Snobbery Shouldn’t Be a Factor in Your Publishing Decision … ahhhh, the old days, when NY came courting up and coming authors; advances were common; authors were groomed and nurtured in the process; media tours were set up; your editor was your advocate; and you were looked up to when you told others you had an agent. Get over it.
Times have changed—today’s author has to be prepared to work their butt off to get his book noticed by the media, the public, you name it; they often are disconnected from the editor who “acquired” the book and the one that does the editing; and advances have shrunk, even disappeared (many authors work for far less than minimum wage).
Saying that you are published with a NY house has become a yawn for many—that is unless you got a bunch of money. Most people who buy books really don’t care who published it … what they want to know is—does it solve a problem I have? Is it a terrific read? Does it look like it has quality to the production (vs. failing apart when it opens—one of the major independent bookstores in the country won’t carry one of the POD publishers because they literally apart.) and can I get it?
Judith Briles is a book publishing coach and known as The Book Shepherd (www.TheBookShepherd.com) and the Founder of Author U (niversity (www.AuthorU.org), a membership organization created for the serious author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the 80s. Judith is the author of 28 books including Show Me About Book Publishing, co-written with John Kremer and Rick Frishman and a speaker at publishing conferences. Follow @AuthorU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU and TheBookShepherd on Facebook. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact her at Judith@Briles.com.