Why Self-Publishing Gets A Bad Name
I’m going to be honest with you: Until recently, I thought self-publishing was a last resort for authors who wouldn’t get published otherwise.
I was wrong. In the last year or so, I’ve noticed an increase in self-publishing. And I’ve learned that some authors aren’t self publishing because a big publishing house shot them down—though that might still happen anyway because big houses like to publish crap—but because, with a self-published book, the author retains a lot of control and a lot of the possible revenue, among other valid reasons.
Yet, there are still a lot of self-publishing duds out there. These aren’t just books that didn’t sell well. These are books that are awfully written, unedited, and full of more plot holes than a Dukes of Hazzard episode.
For example, take The Moon People by Dale Courtney, a novel that led Huffington Post to ask the question: Is this the worst novel of all time?
Before I go further in this post, I want you to know that I’m not making fun of Dale Courtney. I actually feel sorry for him because the outlet he used to self-publish this book obviously did nothing to really help him at all, other than throw his copy on a printed page.
Here is how Mr. Courtney’s novel, The Moon People, opens:
This story begins on a Beautiful sunny day in Daytona Beach Florida With a man by the name of David Braymer. A 45-year-old Single man that works at the local High school as a science teacher and astrology in the 12-grade level. Now he’s been here about 5 years and has become kind of partial to a young lady by the name of Cheral Baskel a local restaurant owner in Daytona Beach. At the moment Cheral’s preparing her restaurant for another Shuttle launch at the cape and everyone always gathers at her place because you can see the launch real good at her place. It’s also on the water and its real close to the cape and she really decks the place out.
Doesn’t everyone love to watch a train wreck? That’s the amazing thing about The Moon People. The novel has basically turned into the William Hung (he, of American Idol fame) of self-publishing. It’s been reviewed 104 times on Amazon and has 4.5 star rating out of 5. Say what? How?
That’s because the reviewers, almost all of them, are mocking Dale Courtney and his writing style. One reviewer, Sloat Fresno had this to say about the book:
This is a book. And Also its a Good book, one to read. The auther who goes by the Name of Daryl M. Corteney really has a nack for Good science Fiction telling. Also the Story. Now I dont want too Give to much away. In my review, So your going to have to. Read, the Book you’re self. But serve ice it to Say, your going to Read some things here. That you really did’nt expect. I Took one star Off for being Short and Singlespaced. But hey.
Okay, that’s kind of funny. But it’s sad because I’m sure Courtney thought he wrote a good book. And he had no one to tell him otherwise. No editor. No proofreader. No agent. Apparently, no English teacher. Nothing.
And it’s not like Courtney is just some unemployed slacker wasting his time. His bio, while horribly written, shows that he’s been successful in his main career:
D. M. Courtney is Married and a father of three, a writer and also does work for National Security on the part of foreign policies and war strategies and world economic equality. My hobbies are Scuba diving and fishing. I was raised in Miami Florida at the time of the Muriel flotilla of refugees from Cuba in the early seventies. Also did a tour in the military in the Army, went to Korea for a year. I’ve always enjoyed Writing about science fiction and I hope you really enjoy my book Moon People. Thank you and may God Bless your life.
No one said, “You know what, Dale. Maybe this book thing isn’t such a good idea. Feel free to write it for yourself and your family. Share it with a few friends if you want to. But I don’t think you should self-publish this one. It’s just not good, buddy.”
No one said that. Or, if they did, Dale was too stubborn to listen. And, amazingly enough, there have been two sequels!
Or could it be possible that Dale Courtney is pulling one over on us? Trainwrecks get a lot of publicity, and idiot bloggers like me will be sure to write about them. Could that be it?
Either way, The Moon People is one of those books that gives self-publishing a bad name. The fact that, literally, anyone can write and publish a book is both a beautiful thing and horrible thing.
I don’t know a lot about the process for self-publishing, but I’m learning more about it. And I even think it might be a viable option for me in the near future.
But if I go that route, I’ve got to invest in a professional editor who isn’t scared to tell me a sentence sucks, a chapter sucks. Or, even, that the whole book sucks. (Here’s an excellent article on Jeff Goins’ blog that walks you through the self-publishing process.)
I don’t want to sound like a pretentious jerk, but, while everyone can theoretically write, not everyone should be writing a book and attempting to publish it, just like not everyone should be flying a plane or swallowing two-foot long swords.
Write. Write. Write. Start a blog–they are great for honing your craft. Keep at it. But, for the love, don’t put your book out there in public before it’s been through the editorial ringer.
