When is enough not enough?

 In my last post, I asked the question of when  writer ought to quit. Before the reviewers start searching for tactful ways to say "pretty  good for the old dear"? Before you run out of original ideas and start rehashing old storylines, possibly without even remembering them? Before you need a whole sheaf of post-it notes to remember where you are and what came before, who your characters are, etc.?

It was, I realize, rather a downer of a post, perhaps reflecting my mood at the time. Tired and drained from putting the latest book to bed and wondering whether I want to start over again. I did mention that without something to write next, I felt adrift and unsure how to fill my time. (Which is actually not that hard, I have since discovered. Summer, the garden, the cottage, reconnecting with friends on restaurant patios).

So this post is about all the reasons not to quit. Sybil has already alluded to many of them. There are many ways to fulfil the insistent writing urge without committing to an onerous book-a-year deadline. Without worrying whether you're rehashing old plot lines. I've always been published by traditional publishers, and although there are many other options open to writers today, I have no wish to get into the publishing business. I love to write, I don't love the promotion and the hustling. Some people do and are good at it, and some people like the control over the work and the process that self-publishing allows. I don't, but I've had been lucky to have publishers who shared my vision of my books and gave me pretty free rein over the creative part. Any suggested substantive edits almost always improved the book.

But as Sybil suggests, I could write a different type of book, or a novella or short story, both of which are less of a time commitment. I could - gasp - leave crime fiction completely and write a biography or memoir (not mine!). I have in fact such a project in mind, one that I've been collecting material on for years but never had the time to write. I could buckle down and start writing it.

But one of the main things that draws me back to crime writing has less to do with plot lines and more to do with community. Mystery writers are a community, connecting online through social media and chats and Zoom gatherings as well as in person at book events, signings, readings, conferences, and the like. We may only see each other once a year but each time we meet as old friends sharing a passion for our crazy genre. It's been one of the unexpected pleasures of becoming a writer. I've made so many friends, and feel so at home in the company of crime writers. Who else wants to discuss the most undetectable poison or the appearance of bones buried years in the back garden? I have friends spread across the country, and indeed beyond. We are supportive of one another, share one another's triumphs and commiserate with one another in the bar over bad reviews and dismal mall signings.

Besides the community of writers, which would be hard to give up, there are also the good friends I have made over the years with readers, librarians, booksellers, and book club members, many of whom have become friends too.

So who know? Without the pressure of a deadline or contract, I may begin to toy with a short story or even a standalone that may take me a couple of years and a ton of post-it notes to perfect, but don't count the "old dear" out yet!

No matter how things change, they still stay the same

by Rick Blechta

I was on Amazon the other day, looking for something I needed for a modelling project and somehow got into the book section. In a guilty hour of poking around there, I came to a surprising conclusion: book publishing is in a very healthy state.

My response to this was, Huh? How can this be? Your response might well be the same.

I must tell you at the outset that my conclusion is definitely not scientific. It’s simply based on the number of new books that come out every day. Thing is, the majority of them are self-published. There are hundreds and hundreds in every genre you can think of — and some you probably haven’t.

Amazon and other platforms have made it quick, easy and very, very cheap to self-publish any sort of book. One still has to do the hardest part, writing it, but after that the rest is easy. And unlike traditional publishing, an author can finish a book one day and have it released to the world the next, assuming that you’re only doing it electronically.

The big question is: are any of these books worth reading?

Since a listing can allow the casual browser looking for something to electronically crack open a book and skim a few pages to see if it’s worth purchasing, it’s pretty easy to see that many of these books are really very badly written and not worth considering. However, I did find several that seemed to be really quite excellent, based on the prose.

And this is where the title of this post comes in. No matter if your work is published by one of the large publishers or something produced start to finish on your kitchen table, the trick is making yourself known to the general public — assuming you’re not someone really FAMOUS. They definitely have an easier time of it.

