster writer, while not sacrificing quality--no easy task! We still have the task of writing a GREAT book, even if the crappy ones sometimes sell well. :)
ReplyDeleteYou've hit on a sore and popular subject. With millions of books out there to chose from all we can do as writers is make our book the best possible for our own satisfaction, and then pray...
ReplyDeleteGreat post. This is quite the conundrum we writers find ourselves in. Educating writers on the importance of editing is crucial but honestly some just don't care. Unfortunately, published, self published, polished or crap we're all in it together. Like Kelly said we have to find a way to rise above the slush.
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