What are your thoughts on self publishing and/or the legitimacy of The Moon People?
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The sad thing is, books like this one are why so many of us are hesitant to give self-published books a chance. Without any gatekeeper, there’s no telling what you’re going to get. I’d much rather give my $10 or $15 to a small press I know publishes quality work – heck, I’ll read anything coming out of Small Beer Press or Other Press, because I know their history of publishing good books, and I admire that they’re doing it independently.
As much as I want to support people publishing their work on their own, I don’t have the energy to wade through plot synopsis after plot synopsis until I find a novel that (a) appeals to me and (b) appears to have been copy edited. I know there is some fantastic work that I’m missing, but there are too many books I want to read as it is.
Great points. For me, I would read a self-published work, but I would probably only do so if I see that it got high reviews or it was recommended by someone whose opinion I trust.
There really are some great self pub books out there, but, like you say, you’ve got to sort through a lot of junk too. Not that big houses don’t publish junk, but usually at least it’s edited junk.
Right – it’s so much the same as indie films vs major studio productions. There are plenty of terrible blockbuster movies, but they have great production value. Sometimes that’s all it takes for me to sit through a movie…or, though I hesitate to admit it, a book.
I’ve picked up a couple self-pubbed titles based on recommendations and my sense of the author (things like whether they’ve been published in magazines, why they chose to self-publish). And these titles, which show how much effort has been put into producing a good (and edited, and copy-edited) novel, can be inspiring examples of how some people are trying to move beyond the constraints of traditional publishing schemes. Also raises interesting questions about why more and more people now want to move away from that traditional path to publication, including removing the editor as someone who plays a great role in shaping the book.
There’s an award in the UK for the worst sex writing. Apparently people WANT to win because it guarantees loads of publicity. I’ve self-published and I like people reading my words – if all it takes is Really bad punctuation, and no Editing. Then guess what? I’m willing to get on that trend. MOON PEOPLE has had so many Amazon reviews – green with jealousy… For a chance to laugh at the typos in my enovel (for kindle) see COCONUT WIRELESS at http://www.smashwords.com and via amazon or http://www.nicolabaird.com
Blogging is a form of self publishing, albeit without the editorial net.
The true beauty of of the internet is that allows for Moon People to be published and the free market to determine its quality.
Like I said, it’s beautiful and horrible at the same time.
I wouldn’t say that self publishing has an editorial net either….Moon People being a prime example. An author who knows what he or she is doing will make sure to get freelance editor, but I’m also sure some people will just let the spouse look at it and then click publish.
I’m all for self publishing. I just think it gets a bad name because of crap like this book.
I have read both duds and what I’d like to term ‘rising stars’ in the self-published book realm. I agree that it is very important to have a good proof-reader or editor prior to self-publishing. I have been writing an alternate reality novel and I find it is important to re-read your own work. Also, it’s a good idea to ask friends who like the genre of your novel to read the novel. Feedback from multiple people can help ensure that your novel is ready for publishing (or sending in to a big publisher.) Be sure to ask for feedback in the following areas:
1. Basic spelling, punctuation and grammar.
2. Ease of reading. (is it disjointed or is it easy to picture what’s happening?)
3. Continuity. (did the people walk to the restaurant but then pick up the car from the valet after dinner?)
4. Enjoyability (Would you pay to read this book?)
Having good, honest feedback in those areas can help you avoid the problems that were evident in “The Moon People”.
Right now self-published books are somewhat like the bargain movie bin. You have to sort through a lot of mediocre stuff in order to find some real gems.
Unless you have some serious cniceotnons in the world of people promoting books I guess it’s a dead end. Paper books is a slow and painfully going to grave with all the ebook readers taking over the market. Of course, paper books will be around for quite some time, but it’s faster and cheaper to publish electronically. Unless you’ve got some crazy idea under the rug that you plan to pull I suggest try something else.
As a self-published novelist, I have to agree that the Moon People seems to be the worst of the worst. Maybe it’s a parody. Who knows? But for anyone to judge a whole class of writers by one book is like judging a nation or a race, or even a religion, by one individual. Realistically, that’s what people do, so it’s rather futile to fight it. If I let the fear of antipathy or scorn toward self-publishing frighten me away, I might just as well stop writing. But books like that have no influence on my creativity–or on my sales. I have to establish a reputation based purely on the quality of my writing, and perceptive readers judge only by quality.
