Comments on: Control Freak:The Differences Between Self and Trad Publishing http://indiereader.com/2012/08/control-freakthe-differences-between-self-and-trad-publishing/ Self-Published Books Reviews, News, and More Sat, 25 May 2013 06:54:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: J.L. Dobias http://indiereader.com/2012/08/control-freakthe-differences-between-self-and-trad-publishing/#comment-2751 J.L. Dobias Sat, 11 Aug 2012 22:01:11 +0000 http://indiereader.com/?p=11435#comment-2751 Brittany I am so happy that you found a publishing arrangement that was suited to you and your writing. I think though, that you have been crossed over to the other side as to what indie publishing is really about. And I'm increasingly disappointed in the supposed websites devoted to indie publishing failing to also understand. Indie publishing is not about vanity publishing and its not about ego and control or any of all of that. At least not for me. If I felt that was what I did when I did indie publishing - well, I guess would think twice before doing it. Indie publishing is a way to publish something that did not make the grade one way or another in the big publishing industry. Not making the grade many times means that the traditional publishers have already filled their quota and even if your book is good they don't have a place to wedge it in.Indie is a way to publish something without dealing with the submission process of the big publishers. This can be long and many times fruitless and sometimes lead to countless overdone rewrites. Indie publishing is a way to say I'm done with this- moving on the next and here it is if anyone else wants to enjoy it. Indie publishing is not about how I'm going to get 60% of the profit and not have to cut the literary fat or argue about what the cover should look like. If I was concerned about the above I'd have to take a lot of time out to market myself. Though, it might actually be a good way to do just that. In many cases a new author will have to do all that anyway when they finally go the traditional route. Unless I only want to take home the initial check offered for the book. Again I'm happy for you. But, did you really only do the Indie route to gain control? And does IndieReader really believe that also. Brittany I am so happy that you found a publishing arrangement that was suited to you and your writing. I think though, that you have been crossed over to the other side as to what indie publishing is really about. And I’m increasingly disappointed in the supposed websites devoted to indie publishing failing to also understand.

Indie publishing is not about vanity publishing and its not about ego and control or any of all of that. At least not for me.

If I felt that was what I did when I did indie publishing – well, I guess would think twice before doing it.

Indie publishing is a way to publish something that did not make the grade one way or another in the big publishing industry. Not making the grade many times means that the traditional publishers have already filled their quota and even if your book is good they don’t have a place to wedge it in.Indie is a way to publish something without dealing with the submission process of the big publishers. This can be long and many times fruitless and sometimes lead to countless overdone rewrites. Indie publishing is a way to say I’m done with this- moving on the next and here it is if anyone else wants to enjoy it.

Indie publishing is not about how I’m going to get 60% of the profit and not have to cut the literary fat or argue about what the cover should look like. If I was concerned about the above I’d have to take a lot of time out to market myself. Though, it might actually be a good way to do just that. In many cases a new author will have to do all that anyway when they finally go the traditional route. Unless I only want to take home the initial check offered for the book.

Again I’m happy for you. But, did you really only do the Indie route to gain control? And does IndieReader really believe that also.

]]> By: Pamela Olson http://indiereader.com/2012/08/control-freakthe-differences-between-self-and-trad-publishing/#comment-2747 Pamela Olson Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:38:42 +0000 http://indiereader.com/?p=11435#comment-2747 I'm in a similar position -- I self-published a book last year, it sold well and got great reviews, and now I'm working with a traditional publisher to re-publish my book under their imprint in the spring. It's hard giving up control (especially on pricing -- I loved being able to sell my eBook for $2.99), but so far they've been terrific to work with, especially when it came to edits. They want to cut it down a bit (from 120,000 words to about 95,000), which is painful, but luckily I can take the excised parts and publish them elsewhere. And overall it does make the book stronger and tighter (even if some good stories and important info are left out). We're working on the cover design now, and they've been very responsive to my suggestions. Bottom line: So far it's been great, and I hope the trend continues! I’m in a similar position — I self-published a book last year, it sold well and got great reviews, and now I’m working with a traditional publisher to re-publish my book under their imprint in the spring. It’s hard giving up control (especially on pricing — I loved being able to sell my eBook for $2.99), but so far they’ve been terrific to work with, especially when it came to edits.

They want to cut it down a bit (from 120,000 words to about 95,000), which is painful, but luckily I can take the excised parts and publish them elsewhere. And overall it does make the book stronger and tighter (even if some good stories and important info are left out). We’re working on the cover design now, and they’ve been very responsive to my suggestions.

Bottom line: So far it’s been great, and I hope the trend continues!

]]> By: FMAnderson http://indiereader.com/2012/08/control-freakthe-differences-between-self-and-trad-publishing/#comment-2724 FMAnderson Tue, 07 Aug 2012 23:27:31 +0000 http://indiereader.com/?p=11435#comment-2724 This was one of the best articles I've read on here since discovering it at the beginning of the summer! I chose to go to the school I'm going to because it's very traditional and the staff skews older. That's because I like being the young revolutionary teacher. I think I'd fit in traditional publishing well because I enjoy structure. That said, the indie space has my biggest interest right now. I think I'll end up shopping it until next summer is over, then publish it on my own if I don't get any hits. My novel is a bit time-sensetive since its YA that deals with the recent economic downturn. I've got a lot of ideas, though, and am working to see which will be best to focus on for an indie release. My biggest fear of going indie is not having the time to advertise for myself, since I'm a teacher that loves to teach and wants to continue doing so. I can't wait for more of these! This was one of the best articles I’ve read on here since discovering it at the beginning of the summer!

I chose to go to the school I’m going to because it’s very traditional and the staff skews older. That’s because I like being the young revolutionary teacher. I think I’d fit in traditional publishing well because I enjoy structure. That said, the indie space has my biggest interest right now.

I think I’ll end up shopping it until next summer is over, then publish it on my own if I don’t get any hits. My novel is a bit time-sensetive since its YA that deals with the recent economic downturn. I’ve got a lot of ideas, though, and am working to see which will be best to focus on for an indie release.

My biggest fear of going indie is not having the time to advertise for myself, since I’m a teacher that loves to teach and wants to continue doing so.

I can’t wait for more of these!

]]> By: Seeley James http://indiereader.com/2012/08/control-freakthe-differences-between-self-and-trad-publishing/#comment-2723 Seeley James Tue, 07 Aug 2012 16:29:51 +0000 http://indiereader.com/?p=11435#comment-2723 This is fascinating post. I think what indie authors will be interested in is how you feel about the "a whole team of people who have been working in this industry much longer than I have" down the road. A friend of mine published with a Big 6, placed #3 in her category on the NYT list, and could not believe how outdated their marketing department was. She ended up spending a small fortune on her own marketing and blew through the first print run. She had to convince them to up the next print run ten-fold and even then they ran out. Now she's torn: what do I need them for if they don't believe in the book enough to fill existing orders? Keep us posted about S&S in February. Peace, <a href="http://seeleyjames.com" rel="nofollow"><B>Seeley</b></a> This is fascinating post. I think what indie authors will be interested in is how you feel about the “a whole team of people who have been working in this industry much longer than I have” down the road. A friend of mine published with a Big 6, placed #3 in her category on the NYT list, and could not believe how outdated their marketing department was. She ended up spending a small fortune on her own marketing and blew through the first print run. She had to convince them to up the next print run ten-fold and even then they ran out. Now she’s torn: what do I need them for if they don’t believe in the book enough to fill existing orders?

Keep us posted about S&S in February.

Peace, Seeley

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