Final Breakdown

So after all that rambling, you might be wondering "Do authors really even need publishers?" Well, technically the answer is no. They've never needed publishers in an absolute sense. And it's easier than ever to make your own way. Does that mean it's actually easy? No. Indeed, I wasn't trying to make the case that publishers weren't necessary. If anything is unnecessary, it's brick and mortar retail. Personally, I feel that in the publishing world, authors need to be the Yang and publishers the Yin. Frankly it's been the other way around for a long time, and ultimately I think the requirements of brick and mortar retail are a big part of that. Never the less, having a publisher is certainly a good thing to have.

Example: You can hire a free lance editor, but the chances of them investing themselves deeply in the project are smaller than a salaried editor whose reputation is only as good as the books they've done that year. Besides, it means paying them from your own pocket.

Example: Self publishing means you keep all the post-production profits, and e-books are the equivalent. No real production cost but a cut to the distributor. Actually, I believe publishers give Amazon etc. a 30% commission per sale which is standard for digital distribution. Self published pay a much larger commission, though which can match the discounts paid to retailers. Plus, waiting for the money to come in slowly with each sale can make it hard to LIVE as a writer. If you have one or two books you want to write, that may be one thing. But advances are extremely useful and it's guaranteed money in your pocket even if your book bombs.

Example: If you're willing to spend a few hundred dollars to get the Adobe creative suite or something, spend lots of time learning how to use it, browsing stock photos, then yes. You can make your own book cover. Hell, I did. And I'm the world's worst artist. That was only a rough, but it works okay. Nice and simple. You can see the title in a thumbnail. Passes my test. But it wasn't easy and I used my grad school's computer lab. I don't have those programs. And that's the fun part. You have no idea how mind numbing internal design is. Futzing with the space between individual letters to make everything fit nice and neat. You either have to hire a freelance designer OR spend ninety million incredibly boring hours doing it yourself.

Example: Marketing, Publicity and Sales want your book to sell. And you can laugh all you want. Marketing budgets are too small. Sales exists to sell into bookstores which I've been saying all along will soon be an anchor around the necks of their owners if they aren't already. I'll give ten to one that within five years B&N would be a much safer and more profitable business if it were online only. Regardless, marketing does all those troublesome things like send promotional copies, take out ads, and develop co-op promotions which big authors rely on. Even small time need sales reps to get stores to carry it, and publicity does at least try to get the word out. You think you're going to get on NPR without them? I mean, not that I've EVER listened to it. Pretty sure publicity departments put a lot of stock in it based on my parent's generation and mine couldn't care less. Doesn't matter.

Why doesn't it matter: Well, here's the final breakdown. Do you need a publisher? No. But I opened this section with Zane and Richard Paul Evans. Both of them were huge self publishing successes stories who got picked up (both by S&S interestingly enough). See, this meant that Zane didn't have to rely solely on selling the books herself on a local basis. It freed her up to do more writing. And eventually to run her own imprint. Presumably it freed Richard Paul Evans to go swimming in his enormous vats of money a la Scrooge McDuck. If it were me, I'd go for the traditional route unless I had a very niche product. On the other hand, the idea of opening a small publisher is actually more appealing every day, and I know at least one classmate who is absolutely set on it and wants me to be partner. Striking your own path is a high risk, high reward sort of scenario, although it is true that sometimes it feels like the fastest way to find a publisher is to prove you don't need 'em. All I can say is look at your manuscript. Be realistic. In general, authors think they're absolutely the best thing ever or the worst thing ever. And they tend to overestimate their audience by leaps and bounds, or perhaps missing the fact that potential audience and actual audience are two very different things. It's not like every black woman reads every Zane novel. That's just not how it works. If after a reasonable analysis, you think there's a good spot for you and you know how to reach it but agents and publishers say "it's good, but I can't", then it's time to seriously consider taking your own path. Alternately, you can try that from the beginning, and once you've already proven yourself you'll be in a better position. In my experience though, the opinions of editors and agents are very divided on this. Some argue it proves that you've got the dedication at least, others think it makes you a problem author with insane expectations and who will chafe under editorial direction. Just FYI.

*Update* For more information about the mechanics of the traditional retail outlet, try Reluctant Capitalists by Laura J. Miller. If you're interested in opening a small publisher of your own, look at Publishing for Profit by Thomas Woll (whose "publishing consultant" business is actually only ten minutes from where I live. Hear that, Tommy? Gimme a job. Pleaaaase? I'll be like, your best friend forever.). And just for shits and giggles, all of you writers, potential self publishers, potential small publishers, and potential one-day-big-time-editors (and that means all of you) should probably check out some books on editing itself , like...uhh. Like Editors on Editing. Can't imaging who wrote that book. Or what it could be about. Doesn't the ambiguousness of the title just give you chills? Do you want to know what editors want? Yes, you do. Yes. You. Do.