In this week's week-in-review post, she quoted me ...
DLM said
But there seems really to be no "middle class" in traditional publishing now. You can't be *dependable*: you have to be a breakout, and - never mind the pressure, it's just a matter of numbers, and the numbers dictate, we simply cannot all be The Next Big Thing.
JANET said
We call it mid-list but you're right. It's like the Army; you can't spend five years in the same rank or your career is pretty much over. Get promoted or get out. Like baseball: you can play on the farm teams for a while, but either move up, or hang up your glove.
Publishing is not the only place this up or out pattern applies. But it only applies to COMMERCIAL publishing. You can publish and sell your own work forever. That's one of the many great things about the electronic marketplace: it's easy to access and it actually works. I'm not saying it's easy to self-publish (well, it is, but let's assume I mean self-publishing well here) but that the barriers to buyers are much diminished from where they were 20 years ago.
I think she's seen enough of my comments at her own blog contemplating commercial (what I've been calling traditional, which she rightly calls commercial - augh, and now to fix my tags ...) publishing versus self-pub, and certainly she knows my writing, for my interpretation that she's Telling Me Something - or, at least, agreeing with my self-evaluation - not to be completely out of hand.
And even if it is, at the end of the day, she's neither my agent nor my ultimate guide; just a kind reader - and a professional - along the way I am taking.
So whether she meant "anything" or not ... the upshot is the same. I don't know that I want to hold out for the big leagues. I sure know I don't want to be in the military ...
And, really, right now, what I OUGHT to be worrying about is the WIP.
10 comments:
Yeah, I noticed her response, too. That's the first time I've seen her say anything so blatantly positive about self-publishing (but I'd still call her way 'traditional'. I don't see how it's any more commercial that self-pub unless you consider self-pubbing for hobbyists)
Hi Stephen - thank you so much for coming by and commenting!
She may be realizing what I've begun to think; that traditional-versus-self is less and less a dichotomy and more and more a widening of opportunities for both sides. I really am coming to the conclusion that, however we choose to *begin* our published-authorial careers, at the very least knowing each path is important. Over time, there will be more and more cross-pollination, and even if the twain never merge, they're already meeting, and fairly frequently.
The nomenclature is interesting. "Commercial" to me seems to point to the industrial infrastructure, but you do have a point that it's not like self-publishers are not out to make a profit. So I'll leave those tags - you gave me permission! Thank you.
She's clearly a good agent, and you probably can't be a good agent anymore without respect for the self-publishing route; it's a resource I'd think it would be just as important for her to be learning as it is for me to. So hopefully, yeah, her respect for that path is evolving.
It hasn't been long at all since I knew that one author who talked about self-pub like she was taking a defeat. But it's clear to me, the people who have any education - and enthusiasm - in publishing understand, it ain't vanity publishing by a long shot.
How's the WIP going?
I guess I don't understand why publishing has to be an "up our out" business, except that it's just the way of all things American in the 21st century. It seems to me that the midlist should exist not only because it may be the incubator of the Next Big Thing, but because it's good--and profitable, if only modestly so--in its own right.
We spent lots of time talking about midlist writers, but no one ever talks about midlist readers. Some readers don't want to read the latest blockbuster, but they also aren't a weirdo like me who deliberately seeks out tiny, quirky books. I have to wonder if quite a few types of readers (including more diverse ones) aren't being neglected for lack of midlist books they'd be inclined to love.
Diane — I’m positive that Janet is good at her job, and very knowledgeable. And I appreciate her sharing her knowledge with us. But I always remember to filter her comments through the perspective that her job exists only in a traditional publishing environment. Other paths to publishing are direct threats to her livelihood. By engaging dedicated writers (and the readers of her blog tend to be) in discussions about navigating her world, she makes it seem inevitable to us that we will follow her path. I don’t mean any of that nefariously, she's just making the case for her profession.
Jeff — Very good points about the midlist readers. I like reading some authors who are probably mid-list, might have had a bestseller once in their careers, but now just churn out engaging stories to a core fandom. You would hope that they’re not vulnerable, but my sense is that publishers want more, they want winning lottery tickets each time out, once in ten isn’t good enough any more.
Jeff and Stephen, I am DEFINITELY not a blockbuster reader. The only time I ever pick up a bestseller (and this isn't even every time) is if someone gives it to me, earnestly enthusiastic because they know I'm a writer. I've never and probably never will read any of The Ususal Suspects (Potter, Hunger Games, all the big names writers cite constantly). I don't even read what's coming out currently at any given time. I enjoy reading H. G. Wells, 18th century early sensation or detection novels, 20th century histfic and sci fi - I also enjoy re-reading things I've read before. Probably THE major rule I'll never follow, no matter the course I take, is "you have to read what's hot right now" ... I write histfic. I really don't see that as a complicated section of the market, and I definitely do not see my personal reading choices being affected by what's hot right now. Because UGH. The idea disgusts me.
Stephen, exactly. Though I think she IS nefarious - if she weren't a shark, I'd say she were something of a Snidely Whiplash, twirling her moustache and cackling. :) But in a funny way, of course ... you don't aspire to Queendom of the Known Universe without a bit of nefariousness in you, right?
Jeff, I'm sure there are MARKET FORCES I fail to understand, which make it necessary for the remaining houses to focus on the one percent as it were. Stephen's probably put his finger on it - with their position unclear given the changes in publishing, "other paths to publishing are direct threats" ...
It'll all come out in the wash, at some point. But I'm not as prepared to be the laundress at Camp Commercial(/Traditional) as I once was.
Me, I'd be lying if I said I thought it was going very *quickly*, but when I'm in it, I always love it. As far as an objective diagnosis of the state of the WIP ... I'd be the last persona able to make a statement!
I'm fascinated by the post and the comments. Learning and thinking... <3
Oh, darlin' - don't go learnin' from me. I am the influence your mom didn't even know enough to warn you about.
Diane, you made me laugh out loud… I think that my mom would actually love to know that you are my influence… :-)
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