As I said in my previous
blog, most writers (myself included) would prefer to have a contract with a
publishing house, as that confers a certain degree of respectability and comes
with an advance and access to the resources of the company (such as publicity).
Having said that, I have come up with a list of positive attributes for the
on-demand publishing side of things.
1) Good
for the environment. Your book is not mass-produced, so there’s no
pre-publishing guess about how many copies will be needed by the public. Each
book represents a desired commodity, and no books get remaindered. This is good
for our forests. And as Kindle use grows, even fewer trees will meet the axe.
2) The
book never goes out of print. Once computer files of the book are uploaded,
your book will always be available unless you decide to take it down.
3) No
timetable for publicity. If the book is always available, you can do
publicity bursts whenever and however you choose.
4) Corrections
can be made quickly and easily. This
point might not seem very important, but if you’ve ever worked in book
publishing (as I have), you know the process authors go through to correct
typos, etc. By the time changes are incorporated, many thousands of books may
have already been produced and purchased.
5) No second-novel pressure. As a fiction writer,
I’m not supposed to talk about this, but many published writers feel some panic
about producing a second book. But in this case, if your second title doesn’t
sell like the first, you’re the only one to know. In fact, commercial success
is moot, though plenty of on-demand publishing authors sell very well (a friend
of mine mentioned to me that one of her students had sold more than 10,000
copies).
6) Less
ego involvement. We all like our ego stroked, but there’s a delicious sweetness
in sending your book out into the world without fanfare. Like a parent, you
trust this creation (which is yours and not yours) to go forth and make its way.
7) No
publishing house author hatred. If you’re a writer whose book has traveled
the ordinary publishing house route, this might surprise you, but oftentimes
there’s some copy editor or production person gnashing their teeth at the mere mention
of your name. I remember this well…such comments as, “Will he ever stop making corrections?” “She’s in
my office making kissy sounds over the phone with her husband, and I can’t get
her to leave.” “He only thinks he
knows Spanish.” “She thinks she lives here, and she keeps staring at my
breasts.” “Can you believe that advance? Good god, how I hate her.” (By the
way, if you are a publishing house
author, follow Cristina Garcia’s--Dreaming
in Cuban—lead and send gracious notes to everyone who worked on your book.
You’d be surprised how few do this, and a simple thank you goes a long way.
Your agent and editor are not the only significant people in the development of
your book.)
