Leaving out the middle man in publishing: you mean the publisher?
By Bobbie Smith

If you’re a writer, you’re probably obsessed about getting published.

By getting published, I mean in the traditional sense: offering your content to a company who has distribution, marketing and publishing capabilities and capacity.

The alternative, at least in the hardcopy world, is what has long been referred to as vanity press or self-publishing. Writers who have avoided self-publishing, have done so with good reason. It is still considered a last resort, a route for those who cannot get publishers interested in their work, a medium whose use sends a signal of little talent. While in music, independent musicians have shown that these myths can be overcome and completely reversed, in writing, that has not yet happened.

We are getting a little closer.

The DIY trend is incredibly strong as an approach to doing things. People are redesigning their living rooms, knitting their own sweaters and building their own websites. Never before has DIY been so powerful. Technology has equipped us to do more of what we relied on professionals to do in the past. Doing it ourselves can give us options, colours, styles and above all greater control over the outcome…maybe.

With DIY as strong as it is, people seem a little less judgmental about a writer publishing her own work. This is a good thing. However, it’s still not considered impressive to publish your own writing.

As a writer, I am a little obsessed with being published.
I want to be published.
I need to be published.
Otherwise, it’s like singing in the shower.
It’s fun to do but if no one ever hears you, what difference are you making.
For you to make a difference as a writer, you need to be read.
Someone needs to see your words and then respond to them.

I have written to publishers and been rejected, which is part of the writer’s quest to success, but I refuse to see it as failure or rejection. I see it as a business decision on the part of major publishers. For example, I queried Dutton’s Children’s Books (an imprint of Penguin USA) for Sing, Girls, Sing!

I made it through the slush pile (only 2% of queries do) and they asked me to send in the first three chapters of my manuscript. They decided not to publish because they didn’t feel it was strong enough for their list. Well, they do publish a lot of great stuff so it’s understandable, but that doesn’t mean I should not have the opportunity to get my not-on-the-top-ten-but-still-good book out there.

My obsession to publish my work wasn’t going away in any hurry. So when I discovered Lulu.com, I decided it needed to happen anyway. Lulu is a website that allows writers, creators, producers to write, create, produce and publish their own work but with a new twist: full and utter creative control, including number of copies for production.

I guess I could have queried a hundred others but why? In the end, a publisher is really just the middleman. If you can cut ‘him’ out, then you have greater control, and presumably a bigger cut. And with an set up like Lulu, I had access to the technology to publish and the budget…with Lulu, they aren’t just allowing creators to self-publish, they let your print only as much as you want at a time, otherwise known as POD: print-on-demand.

Most self-publishers require a minimum number of copies to be printed at once: typically 500. This requirement made offset printing cost-effective — a way to offset the set up costs of doing the ‘run’ of books. Lulu allows a writer to print/publish/order 2 books or 200 books or 2000.

Sing, Girls, Sing!

So I wrote, published and printed 200 copies of my novel, Sing, Girls, Sing! and satisfied my need to publish. It felt great! It still feels great. But now I realize it’s not just being published that’s important; it’s knowing my book is selling.

When you publish on your own, you are on your own. I’ve also heard many authors say that when they’ve been picked up by major publishers, too.

No one is out there flogging your book. Whether you publish it or someone else does. Either way, it’s all up to you. The big publishers are focused on the books they know will generate a large return. Until you have a track record, don’t expect them to throw a lot of money towards promoting your book. Any musician will tell you the same thing: it’s not enough to just do music; you need to promote your music, too.

I sold a total of 55 copies. The rest I’ve given away. To break even, I should have sold another 94 copies. With Lulu, I had a bigger cut, but it also meant my commitment level and role was bigger and more active than if I’d been with a major publisher — authors get 8-10% usually. My cut through Lulu was 35%. But, that means active promotion. I certainly want my book to make it into the hands of girls age 8-12 but I’ve learned there’s only so much promotion I want to do. This desire may change depending on my stage in life and which book project. For now, I plan to keep writing, publishing and trying to inspire myself to promote, promote and…sigh…promote.

www.lulu.com/bobbiesmith

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