I frequently run into exactly the same problem… *sigh*

I am worried for the future of publishing. If self-publishing and vanity press are so great in and of themselves…then why do they go to such extremes to mask themselves as being the same as traditionally published books? Why not shout from the rooftops the truth?

And that really ticks off a lot of writers who have endured the gauntlet to be traditionally published. It reminds me of my years in martial arts. Why endure having the crap pummeled out of me for years, the tests, the injuries, when I could have just gone down to the martial arts supply and BOUGHT a nice new black belt?

There are things in life that should be EARNED. Medals of Honor, the ability to practice law and medicine, and the prestige of being called a published author. That truth is timeless, so change can take a hike.

I'll admit that change is sometimes necessary. I'll even admit that the changes in publishing are desirable for folks like me.

No matter how good a new way of doing things is or how necessary it is, I generally have to be forced out of my rut.

I do think that all of the big scary changes that terrify rut people are likely to open a whole lot of new doors that we can't imagine right now. Goodness knows, just a few years ago, I wouldn't have imagined the existence, let alone the popularity, of Kindle or the Nook.

I think we need to be very careful when we ascribe motives to either side of the fence. I would never have thought your opinion was motivated by self-interest. I took you at your word. I've read your blog for a long time and you've always been one to "call it like you see it."

I think we need to be careful about stereotyping either the authors or the publishers as well. I heard good things about Thomas Nelson and Michael Hyatt in particular before this all happened. Suddenly you'd think the man had grown horns and become the devil himself. I don't know that I'm buying the Kool-Aid over at WestBow, and I certainly wouldn't drink the stuff they're selling at Harlequin, but if we take a step back and look carefully, I don't think it's the disaster everyone is fearing.

As someone else pointed out, it isn't like they're offering publication for free. WestBow especially is asking quite a few pretty pennies for the services they're offering. The average person on the street will not be able to afford to plop down that kind of money to publish their book. That becomes a kind of vetting process in itself.

Some authors also aren't looking to make a lot of money, and are willing to pay to have their book edited (multiple times). Sometimes it's just about the craft itself, writing the book. You can't assume they want fame and fortune, or they think the book will snag them an agent. Maybe they just feel the story has to be told, even if it is just to 5 or 10 people. Numbers are irrelevant. They feel like God will do what He wants with it. I've talked with authors like that.

Plus, I think the publishing industry needs to look at the… rise in this sort of business and marketing (as well as the small indie houses) and see that perhaps the guidelines they've established are pushing good books and authors away from their doors and into the hands of smaller publishers and the self-publishing industry.

In this thread people have even mentioned popular books that needed much more editing than they received. They were published traditionally. I don't think badly written books are isolated to the self-published arena. I think there are more there ~ but there are also some good books that were ignored by publishers on both sides (CBA & ABA).

I was a reader before I ever became a writer. I don't want the market flooded with badly written books either. However, in America we have the freedom to write, think and speak whatever we want.

I'm not wise enough to say what the cause of this rise in self & vanity publishing is, but I can see all the blogs about guidelines that have been posted recently… Plus I've noticed quite a few small indie publishing houses opening up because they were "unhappy with the restrictions and guidelines placed upon them by the bigger houses" but they didn't want to go the self publishing route – so they opened their own house (which is self publishing for them).

In the end I think it comes down to the fact that all of us are supposed to do our jobs to the very best of our ability. I think Rachelle is one of the best examples of this. I always look forward to reading her blog. I'm working very hard on my revisions at the moment (not my fav. part of the process). I think the publishers need to do their job to the best of their ability and try and see where this whole market is going and why. I think they are the only ones who can truly make a difference in what happens in the industry.

It's so easy to misunderstand what someone is trying to say. We filter what we read through our own experiences – and our emotional status at that moment. That's especially true in this era of roller-coaster change.

There are those who would equate self-centered, shelfish, and self-interest. The differences are not that hard to define. Many comments from Friday could probably be seperated into one of those three categories.

A healthy dose of self-interest will keep us adapting as our world changes. Either of the other two will find us frozen in place, wondering where everybody went.

The last two definitely do not describe you.

Be blessed,

Lynnda

It's a big enough platform, well-established enough and customer-friendly enough that a writer should be able to move a few thousands units there, on their own, if the work has commercial appeal. Those who can do that will be recruited for the agent-NY House system. Those who can't will have been naturally filtered out, just as in the past they were filtered by the sluch pile.

I agree that books should still have some kind of filtering process in the future, simply because if I'm going to spend money on them, I want a product that has a minimum standard of quality.

That said, I am excited to see what the future has in store, and I hope agents are still a major part of it. I definitely want someone in the writers' corner who knows the business, and I don't think that will ever change :).

But, I will say this… what is wrong with worrying about the state of what you love to do? If what you love to do is work with authors and with books -the excitement of seeing a good book, one you championed and rooted for and took on, find a publisher – if that is changing and morphing in a way that could change how you view your Work, your Career that you love, then what's wrong with feeling wary and concerned?

If you look at this as a business, just as with any business, any employee or employer whose business model is changing would feel nervous . . . there could be wonderful things on the horizon as change happens, or, there could be changes that create roadblocks to the joy of the job/business. And really, we all have to make money. Most of us need some form of income, and if it is doing something we enjoy, well that's a blessing times fifty-nine! And if that income is threatened, who wouldn't be a bit nervous?

Not sure if I'm making sense, but having some worry over changes coming to something we love and work hard for and strive to be the best at and feel proud of – I don't see why anyone would fault someone for feeling a bit of anxiety or worry.

There are quite a few self-published authors in the Western North Carolina area, my area,–I have read some that are really good books, and I wish the author had tried harder to find a 'traditional indie publisher' and/or an agent. And I have read some that aren't as good, that needed editing very badly, and I wish the author had slowed down, waited, had their work polished before they sent it out to the world.

Anyway, that's just my little 2 cents I throw in here every so often. I just don't think you should have to defend yourself in any way whatsoever. You are doing something you obviously love, that goes along with your love of books and language and words and reading – you have every right to have some angst or concern.

And yes, there are "bad" books out there, but, if they are bad enough, they'll drift off into oblivion, and the books people enjoy (and that is so subjective) will rise like cream to the top. I write the best danged books I can, ones I feel proud of, and let the pages fall where they may.