Quote:
Originally Posted by flamesfever
I think you are being a little harsh. If you have ever written a book, you would probably realize that it is often harder to convince a publisher to publish your work than it is to get up the courage to write the book in the first place.
There are numerous well written and well received self published books by authors that are a long way from being sad e.g. the Wealthy Barber.
Also I think with time and the advent of modern technology it is becoming easier and more feasible to publish and promote you own work.
I think one should respect and commend those who show the courage and commitment to make public what they deem to be adding to the overall public good.
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Of course it's harder. Writing a book-length story is something almost anyone can do, writing a good book-length story is something a much fewer number of people can do, and getting that first book traditionally published can be harder still.
But people who self-publish physical books, again, usually haven't put in the work. Much of it is centered around vanity projects, some of it is down to impatience, and I think most of it doesn't take the writing as seriously as the concept of the book. They want a book, and they'll pay to get it. Unless it's part of some marketing effort or collects already sought-after information in a convenient format (like some self-published non-fiction books), there's not a lot to be respected or commended about it.
With time and the advent technology, the biggest advancement is that you can publish your work anywhere –
for free. You can know if it is worth something to someone, if it adds value to the conversation of whatever medium it is you're writing in, long before you ever think about "the book." You can share art with the world without having "the book," and the book, traditionally, signifies some outward acknowledgement that what you're adding is worthwhile. If you pay to have a book published, what's the point?
Blogs, magazines, journals. Plenty of ways to publish yourself or be published for free. And they all come long before you shell out money to produce something.
You look at self-publishing circles and it's a different world. It's not about the art, the story, what it adds to the conversation, etc. It's about the book. It's about selling the book. It's about writing many books and selling those books. It's desperate, to me, but it more importantly misses the point of creating the thing in the first place. What value are you adding? What point are you making? What does your art add to an already crowded space? Turn to those following the traditional route, and those are the types of conversations being had. Many people write for the sake of the writing, never caring where they're published, how often, or if a book ever comes.
It's the difference between a musician playing for the love of music, and a musician playing because he wants to be famous or because he wants to say he's a musician. You can always tell. The first person puts in the work on the music because they believe that's the purpose, the second person puts in the work on the business because they believe that's the purpose. The second one misses the point.
I personally hope indes takes the first route. Work on the writing, take it seriously, and focus on that. Don't worry about "the book." If the book comes, and it may after many months or years, it comes. If it doesn't then it doesn't. Share the work on a blog, send it to magazines, go to readings, etc.
There's nothing wrong with writing for the love of writing and sharing it wherever you can share it. But paying for it is foolish.