Do Not Give Up Hope On Traditional Book Publishing

I was just chatting with a librarian about the virtual library system. We both agreed the traditional book publishing must continue. There is just something about holding a hardcover book and turning the pages that is soothing and allows for full visual mental imagery. By the way, I can't thank you enough for all the wonderful information you provide and the lessons learned on how to write, Bill.

This is a very interesting look at traditional publishing, Bill. Of course, like all your hubs for writers, it's also inspirational!

And the moral of the story is that even publishers make mistakes. I think they'll know it when that book brings in very little cash flow. So yes, I agree with what you said. A great deal of this game is LUCK. As Stephen King told me, 'never give up trying.'

Great message Bill. I have read my share of dogs and thought to myself how on earth did this get published. Sounds like luck can sometimes play a role in getting published or not.

Hope your having a great weekend.

Yo Bill, ever read the book 'Forest Gump'? You know, the one Tom Hanks made the movie about years ago? Nothing like the movie at all. No Bubba, no shrimpboat, no Lt. Dan, no Jennie, and the list goes on and on. What amazed me was how Hanks ever saw the book to begin with. Forest was a six foot tall black blues harmonica player in the book.

What I'm getting at is writing a successful novel has a lot of luck involved. Sometimes you just aren't lucky. But then, sometimes you are. Great points.

My previous comments veered away from the problems you noted with traditional publishers and the issue that if a manuscript reaches an editor high enough up the publishing food chain to be either rejected or accepted, that decision may depend on something as illusive as what kind of day that individual is having. Professionals in the traditional publishing business are not infallible in their choices. Publishing decisions among the big houses range from wildly successful to good to not-so-good to disastrous. That's why too many books end up in remainder bins marked down to $2. It's also the reason why we sometimes begin reading a book that doesn't engage us.

Whatever works best for an individual writer--whether the traditional publishing route or self-publishing--success depends not only on writing ability, but also on marketing. I've read from several sources that even the major publishing houses don't spend much on marketing for any authors except those who are already proven best sellers.

This means that work for the less well-known author doesn't stop with publication. Another phase begins: promotion. Being a writer in this era demands business acumen and marketing know-how. These skills are especially critical when one uses a self-publishing platform, but they are also necessary to some extent with a traditional publisher if the author isn't a famous name.

I recently read that J.K. Rowling began using a pseudonym after completing the Harry Potter series in hopes that she'd get honest feedback rather than blind adulation for her newest books. An attorney's wife let the truth slip, so now the world is aware Rowling wrote the books. Sales went from unremarkable (before her identity was realized) to extremely high simply because she became known as the author. Such is the power of fame for a successful writer. Most people will think she shouldn't complain about more money pouring in, but I think I can understand her wish for honest opinions of the new direction of her writing.

Thanks for your continuous encouragement, Bill, to this group of writers.

Jaye

Bill, a very encouraging article! I guess we've all read books that have won various awards, but the best we could say about them is that they send us to sleep pretty fast. It's good to know that there is hope. Good luck with your next book, although I don't think you'll need it.

My Best as always.

Thanks for sharing this, Bill! People are different, so they have different opinions in what would be good.

Hi, Bill - Like you, I read a great deal and encounter more than a few books that demonstrate mediocrity within the first few pages. Those get tossed aside the moment I am bored. There is too much good writing available to wade through lousy writing.

In addition to books by "established" writers that don't hold a candle to their previous work, I'm finding too many traditionally published books that look as though they were scantily line edited, if that. In my opinion, this state of affairs reduces the credibility of traditional publishers. They may have fewer staff than during the industry's heyday, but editing should never be sacrificed because it hurts a book's success. Books that don't get the necessary attention before they hit the bookstore end up as remainders.

When I discover an author who never disappoints me, I read everything he or she publishes. I believe you've commented about James Lee Burke, who is one of my favorite authors. I read a lot of novels that fit into the mystery/thriller/police procedural genre, and my favorites include several UK writers who hit the ball out of the park with every successive book. I can lose myself in one of these writers' books, and the enjoyment I experience is what makes me want to write fiction. Make that "good fiction." I don't want to write tripe.

The growing ease of self-publishing and the venues available for self-promotion of one's work provide good writers a platform they may not find with traditional publishers. There is a growing number of indie authors who have found great success this way.