Most authors are not given much meaningful promotional help by their publishers. Traditionally publishers expect authors to do more and more of the work. Believe me when I say that it’s no more difficult to get review copies, most of which are electronic these days, into the hands of people who will review them whether you did it yourself or your publisher sent it out. The vast majority of these reviewers aren’t professional anymore either. Many papers have cut their reviewers loose in order to save money. There seems to be no lack of people who are prepared to read a free book and then review it. Will an author get a fair shake? That's where you have to gamble.

The issue is getting your work noticed by the reading public. There is still a huge stigma involved with self-published books, and there is no shortage of bad examples to which one can point fingers. Since these works are more miss than hit, many people are naturally reluctant to plop down their hard-earned money on what could be something terrible.

So, for the vast majority of authors, the real struggle is still how to find your audience. Unless a massive publicity campaign is at your disposal, the sad truth is the author, you, are going to be responsible for the promotional heavy lifting regardless of who publishes your book. You will have to find a way to get your book read.

And that’s the real trick, isn’t it?

The emancipation of book publishing

by Rick Blechta

As I’ve written about before on Type M, we’re living in the brave new world of book publishing. In some ways it’s a good thing. Anyone who wishes to can actually publish that book they’ve always wanted to write. But there’s another huge problem: should they?

Prior to the arrival of the internet and computers, publishing a book was a very complicated and expensive proposition, something not to be undertaken on a whim. For those who either couldn’t find a publisher for their book, or just wish to go their own way, it could be done, but there was a hell of a lot to learn. The costs were also pretty steep.

I’ve mentioned before that I self-published my first two books. Part of this was impatience because the wheels of the book publishing industry grind ever so slowly, but equal to that was what I felt was a smart business model: get my feet wet, garner some reviews (trusting they would be favourable) and figure out how the book business works from the inside out.

Only problem was, each of those first two novels (1000- and 1500-book print runs) cost me north of $10,000. It could have been a lot higher, but having grown up in our family printing business, I could do most of the design work on my own. All I had to fork over cash for was the printing of the books, and covering after-printing costs (delivery, storage, fulfillment, promotion).

That’s a lot of dough, though, isn’t it? The goal was always to use this endeavour to secure a publishing deal with a “real book publisher.” Happily, it all came together for my third novel — and incidentally, I was later told that if I’d submitted my second novel, they would have published that too. My first novel remains my much-loved but ugly child.

Now, though, it doesn’t cost much at all to get a book out, the price of a modest vacation, halved and you have the choice of publishing a real book (via print-on-demand) or an e-book, costing way less. With these production costs, even modest sales can generate a profit. What could be better?

Well, this: a lot of self-published books are truly awful. I’m talking here about workmanship. Writing is not just about throwing words onto a page. It’s about careful craftsmanship, patience and hard work, and that takes knowledge of the craft as the willingness to have your work edited — including the criticism that comes with that. You must be prepared for that. Do you wish to be good — or right?

Sure, if you want to publish a book of family history and have a few copies done up for relatives and friends, great. Go for it. (I’ve done two family recipe books and photo books for my two grand children.) But if you’re expecting to become an overnight sensation, think again. The chances of that happening are probably equal to winning the big lottery. All of the authors here on Type M have learned their writing craft through hard work and long hours, and none of us are household names (except in our own households). We don’t have million dollar bestsellers, Hollywood producing movies based on our works. Self-publishers, if it happens to you, be it known that I will be thrilled for your good fortune.

But the other big issue the wild west nature of current book publishing has created is a major muddying of the marketplace. With huge numbers of books being released due to the explosion of self-publishing, how do readers know what to buy? What is quality and what is utter shite? That is a real problem not only for those self-publishing, but also for those who are being traditionally published. It’s nearly impossible to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Am I against self-publishing? Absolutely not! I think it’s a great thing. Writers have been emancipated and you can hold your authorial destiny in your own two hands.

But please do your homework! Purchase the help of an experienced editor and listen to what they say. Don’t be satisfied until your craftsmanship is the very best you can achieve.

The rest of us will thank you!