by Sandra Parshall
Hybrid seems the way for writers to go these days, and I’ll admit I feel like a dinosaur because I haven’t made the jump yet.
A hybrid author is one who publishes traditionally but has also self-published original work. Some, like Amanda Hocking, became successful by self-publishing after traditional publishing houses rejected their work, then used their solo success to secure lucrative traditional book deals. Others, like the phenomenal Sylvia Day, started in traditional publishing, moved to self-publishing, and now does both.
Hybrid authors are savvy about both types of publishing, and many have negative opinions of print publishers. They know what their choices are, and the most successful among them are skilled at marketing. They tend to make more money — often far more — from self-publishing than from their traditionally produced and marketed books.
So why are they still willing to take the print route with some of their work, and what does a traditional publisher have to do to hold onto them?
A new Digital Book World/Writer’s Digest report offers insights that might make traditional publishers more than a little nervous. The report, for sale through the DBW website, is the result of a 20-question survey of 121 successful hybrid authors, followed up by 17 in-depth interviews. Although I can’t quote from it directly, I’ll summarize it, and you can decide whether you want to pay to read it in full.
The major complaints about print publishers won’t surprise anybody:
*Writers are not respected as partners in the process.
*The author has virtually no creative control. The person who spent a year or more pouring her/his heart and soul into writing the book loses control of it when a publisher takes over.
*Communication between publisher and writer is poor.
*Getting a book to market takes too long (a year, 18 months, or more is typical).
*Royalties for the writer, including digital edition royalties, are too low.
*Few books receive marketing support and promotion.
*Publishers are afraid to take chances on new writers and fresh ideas.
*Publishers claim all rights and hold onto them for many years, cutting off the possibility of additional income for the author. (Writers cheered when Hugh Howey, author of the e-book phenomenon known as Wool, sold Simon & Schuster the U.S. print rights only and held onto everything else.)
Writers recognize that traditional publishing has some benefits. A printed book from a reputable publisher remains a more prestigious product and is easier to get into bookstores and libraries. Major publishers can distribute a book widely (although many small publishers can’t get their books into stores and rely mainly on library and internet sales). Traditionally published books are reviewed in industry periodicals. All the tedium of production is handled by the publisher.
However, the lack of adequate marketing support from their print publishers is a major sore point for authors. The books that are expected to become bestsellers are heavily promoted, but beyond the mailing of review copies, promotion for the great majority of books is left entirely to the authors. If a book doesn’t sell, the writer is held responsible and may be dropped by the publisher.
Creative control was by far the biggest factor cited when the surveyed authors were asked why they want to self-publish their next books. Ease and speed of the process was second, and money came in a distant third.
A side note: Established writers I know personally or online through writers’ groups are enthusiastic about reclaiming the rights to their out-of-print novels and self-publishing them. Some have had to fight to wrest their rights from publishers that want to hold onto them and put out their own e-book editions. Writers love the freedom of being able to redesign a book and give it a fresh and often more attractive cover. (Covers are usually designed by people who have not read the books, and authors have little or no input. Sometimes a great cover results, sometimes not. Ask any group of writers if they’ve ever had a cover so bad that it embarrassed them, and the floodgates will open.)
Many excellent, inexpensive services now exist for preparing e-books for publication and designing covers. The DBW/WD survey also delved into the reasons why writers choose one service over another and what additions they would like to see, such as distribution of printed copies, establishment of major awards for self-published books, and marketing services.
The surveyed authors were also asked about the role, if any, agents play in their careers. Many say they no longer use agents, or have never used them. Some agents have created side businesses for handling the e-book publication of clients’ works, and some have set up their own e-publishing companies (violating the bylaws of the Association of Author’s Representatives). The overwhelming majority of authors, though, feel an agent is no longer necessary. If they need someone to negotiate a print contract for them, they would rather pay a lawyer a one-time fee than commit to paying an agency’s commission forever.
One part of the report, an enlightening interview with Romance Writers of America president Sylvia Day, is available free on the Digital Book World website. Day says she started self-publishing because she was dissatisfied with the way traditional publishing works — the slowness of it, the low royalties, the paychecks that arrived only twice a year. She says she can live comfortably on her self-publishing income. When traditional publishing companies in the U.S. and abroad wanted her sensational Crossfire e-book series, she hired a new agent to make sure she got the advance and royalty she wanted from Penguin, plus some control of the packaging and pricing. She says it took a month for Penguin’s representatives to “wrap their heads around the notion” that they weren’t competing with another publisher but with Day’s self-publishing experience. In the end, agreement was reached on a print deal.
