The Inevitable Shift?

I came across a very interesting article a few days ago over at Forbes.

I have never self-published anything, but I’ve toyed around with the idea. Part of the idea of self-publishing appeals to me. You’re in the drivers seat when it comes to editing, cover choice, the name of your book, how you market, what you can do with your work, etc. That freedom is exhilarating. Of course the downside to self-publishing is that you have to do all of the extra work that a publisher usually handles. Editing, marketing, distribution, etc.

But one thing I’ve noticed is that publishers and literary agents don’t really like self-published authors. The general consensus is that if you self-publish, it’s because your material is so bad, nobody else wants to publish it.

I was talking with agents during an agent chat on Twitter a few months ago. The literary agents were all aligned in their disdain for self-published authors. One of them said, “If you have self-published you book, don’t bother even talking to me.”

From the article:

Literary agents have been the missing link for self-published writers trying to break through into mainstream publishing.  When I recently interviewed Keith Ogorek, VP for Marketing at the self-publishing conglomerate Author Solutions, he said agents with old-school attitudes were the biggest obstacles for his authors pursuing commercial publishers.

Personally, I think those attitudes are close-minded and out of touch. Does the agent think that the simple act of self-publishing makes that book unsellable? Or that an author who would consider self-publishing can’t be worked with? I’ve never understood the reluctance, and even the out-right refusal of some agents to work with proven self-published authors.

The article in Forbes goes on to talk about how more and more literary agents are changing their attitudes. I’ve said before on this site, self-publishing can be seen as a way to test the water. Agents and publishers have so many hard decisions to make, and really it comes down to trying to predict whether or not a book will sell. Sure, marketing a book will help sell copies, but really it comes down to what resonates with a reader.

We’ve all heard stories about now-famous authors who were rejected multiple times before being published. Who were the twelve agents and publishers who passed up on Harry Potter? With how easy it is to self-publish, agents can now see what is already selling–see what is popular–and then take that proven product and throw their services behind it to help it sell even better.

I really see it as a win-win for both authors and publishers. If I self-publish a book, and it’s selling fairly well, a publisher can come in and see that I’m a safe bet. They can help me with a better cover, better editing, distribution, and marketing. I’m happy because I sell more books, and they are happy because for them it’s a reasonably safe bet.

A few key quotes from the article: