The ease of self-publishing, not vastly more difficult these days than hitting ‘Tweet’, has led to a huge range in the quality of books now available. Booksellers like Waterstones and Barnes and Noble are still seen by many as purveyors of the actual truth, a theoretical guarantee of good writing and quality product. Whereas, the wonderful world of the ebook is often viewed, fairly in my eyes, as a minefield of uncertainty and variably quality.
I read a great article recently about the Leveson enquiry, and the potential roadblocks to any resolutions it may put in place, and it got me thinking about the parallels between the press and the state of the publishing industry at present. You can see the article here, but the general gist was that, regardless of how well policed our print press may be, there is an element of pointlessness to these recommendations. This is because the internet exists, and one can find pretty much anything there with enough interest and patience (and coffee), therefore making any attempt at regulation all but redundant.
So in the case of both the press and the world of publishing, the internet, or more specifically, the opportunity for un-censored content to be made available at the click of a button has had a huge impact upon how they exist and their relevancy.
In both arenas, there is still undoubtedly a market for the way it has always been done. Papers will always sell because:
- Some people just prefer to read something physical that crinkles and demands origami-level folding skills to be able to use it in a public place.
- The organised media theoretically provide a guarantee of higher quality journalism.
- The little pull out magazine with articles about making your garden beautiful and Lady Gagas’ dogs.
Physical books, released by big name publishing houses will always sell, for pretty much the same reasons as one and two above, minus the whole folding thing.
Returning to on online media for a moment, it’s often suggested that it can be dangerous in spreading lies and rubbish, but that actually it is also strongly self-regulating. As soon as someone says something controversial or questionable, thousands of others do everything they can to discover the truth of it, and the original poster is discredited. This is something I have seen myself. The power of the people is particularly impressive when faced with something it sees as erroneous. Unless the original post was funny, or involved cats. Put a cat photo in there and you can get away with pretty much anything.
So whilst it’s not a perfect system, there is a level of regulation to the internet-based news, particularly through the big social networking sites. But how does this kind of regulation happen for self-published books? To begin with, you have what I would define as ‘external regulation’
- Reader Reviews: These are generally clear and very easy to find, whether you shop on Amazon, Smashwords or one of the other online vendors. But how easy is it to get a truly balanced or objective opinion, and how much do they actually matter? Studies done by a number of independent research groups suggest that they have a huge impact on shopping habits. They also say that reviews give a good idea of the word of mouth currently existing about a product. Despite the occasional ranting of madmen, I consider reviews to be a strong source for regulation, and one that does, without a doubt, impact upon your success as a self-published author. Of course, what you do with reviews is up to you, but accepting them as valid feedback and acting on them can only improve your writing. Unless your reviewer has threatened to beat you to death with your own leg unless you remove your book, at which point you’re probably best to just ignore them.
- Other Writers: Many new authors work within writing groups and clubs and these can also be effective in ensuring a high quality output. Although, in my experience, writers are a friendly and supportive bunch, they aren’t generally willing to put their own credibility on the line if they don’t believe in something. Despite the frustrating new guidelines from Amazon regarding writer reviews, most other sites still allow them and I know that the seal of approval from an author I admire will lead me to seek out a book.
- Editors, and other professionals: Of course, some of the less impressive self-pub’ books on the market have bypassed this part of the process entirely, but many haven’t. The power of a good editorial review or line-by-line edit cannot be underestimated, both for improving the specific WIP but also your writing in general. This is a really powerful way to raise the quality of your product.
- Beta readers: These are the people who read your final draft before you hit publish. Hopefully a group of honest, interested friends who read your chosen genre and aren’t afraid to tell you what they really think. Like the reviewers of point 1, they are your actual readership, or as close as you can get before your work is out there, so ignore them at your peril!
Then we have the all-important ‘internal regulation’:
- Have you written the book you wanted to write? If at any point in the process you’ve changed your vision in order to make money, or perhaps aim at an audience you don’t feel comfortable with for the sake of sales, then you should probably start again. If you haven’t written the kind of book that you’ve always dreamed of, it’ll show, and in all likelihood, it’ll suck.
- Have you worked on your writing? My first book took me three months to create the first draft. The second, happening as my daughter was born, nearly eighteen months. The development in my writing over that time was huge, partially just through practice and partially because I took every opportunity I could to learn and increase my knowledge of the craft. Of course, having finished the second one, I immediately went back and started tweeking the first, applying my new skills to language and dialogue that then felt awkward and simplistic. It may not always be realistic to do exactly that, but it is incumbent upon you, should you want success, to make yourself as good a writer as you can be.
- Have you made your book as good as it can be? This really comes back to everything I’ve said above. Have you put enough effort into your edit? Have you got opinions from as many people as possible and really listened to the feedback? Imagine someone buying your book and reviewing it. Are they going to rave about the glorious language you’ve used; the way the characters leap out from the page/screen; the intricate yet apparently effortless plot twists? If you don’t think that they will, then you might need one more pass at the editing.
In the long run, the buck always stops with you, the author. The decision of whether to hit that ‘tweet’ button, or ‘publish’ key lies in your hands.
So, just as in the media, and particularly the modern world of twitter and the internet, the future is in the hands of the individual. Just remember, it’s only up to you until you press that button…