Day believes the world needs the publishing industry, but she still loves self-publishing. The main reason: Readers are entirely in control, choosing the books that will be successful, without publishers telling them what they should be reading. A lot of successful self-published books, she points out, were rejected by numerous publishers who believed they would never find an audience.
by Sandra Parshall
In the past, nobody except writers themselves cared much about what writers wanted from the publishing experience, because we were the least powerful people in the process of bringing books to readers.
We were the crazy ones: we were addicted to writing, everybody knew we would write even if we didn't get paid, we would let an agent keep a manuscript exclusively for six months before rejecting it, we accepted that it might take years to find a publisher, we would grab any lousy deal that was offered because we were so desperate and so grateful to get published.
Now – or so I keep hearing – changes in the industry have given writers all the power, and suddenly a lot of people care what we want.
Digital Book World and Writer’s Digest co-sponsored a survey of 5,000 aspiring, self-published only, traditionally-published only, and “hybrid” (traditional and self-published) authors to get their views on a wide range of issues. Some of the results should be eye-openers for both publishers and writers. The detailed report is for sale for a hefty price through Digital Book World, but last week I listened to a free webinar that covered all the key findings. Following the data presentation, a discussion featuring survey co-authors Jeremy Greenfield of DBW and Phil Sexton of WD, along with hybrid author and Cool Gus Publishing founder Bob Mayer, was equally enlightening.
Perhaps the least surprising finding was that writers who have done both are the most savvy about self-publishing and traditional publishing. They’re the most flexible, the most aggressive about getting deals that benefit them, and they make the most money. Among the writers surveyed, the average annual incomes were $7,630 for self-published writers; $27,758 for the traditionally published; and $38,540 for hybrid writers.
Money isn’t the biggest factor driving most authors, though. Having a writing career, being able to reach readers, is what matters above everything else. For some, self-publishing is the only way to achieve that, because a lot of traditional publishers have no interest in books that won’t generate big sales.
The “best” writers, in a purely commercial sense – the ones most likely to attract a large audience – do have a choice between traditional publishing and self-publishing. How can traditional publishers attract and hang on to those profitable authors?
Even self-published writers acknowledge the prestige of having a book published and distributed by a respected imprint. The ability to get books into brick-and-mortar stores is also a plus. And many writers simply don’t want the hassle of managing the publishing process themselves.
The author-editor relationship at a print publisher, however, isn’t a big draw for either traditionally published or hybrid authors, the writers who have actually worked with editors. During the discussion, the panelists talked about the pressure on editors to be “book processors” rather than partners with writers, especially when the authors are midlist and not likely to bring in a lot of money.
Traditionally published only authors are the least likely to want more creative control. Hybrid authors, having experienced the freedom of self-publishing, want more of a say in how their work is produced by traditional publishers. If a print publisher can’t provide added value, those writers will go elsewhere. The panelists agreed that publishers must learn how to serve authors better by providing things the writers can’t easily do for themselves.
Marketing and distribution would seem to be traditional publishing’s strong points, but writers across the board realize that only a small percentage (panelists estimated 5-10%) of books receive any kind of marketing investment. The money and time required for promotion must come almost entirely from the author. Regardless of how a book is published, its success or failure is usually a result of the writer’s efforts, and most authors know that going in.
One thing traditional publishers can offer, because a lot of writers don’t understand it, is the management of meta-data, which is key to “discoverability” for a book online. Tweaking a book’s meta-data can have a big effect on its sales, but many authors don’t have a clue about this aspect of marketing or they don’t want to invest the time to do it properly. Writers, after all, must write if they’re going to have a product to sell, and nothing can eat into precious writing time the way marketing can.
The panelists warned, though, that big publishers are just beginning to get a handle on online marketing. They’re learning that they can’t depend on Facebook and Twitter for everything – and that social media marketing is not free. Somebody who understands it has to be paid to do it right.
Writers who want to self-publish also have to learn that nothing is free. Good editing is essential, and good editors aren’t cheap. People with no credentials and no expertise are popping up everywhere to offer their editing services, and aspiring writers must be careful in vetting anyone they consider hiring. Good covers, even for e-books, are also vital, and finding a talented artist whose fee won’t bankrupt you can take some effort. The page layout must also look professional. As the panelists in the online presentation said more than once, there’s a lot more to self-publishing than pressing a button.