That old saying, "The cream rises to the top" is true in this situation. Good writers who make it into print by whatever means and market their work will be discovered, their books bought and enjoyed by many readers. Some of these authors may even be offered movie contracts, all of which encourages those of us who write and consider the self-publishing option.

There are many self-published books, however, that should never have seen the light of day, at least not without comprehensive editing, and it's those books that make readers hesitant about buying indie books even when priced very low. (After all, most people don't want to waste even $2.99 on an unreadable book.)

An indie author may be able to imagine and tell an excellent story, yet lessen that story's impact with mediocre or poor writing. After less-than-competent writers exhaust friends, family and recipients of early freebies provided by Amazon, sales of their self-published books usually dwindle accordingly. Word of mouth and written reviews by readers sell (or kill) books, regardless of how much they are touted on Facebook, Twitter and author websites.

People who read a lot pay attention to reviews--not only those on Amazon, but on Goodreads, LibraryThing, The Bookbag and book blogs. Best-seller lists in themselves do not guarantee good reads. In the past I've read a few books from The NYTimes list that disappointed me. Just because a particular title--especially by a popular author--is selling doesn't mean it's a good book.

I realize that not everyone is a great writer and include myself in that assessment. Only a few writers have the talent and skill to be labeled "great." Fortunately, it isn't necessary to be a literary giant to interest readers. Most people with the desire to write well can learn to do so. At the least, they can get help from an editor with any aspect of their writing that is weak...before attempting to publish it. The difference between good writing and mediocre writing is what captures the attention of readers, holds them until they reach "The End" and makes them hope that author is busy on another book.

I've met some excellent writers on HP and been exposed to some amazing writing here. Those are the writers I continue to regularly read. I also think I can recognize potential in some novices and try to be supportive as they work on improving their writing craft. (It's always exciting to read their later work and observe how they're getting better.) But there are also some would-be writers who show up on the HP feed who should turn their time and attention to another activity. (That's the nicest way I can say it.) My time is too precious to waste slogging through dreadful writing, and I won't do it. If that makes me seem harsh, so be it. I actually think it's cruel to encourage anyone whose every effort shows a distinct lack of talent, skill, or even a slight mastery of language and content. There must be some talent and skill upon which to build; otherwise, the results will be painful to anyone who places value on good writing.

Bill...Once again I hijacked your comment space, but I get really wound up about this topic. Your intro to this hub struck a nerve with me, as you wrote what I often think. I like your teaching hubs because you don't shy away from telling it like it is...even if what you write hurts some sensibilities. Thank you once again for pointing out some major truths about writing and publishing.

Voted Up++++ and shared

Jaye

I must, respectfully, disagree about the quality of Steve Hamilton's writing. I've read two of his books (A Cold Day in Paradise and The Lock Artist) and found both to be a refreshing take on their respective genres. But, every writer has a different opinion of what 'good' writing is. And every writer has that one author who they just can't understand how they got published (for me it's Janet Evanovich).

I do agree that authors shouldn't give up on the traditional market. It's served its purpose well and there is no reason why it can't find a place for itself along side self publishing (rather than one defeating the other). Already publishers are snatching up successful indie authors and adding them to their catalog, which means self publishing is just another tool for getting into the larger publishing world.

Having said that, I amassed 52 rejections for my novel from the traditional market. And the only useful advice I got out of it was that my book was too long. A lot of people told me to 'never give up' but what they failed to mention was that eventually you'll run out of agents/publishers to submit to. What then? Abandon the book you spent eight years writing? That's a hard pill to swallow. So, in that regard, self publishing saved my book from an undignified death (not to mention the opportunity to show my family that I wasn't being lazy for the last eight years.) But, more so than that, self publishing allowed me to move on. I couldn't get past that original novel, because I sank so much into it. And self publishing came through for me in a way that the traditional market didn't. I will still submit new novels through the same agent-seeking process, but I no longer view self publishing the way I used to. I once said "self published books are poorly written, grammatical catastrophes written by people without the spine or motivation to attempt something greater." So, if my mind can be changed, there is hope for all of us. :)

Exactly who I was thinking of Bill... :) I much prefer John Grisham now. Still prolific but not as much so hasn't compromised quality of story.

Good call indeed, Bill. We should never give up writing regardless...be it a traditional book or other wise!

