Publishing a Book Without Selling Out?

Hopeful Author writes "I've written a book, totally unrelated to tech, and I'm at the point where I'm going to look for an agent. My book is a 400-page fantasy novel, what will be book one of three or four (or more), in the style of Lord of The Rings, though with my own elements and twists. I have no idea if it's publishable, though I've had good feedback from those who have read the draft." My take on the situation is that self-publishing would be the best bet, but maybe there's a better way.

"I'm perfectly willing to go through the usual submit-and-get-rejected-endlessly process, and I know I need editorial guidance. My question comes in with the assumption that I eventually get through the publishing process. Then what? Fact is, I don't much like the major book publishing companies. Look at how Time Warner is cracking down on Harry Potter fan sites. I think that's terrible. I would be thrilled to someday have fan sites for my own characters -- I would actively encourage it, in fact. And I'm less-than-thrilled about the idea of signing away some of my rights, say electronic rights to my stories and the like. Yes, I may be able to negotiate the contracts, but as a first-time author I wouldn't have much clout.

"So I could publish on the web somehow, but the fact is I like the distribution efforts the book publishers provide. I wrote my book because I want people to read it (yes, money is not my objective, though it would be nice), and to be able to talk with those who enjoy it. If my book languishes on an ignored web site, I'll feel bad. My question then comes down to this:

"What does an idealistic, /.-reading, not-too-thrilled-about-corporatism author do to maximize the quality and distribution of a book? Are there good open-source type solutions to this problem, ones that will reach an audience? Or are the greedy book corps. the best bet, because of their distrubtion methods, even if their other habits make me sick and I'll lose control over my characters in the process? Or am I overreacting cuz I read /. too much? Any suggestions and advice welcome!"

Comments

Sell First, THEN write it

[scotpurl]

I know that sounds backwards, but it's the approach several successful writers, like Piers Anthony, have followed. You get an agent, you present a very short draft of the story, and the agent shops it around. You keep coming up with story drafts until one sells.

The difference here is that pretty soon, everything you write sells, because you're only writing what has been sold. And since the project is still in conception, it can be more easily made marketable, or fixed, or even the rough edges of your inexperience honed better. That's the same as getting VC backing. You shop the idea around, they mold it slightly, you get paid, you produce. If they don't buy it, you keep your other job, and keep thinking. You want the idea, not the labor, to produce the income. Ideas come faster than product.

Sounds really dumb, I know, but TV shows are based upon pilots, movie scripts upon 30 page script summaries, and on and on. You have to get in the door before you can write what you want.

A middle ground ...

[Daniel Dvorkin]

Take a look at the small press, both traditional publishers like Meisha Merlin and Print-On-Demand (POD, not to be confused with subsidy or "pay as you go") like Wildside, and you may find what you're looking for. MM particularly seems to do a good job of pushing their authors -- they don't get quite the range of coverage that people who publish with, say, Tor do, but it's not bad.

That being said, I do think you should try the major publishers first. It's no fun gathering rejection slips (trust me, I've been there) but the rewards for a sale are enormous (I've been there too) and as for potential legal problems ... well, try your best to negotiate any clauses (e-rights grabs especially) you find too objectionable, and if you can't strike a deal that satisfies you, you're under no obligation to sign the contract. You'd be surprised at how often publishers, even big ones, are willing to change things when authors, even first-timers, kick up a fuss. Often they write the worst possible language into a contract on the assumption that most authors will just go ahead and sign without plowing through the legalese, and sadly, they're often right.

Two caveats:

Never, ever, ever go through a self-publisher (subsidy publisher). As Mike Resnick says, in the writing universe money must always flow toward, and not away from, the author; if you have to pay the publisher one red cent to get your book on the shelves (or on Amazon) then that publisher isn't worth bothering with. In contrast, many perfectly respectable small presses don't pay you an advance up front, but they will pay you royalties. These guys are just fine, if that's the route you choose.

Know your rights. I strongly recommend Kirsch's Handbook of Publishing Law or a similar resource. Most publishers aren't inherently evil (despite the stories you may hear from drunk authors at SF cons) but the simple fact is that they're in business to make money, and the more of the revenue from any book they can keep, the happier they are ... and the unhappier you are.

Keep at it, and good luck. I've been writing for about twelve years now, and my parents have been writing for about thirty, and despite all of us having been published several times we've still got day jobs, as do most of the writers we know ... but not for a second have we ever seriously considered giving it up. It's worth it.