I read an enormous amount of self-published work, and it doesn’t take any more effort to find it than it takes to find readable work that’s traditionally published. They both require a lot of slogging through crap to find the good stuff. But recommendations and reviews help clear the path. And generous samples of any digital work can take the place of thumbing through pages on a bookstore shelf.
The world is changing. There was a time when I thought the height of happiness would be publication by a well-known traditional company. By the time I finally got around to writing, it was clear that I’d be wasting time and energy going down that path. From the moment I finished my first novel, I knew that I’d be going indie. My work. My decisions. My rewards. No middle man.
Do you feel like the negative view of self-publishing is changing? I do. Books like Moon People don’t help, but I think there’s a lot of great stuff out there.
If all self-publishers did one small thing–hire an editor–I think it would make a huge difference.
Robert, it’s too early in the game to tell if the general view is changing much. As long as so much of what’s published is garbage, I don’t think it will change significantly. For those of us who work to produce books that can compete with print in writing quality, it will be an uphill battle for a long time. Unfortunately, all the calls for writers to edit their work fall on mainly deaf ears. You have to know that your writing doesn’t come up to the most basic standards before you’ll consider doing something about it. A lot of the bad stuff is published out of laziness, but I’m convinced that most of it is published out of sheer ignorance.
I’ve never hired an editor and never will. First, I simply can’t afford it. Second, I have the knowledge to do my own editing. What I do need, and sometimes get, is the input of others who can see what I may miss. Would I like to have a professional give me a thorough critique of my work? Yes. So I keep learning and working, striving to improve with every novel. Can we expect that of every self-publisher? ‘Fraid not.
Caveat emptor! To be sure, the large publishing houses do publish a lot of garbage because they believe that the public will buy gargage. The evidence says that they are right. Before paying good money for a book, it behooves the customer to get a feel for what ii is they are buying; regardless of the source of the book.
Have a great weekend. Happy reading.
Everything you say is true. And no, there are no editorial safeguards on these self-publishing sites. The volume of wanna-be writers uploading novels makes editing for the site managers impossible. All it takes to publish is the ability to operate a computer.
Normally, the reviews can not be trusted either, as they are written by friends, family members and sometimes the author, using an alias on another computer.
I wish there was a reliable review system that could chop through the slush for me. I’d pay a couple of bucks every month to let someone else lead a path through the literary jungle.
Traditional publishing is too limited, and self-publishing is….well, you know what it is.
I tend to avoid self-published books because finding a good one is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Yes, there are self-published books that are well-written, but they’re the exceptions rather than the rule, and I don’t have hours upon hours to read samples from thousands of e-books trying to find one that appeals to me. Librarians tend to not have that kind of time either, which is why self-published books generally won’t end up on library shelves when there are traditionally published books out there that have already been professionally edited, vetted, and reviewed by professionals (ie. Library Journal, Kirkus, etc.). One one hand, I wish that publishers would treat their authors better, but on the other hand, with self-published books, anybody can publish anything and lots of people publish crap.
Sturgeon’s Law – 90% of everything is crap.
The internet in many ways is proving that Sturgeon was an optimist. I don’t read self-published books. In part this is because I prefer actual books (I don’t use an eReader) but mostly it’s because I don’t want to wade through the piles of books that should never have seen the light of day.
I see all the time on blogs how writers complain about the ‘gatekeepers’ (publishers) who won’t publish their book. You will never hear anyone say “I wrote a book, but it’s not good enough to be published.” Most people are more likely to say “I wrote a book, but the traditional publishers won’t buy it, so they’re obviously stupid and don’t understand how great I am because I wrote a book.”
I prefer the system of gatekeepers. Even if there are books that I don’t enjoy reading, I know that those books at least had to get past someone before they were published. It means that the grammar in the book won’t make me want to puke (as the excerpt from Moon People does) and that the story is structured in some way.
I enjoyed reading your opinion and all the comments that follow. I too was considering the self-published option, but hesitated after going through all the junk there was (although I found A FEW that were worth it). But I really mean only a few, and guess what, they were among my Twitter friends, not on Amazon as you would expect. I have to say that I dont have an e-reader and prefer the contact of paper novels. Maybe I am not keeping up with progress, but In my opinion, nothing équals going into a bookstore and sorting through all the newbies that you can turn the pages and sample.
I have to agree on some level with everyone here. However, not all self-published works are unedited. I write every day and send in my novellas to an editing company and then they return them for a reasonable rate, ready to publish and distribute. There is a lot of waste out there, I won’t argue that. A little editing goes a long, long way…
Amazon.com: JOHN THE RABID (Ultimate Fantasy) eBook: J. G. Cuff: Books