My FB feed is currently being bombarded with adverts on self publishing, everything from the Kindle-Amazon kind, through established "self-publishing-houses" to self appointed gurus promising to reveal all on how to achieve your dream of successful sales with your self published product. Underlying this, of course, is the assumption that your dream as a writer is to get published at all costs, almost - dare I say it - regardless of the quality of the work you're producing. Behind this is an even more insidious assumption that quality control through professional judgement is an elitist trick for preventing valid voices from being heard.
It's true, I'm sure, that the traditional publishing route does prevent, hinder and reject much worthy work while simultaneously embracing, promoting and selling a fair load of old tripe. This truism - even if its only a perceived one - is the driver behind many authors grasping the self publication chances offered, in my opinion, so thoughtlessly. There is an inevitable consequence of this, a market place overwhelmed with artless nonsense. As a reader, alone, I find this depressing: it's hard enough already sifting the literary wheat from the ill-begotten chaff. As a writer I find this trend towards anyone publishing any old twaddle not only depressing but profoundly disturbing.
Around this point in the argument, when I'm having it aloud with friends and family, two objections are usually raised, the first being, who am I to say what's good and what is rubbish. To which I reply in various guises - well, yes, precisely. Bear with me. The point will soon become clearer, I hope. The second objection is harder to refute, which is basically, what's the problem? Everyone is entitled to have their say, or write their book, or sing their song or whatever. To which I say, within the limits of this self-published blog, I surely have the right to ignore what you say, avoid reading what you write and close my ears to the songs you sing. Self publishing is by and large the disrespectful shrill squawk demanding to be listened to above any other voices.
Myself, as both a reader and a writer, and despite the iniquities of the traditional publishing world - the inevitable nepotism and cronyism, to say nothing of the rampant prejudices of those involved - I do appreciate their assistance in drowning out some of the shrillest squawking from those of the hoi polloi who imagine themselves to be the next Stephen King or JK Rowling or Charles Dickens, even. I suppose these people see themselves as writers of quality, simply and unfairly thwarted from reaching a wide audience / readership by a system stacked against them, so Publish And Be Damned, as it were, because our modern technology enables you to do so. Well, I say, who is to say you're a writer of quality, and let's face it, all of us aspiring authors have to deal with the systems as they are. If you go down the self publishing route you're evaluating your own work as worthy, credible, readable, praise-worthy etc with or without the flimsy input from someone who has a vested interest in making a few bob out of you. That distorts the market way beyond one already distorted enough by the failures of the trad publishing community. Worse, it cheats readers, at least in the short term, who are entitled to expect at least a minimum standard that self promotion cannot guarantee.
My own view is my writing (and by extension anyone's) needs a critical filter offered by the far from perfect traditional publishing community. Don't get me wrong, I believe in my work, but I cannot in all conscience inflict it upon the world without the buy-in and support of professional agents and / or publishing houses. There's a kind of in-built quality check, not infallible admittedly, a reassurance that the material is worthy (whatever that means exactly) if someone is willing to stump up some hard cash, invest in it and support it. My ambition has never been to publish at all costs. I write because I have something to say and I enjoy saying it. For me it's that straightforward. Getting published would be a wonderful bonus.
I was once offered a self-publishing contract by one of the best known self-publishing enablers, having innocently submitted one of my novels to them ignorant of their business model. I did not pursue it. And I have since had the same novel rejected by perhaps a dozen agents and a couple of (traditional) publishers. I could have made a different decision and today could be writing as a "published" author. But I wouldn't know for certain, deep in my bones, that the novel had any worth at all. (And God only knows if it would have sold.) I would have looked upon it as a betrayal of my art.
At least the day, if it should ever come, any of my novels are published I will be able to honestly claim that some professional(s) rated my work, and were willing to take the commercial risk of publishing it. That will make me feel good. So Publish And Be Damned if you want to, but I won't envy you your hollow achievement.
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