Wonderful advice again Bill, and encouraging that anyone can be published and win awards if the right opportunity presents itself like the author Steve Hamilton, you mention. I have noticed some popular authors, one in particular who's books I enjoy overall, seem to be on a contract to produce a certain number of books in a short time. This particular author must write at least six novels a year, some with different co-authors, but I have noticed the quality of many not up to his earlier works. They seem as though they have been rushed out. to meet a deadline. I guess that is something you have to be careful of if you become a successful author.

Good morning from CapeTown. It was still early when I switched my tablet on sitting up in bed. I do a lot of my commenting before office hours, and spotted this hub on Google+. Robin and I both read your article with great interest. It always astonishes us the amounts some publishers pay in advances, even for half finished manuscripts. WE often heard of incredible deals that were concluded between Random House and Harper Collins for one book which we read about in the book fair news paper in Frankfurt.

Being a small publisher from Cape Town we always dreamed of selling our titles on to the big boys, which somethimes happens. WE sold several titles for translation in Germain, Dutch and India, but usually to other smaller publishers like us for quite small advances which we share with the author. During the week of the fair we got approached by several hopefull authors who tried to get an appointment with the agents for the big boys but failed and ended up with us.

They were all after the big advances which we never offer, so after a nice chat they left. Coming back to your acticle and having listened to one video, the world of publishing is for us compleatly different.

The many publishers we dealt with and shared experiences with were all the same as us, co-operative publishers who tried to limit their risks, especially on debut authors.

I still think that most writers have absolutely no idea what all is involved to get a manuscript into a printed copy and now also into an epub and kiindle files for worldwide distribution.

Its the self published authors who learn the hard way that getting a book in print is only 20% of the job, and 80% has to do with marketing.

Our world is changing fast and we both feel that going the ebook route first and after a great deal of marketing moving onto a small print run will work a lot better and flush out the formula money making authors from the genuine wordsmiths. How the traditional publishers will fare in the years to come is still unknown.

Thankyou Billy for your dedication to the world of writing.

Great advice as always. I will give my fingers crossed and place my faith in the luck of the draw.

Thank you, Bill, for this interesting and highly informative article on traditional publishing which I hope to try in the coming months. I also prefer traditional. As challenging as this is, I will throw my hat into the ring. I agree with you in that what passes for “award winning” or “#1” on some list, has me puzzled at times. On the other hand, it makes me view the amount of rejection that will undoubtedly be coming my way with a renewed perspective of hope. Thank you, my friend. Have a great weekend! :-)

I too share your thoughts but was never bold enough to admit it. You know, you made me feel motivated that though I might not be acclaimed and famous, I too have some hidden talent, perhaps better than some writers.

An excellent hub for every writer. You have eloquently stated what I have found to be the truth about the publishing industry. Straight up correct.

Thank you for that. I makes me want to continue to read each writing you create! ;-)

Great hub. I like that you pointed out the role of subjectivity (publishing sure isn't science!) and gave a specific example of a book that fell flat for you. You should write a hub on things you should do while you're waiting for that traditional book contract.

Anyone who wants their book published should read this. Try Try Again is your message. Thank's for all you do to help writers. Have a good one....

Very interesting... as always! It's not easy to be published for sure and as you said it so well, choosing which books to publish is a very subjective. It depend of the mood of the person who is in charge, their quota in each category and a lot of other factors I am sure. Until any writer is accepted and well known in the litterary world, having a book publishe is a big endeavor!

I had a good laugh when you described your experience reading the book of Steve Hamilton "I had just dated a beauty queen with zero personality" :-)))

Enjoy your weekend!

No it didn't get deleted; just insulted, lol.

You have a great weekend too, hope you and Bev get to a movie!

Thanks for the inspirational pep talk. One of these days, I may resubmit my manuscript to some agents and see what happens. The problem I ran into was I couldn't find anyone looking for my combination. The Christian fiction agents didn't want crime novels and the crime novel agents didn't want Christian fiction. Who knows? One day I might find someone who wants both in the same book.

PS: I printed this one out too, FOR SURE :)

BILLYBUC: I have yet to comment on your other hubs as it has been so hectic, but they have been printed out for me to read over lunch and coffee...BUT, I FINALLY decided I was going to spend this afternoon on hub pages and I am glad I did.

FIRST OF ALL, I could not BELIEVE your first video...SUSAN SHAPIRO!!! I THOUGHT OMG!

I attended a writers workshop in Greenwich Village a couple years ago which I saw advertised on the internet...It was led by Susan Shapiro and was held in her apartment!

