Popular Author Leaves Industry, Waiting for it to Mature

I’m a writer. I love writing. It makes me really happy when people read my books and let me know that it affected them positively, whether emotionally (with my novels or anthology), practically (such as with my dog training book), or in some other way.

Yet I’ve also been struggling with being an author in today’s landscape. Having been an author since many years before the indie publishing “boom,” I’ve reached a point where my frustration with the industry has exceeded the joy of putting out books.

What is this industry problem about which I speak, you ask? Here it is in a nutshell: Anyone–and I do mean anyone–can “publish a book,” for free, in under an hour. Never mind the fact that they haven’t studied writing, they wrote the entire book in a month, and/or it has never been scanned by the eyes of an editor or proofreader. It seems that–to many (although certainly not all)–being an indie author is seen as the next get-rich-quick scheme.

As an author who takes an average of a full year to write a novel, who pays a professional editor to go over my books with a fine-tooth comb, who commissions artists to paint my covers and hires graphic designers to ensure their correct layout and formatting, being lumped in with this group has been frustrating beyond measure.

I’ve spent the last several years implementing various techniques to stand out as a true professional. I opened my own publishing company (and yes, it is a real business, not just some name I made up). I’ve joined several highly reputable industry organizations, attended vastly expensive conferences and book events, and have made considerable investments…all in the interest of maintaining my professionalism as a “real author.”

It doesn’t matter. In the end, if you’re not with The Big Six (now The Big Four), you’re still considered indie.

I’m a member of several author groups online. Many of the authors in these groups care about quality in books and are just as zealous in their efforts to put out work that meets traditional industry standards. But many are not. I’ve exhausted myself in arguments about this, the other side of their arguments being, “If it’s a great story, it shouldn’t matter if it’s spelled incorrectly,” and, “I just don’t have the money to invest in an editor.”

Yes, it does matter. No matter how fantastic the story is, NO reader (aside from indie authors who defend this) thinks it’s okay when they read a book riddled with errors. NO librarian or bookstore owner wants to buy or promote these books.

As for not having the money to invest in an editor? That’s like opening a restaurant but saying “I don’t have any money to buy plates.” It’s a business. These things are part of the required investment in order to do it right.

So, after significant soul-searching, I’ve decided the following:

• I will continue to promote the books I already have, do book club events, etc.
• I will continue to write the columns I already write in various magazines, newspapers, and websites, and will continue to accept new assignments doing them.
• I am going to focus more on the public speaking and business consulting aspects of my career.
• I will get back to publishing books after the industry has matured.

In case you’re wondering, I have also considered starting a new business, which would offer “pre-screening” for indie books, so readers can have a trusted resource to find the good ones. And make no mistake…there are some very good ones. It’s something I may consider in the future, but it’s not a drama I’m looking to embark on at the moment.

Keep an eye out for future blog posts, in which I’ll talk about other aspects of the topic above, as well as small business advice, website design, branding services, speaking availability, and more.

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