Drawing on the survey data, the panelists had some additional advice for aspiring writers: Don’t wait until you’re published, in whatever form, to begin building your audience. Only a small percentage of the aspiring writers who responded to the survey said they already have websites, blogs, and Facebook pages. If they decide to self-publish, they’ll be starting from scratch, with no audience waiting for their work. If they want to publish traditionally, they’ll discover that a strong social media presence is a big selling point with both agents and editors. If you can bring a ready-made audience with you, you’ll be way ahead of the competition.
by Sandra Parshall
If you’re at all interested in the wild ride that is modern publishing, the bestseller lists make up a fascinating map of the book world. It’s all there in the listed titles: the e-book revolution, the self-publishing revolution, the scramble to keep traditional publishing afloat by any and all means, including embracing e-books and self-published successes.
If you look at the ten bestselling print books of 2012, you might think traditional publishing is doing okay. But the first three slots were occupied by the three Fifty Shades books by E.L. James, and coming in at #9 was the boxed set of the trilogy – books that started life as self-published projects. Together, the four print versions sold around 15 million copies in 2012. Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed also dominated the e-book bestseller list last year, and they’re still selling at a steady clip, rubbing elbows with the likes of John Grisham’s The Racketeer, Gillian Flynn’s phenomenal Gone Girl, and Nicholas Sparks’s Safe Haven.
We’ve become accustomed to announcements about major publishers acquiring print rights to e-book bestsellers in the hope that they can cash in on an enterprising author’s self-generated success. E.L. James is the prime example of how joining forces with a print publisher can – if everybody concerned is lucky and readers are willing – add another fat layer of sales and wealth that might not have been possible in the self-publishing world.
Some self-published writers, though, are holding on to their independence and reaping big rewards. The #3 title on the January 13 New York Times combined print and e-book bestseller list is a self-published young adult romance called The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen. It’s #2 on the e-book fiction list, sitting between Safe Haven at #1 and Gone Girl at #3. At the beginning of this week, Sorensen’s book (one of several she released in 2012) was #7 on the Kindle paid list and #5 on Amazon’s print literature and fiction bestseller list, in an Amazon Digital edition.
The #5 title on the Times combined print and e-book bestseller list for January 13 is a self-published book called Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. It’s #4 on the e-book bestseller list. Hoover released her debut novel, Slammed, in January 2012 and the follow-up, , in February. Both books were, and still are, bestsellers and have been optioned for film. Hoover’s books, printed in trade paperback using Createspace, occupy the top three slots on Amazon’s paperback bestseller list, with prices ranging from $8.88 for the first two books to $12.98 for Hopeless – the same prices people pay for trade paperbacks from major traditional publishers.
Yes, traditionally published novels still take most of the bestseller slots, for e-books as well as print. But when four of the top ten sellers for the past year were originally self-published, and the big imprints are offering multi-million-dollar contracts to independent authors, you know the ground under the publishing business has shifted and the industry will never be the same again. E.L. James, Colleen Hoover, and Jessica Sorensen are in the second wave of change, after Amanda Hocking and a couple of others led the way.
One thing hasn’t changed: Nobody knows exactly why one book succeeds wildly while others fail or register middling sales. It’s tempting for authors to think that if they self-publish they might parlay an e-book hit into huge multi-platform success. But good sales, let alone bestsellerdom, are no easier to achieve than they ever were, and self-published writers are starting with several strikes against them (lack of a bookstore presence being one). The writer still needs the elusive magic, the indefinable something that will ignite the interest of a vast readership.
I’m still looking for that magic myself. I can hope, can’t I? Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the constantly shifting landscape of publishing, as traditional imprints court writers they previously rejected, as friends who have been dropped by their publishers move on to independent mode, and still others shun the traditional path altogether and jump straight into self-publishing. I wish all of us well as we explore the options for getting our stories into the hands of readers.
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The bestselling books (print and electronic) of 2012:
1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
2. Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James
3. Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
5. Bared to You by Sylvia Day
6. Reflected in You by Sylvia Day
7. The Racketeer by John Grisham
8. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
9. Fifty Shades Trilogy by E.L. James
10. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
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Hybrid seems the way for writers to go these days, and I’ll admit I feel like a dinosaur because I haven’t made the jump yet.