There were 18 of us and she had guest agents join us. I almost DIED when she went around the room and had us read our work OUT LOUD!

One of my dreams has been to go to NYC and attend one of her courses, but too expensive ...but I STILL plan to do that. AND she said the SAME THING there as on her video, "the piece you write that your family hates means you have found your voice."

She wears only black, -even her toilet and bathroom sink and tub are black. Her apartment was phenomenal.

I also took a picture of her, which I am thrilled to have.

Her advice was so excellent, I wrote it all at the front of my diary that year. I can't BELIEVE you have her on video! It is over an hour, so I watched the first few minutes, but will go back to it.

She and I shared emails...she told me she got a $300,000 advance on one of her books. Before I attended her class I read her book, "Five Men Who Broke My Heart." It was supposed to be made into a movie.

I am SO glad you mentioned that book "A Cold Day In Paradise" and that you lost interest! So many books I thumb through at Barnes & Noble, I can't even get past the first page.

Thank you for your encouraging words for those of us who love to write. You really open one's eyes about traditional publishing.

I read all of the comments, and, like Suzanne Day, I also read the 50 Shades Of Grey trilogy because my friends kept telling me to buy it and said it was so excellent. I only plowed on to see how it ended and the ending stunk. I wondered why I wasted my time.

Like you, I am a reader. I STUDY the authors' writing styles, and I have found I love books written in first person. ( I was so glad you wrote your book in the first person).

I read The Book Thief, over 500 pages, in less than one week and went to see the movie the next day. I thought the book was phenomenal.

I also read a true story, "Growing Up Amish" which was from the heart. The day I finished it my husband and I went to Lancaster, PA, and I tracked down the author. I posted the picture of us on Facebook.

Everyone of us has different tastes, and so with Editors. I truly believe in my heart you will publish a blockbuster book, and your taking time to share your nuggets on Hub Pages - not to mention Facebook, Artistry With Words...you have a gift that you are sharing and I know all will come back to you in a tremendous way.

This is one of my favorite hubs that you have written. You ALWAYS write as if you are sitting in a room talking directly to the reader.

Thank you for giving us insight into the publishing world. And for saying that rejection does not mean you are a bad writer. I agree that each one of us need to continue to believe in ourselves and improve our craft.

God bless you real good, voted up, useful, interesting and awesome.

Blessings, Sparklea :)

Loved your videos and the text and now gotta find a published writer who i an be a true friend to and hopefully one day he/she will recommend my book for publication ;)

on a serious note...I agree with you bill...there are times when I just don't understand the awards the boring books get and I find myself down right critical on that...glad to know you in the same boat.

to be published as a novel and making it big...every writer's dream and your words were inspiring that a rejection letter should not bring her/him down.

happy friday bill :)

This is a well-needed positive message. Believe in yourself and keep writing your best work. All reading is subjective, otherwise we wouldn't have such a wide range of genres. I like thrillers and comedies; others like science fiction and romances. It's great that it's a subjective area of life.

I'm so glad you said you didn't like a 'successful' novel. I've wondered in the past why I don't like a story or a film that everyone is raving about. I've thought that perhaps it's me who is not 'clever' enough.

I find that people enthuse about a book and so everyone thinks it MUST be good, then I can't get into it, I don't like the style, I find it pretentious.

Now I know that some people are pretentious, some people just go along with the flow because they don't want others to think them 'uneducated'. What a shame that they can't just admit what they like and what they don't like. It's the same with art and fashion.

Great hub. Up, useful and shared. Have a great evening, indeed, a great weekend, bill. Hope the 're-shuffle' goes well; ours is on its way! Ann

I've been formally rejected a number of times, but I am grateful that my first rejection letter came from an editor who offered praise, mixed with a critical comment. The company didn't publish my book because it wasn't what they were looking for at the time. But, the fact that the editor took the time to offer a critique is what sparked me to continue writing. Yeah, it's all subjective. So, you're right; we should keep on writing because the time may come that our book will land in the hands of an editor who is subject to like it and publish it.

Hi Billybuc

I too enjoy reading. I have read books by my favorite authors that turned out not to be as good as their prior work. I believe that publishers will still publish poorly written books by authors who have already established themselves. Publishers know that these books will still sell because the public naturally expects the work to be good based on their prior experience with that author.

As Harry Belefonte once said, he had written a song that he did not know was filled with grammatical errors. By the time he realized it he had already made millions!

