Jim Hines of the Jig the Goblin trilogy wrote a post today in which he rants about writing “Experts”. Jim’s major complaint is people who take their small experiences with either writing or publishing and extrapolate it into a supposed expertise about the whole industry. Many of Jim’s points single out self published authors. I found myself both agreeing with him and feeling a little defensive at the same time. Withing the next few months I will be releasing a self published book and therefore I’m at risk of annoying people in the same ways that Jim was annoyed.
I think it takes a special sort of arrogance to become a self published author. I look at the traditional publishing paths and I know that the reason they are traditional is that they work. The publishing “rules” are there because they are truly the best way for people to combine forces and create books. It has to be some sort of hubris for me to see those rules, understand why they exist, and still decide that somehow they don’t apply to me.
The one area where I know I will not annoy Jim and other published authors is that I have no intention of advocating self publishing as the wave of the future. It is a hard, lonely, scary path and I would never recommend it lightly. There are no easy paths to publication, but for most people the best choice is to find a publishing house. There have been many times during the Hold on to Your Horses project when I have curled into a little ball of despair because the project was broken and I did not have the expertise to fix it myself. Then I had to go begging among my contacts for help. The only reason it has a chance of working is because of the amazing people I’ve come to know during the past few years. The only reason I am an exception to the rule is because I can piggy back on all the marketing and friendships from Schlock Mercenary.
One thing that may contribute to the “expert” syndrome that Jim noted, is the reactions of non-publishing people to a self published work. When I talk to neighbors about my forthcoming book and I say “I’m self publishing” I get even more respect and approval than I did for just publishing. This baffles me a little because I know that self published works nearly always suffer from quality issues. But America prizes its innovators and trail blazers. Self publishing seems more accessible. People look at my self published project and think that maybe they could do something towards their own dreams. I’m glad of that and I do feel that there is value in self published works, even the ones with quality issues. Perhaps it is to these other newbies that the “experts” are speaking. I don’t think anyone who wants to be a professional in the publishing industry is going to be led astray by newbie experts.
I guess in the end I believe that the path you take should be the one best suited to your goals. Hubris or not, I do believe that this alternate path is going to work for me. I am going to be able to accomplish what I set out to do: create the book that my daughter needed, reward the artist who helped me, and not lose money while doing it.