I don’t believe people rely on book reviews prior to buying books written by their favorite authors. As such poorly written books will get published and read even if not in their entirety.

However, as you said, as writers we should keep improving our craft. Hopefully we will all get to a place where anything we write is considered gold, even if it is not!

Billy, Hp would not feature my last hub calling it poor quality, maybe that is why you haven't been by but if you just haven't had time NP just wanted when you do come by to tell me why on earth it would be called poor quality. I feel like taking my goodies and leaving town!

Yes, I think it is everyone's dream to be published by a traditional compnay to publish one's book. Whatever happened to all the greats, or are we truly becoming snobs or are we just used to reading the greats of the past. Oh, there are some nowadays too, but getting fewer and far between, maybe because the publishers have so much junk to filter through, they may actually miss the greats of today. I feel you are going to be one of those greats that go down in history as a great writer. That is all of our dreams, I would think.

Excellent article and good points to ponder, dear Bill!

Up and more and sharing. Enjoyed reading on my lunch break.

Hugs,

Faith Reaper

Since people can publish their own book that is good for the authors, but it would be so much nicer for a tradtional company to publish your book.

Some authors that I have enjoyed reading regularly though the years until recently as their writing has changed. Some have made a change to empasize new age views or some other change, which can be interesting, but it seems they lost something in quality. They are still published regularly, but their books have become boring to me. I am always looking for new books to enjoy, but I agree with you that many books are praised and I wonder why. Maybe it is my age. Haha

Very interessting topic and well-written hub.

Nine books published St. Martin’s Publishing Group? I'll tell ya what's going on? Nobody consulted you! :)

That's what I always tell my husband. :) Actually his criticisms, much like yours, are usually pretty valid. A person, i.e. "the disappointed one", kind of wishes the "cognizant parties" (writer and publisher) would have consulted an "independent" (like you or my husband) for some objective remarks and suggestions before releasing the work.

I support all forms of publishing. But for sure traditional publishing should not and probably will not go away. Just in case though, is there an organization we need to sign up for to save it?

Well, that gives me hope. I just need to get that ebook out there. LOL. I do have one I co-wrote with someone that I need to get out there! :-) Along with all of the other ideas in my head. Thanks for all the info!

Very true. I must admit, I wondered why 50 Shades of Grey was supposed to be so exciting. The writing was fairly flat and the characters were even flatter. All that kept that book going was the naughty stuff and some hype.

There seem to be quite a few mediocre writers out there. The only thing I can understand about publisher's minds is that when they are faced with a choice of you or Stephen King, they will always pick Stephen King, because he has yet to publish anything that doesn't sell many copies.

Writers just need to persist with different publishers and be in front of the editor's eyes at the right time. Voted useful!

I love this! It really puts things into perspective. Hey, do you think it's possible to do an ebook (and even CreateSpace) with a book that could be "discovered" later by a publisher? I mean do you think that it's okay to go ahead with your own thing in the meantime, hoping to connect with a traditional publisher later? Does that question make sense? :-)

Too bad you can't open your query with "Please read this on a day you are not suffering from PMS"! I guess, as with most things in life, timing is everything.

It really is a cheat to start reading a book like that and it turns into a dud. I have had that happen to me many times before I ever gave a thought to writing. Since I sold books my books were free for years and you better believe I took advantage and finally being disappointed so many times I went to non-fiction books for they can get by with more or it isn't as noticeable when you are telling the truth although I have read a couple of those flubbed up too.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the encouragement billybuc. I certainly won't throw in the towel. But I must stay motivated and keep on writing.

Brilliantly approached but then again who can stop you from surprising us with such helpful and encouraging hubs?

Once again an excellent look into writing that gives us an excellent view into life. I think we should only take about 1/10th of the stuff personally that happens in life.

Fate is always twisting, turning and suprising us. Just when you think the door is welded down...

Useful and inspiring words for the weekend. :)

Very interesting topic and article, Bill..

I don't get how bad books get great reviews - and vice versa..

I also don't understand how OBVIOUSLY horrid books are published - self or otherwise! Simple spelling errors should NOT happen on a regular basis - never mind the multitude of other grade 1 errors that are rampant.

Keep ringing the bell Bill - nobody does it better!

Billy, it happens. I also remember an interview with an author who made it big with his first and only novel--he couldn't write another line. His success was a fluke. So many of us are better than he was. We have to keep trying till we bond with the right editor/publisher. Thank you for this encouragement.