traditional publishing – Thomas Cotterill

Blogger Idol Award

Thanks to that stellar blogger Adam S for the award nomination. May his beat go on.

Thanks to Adam S for nominating me as a recipient of the Blogger Idol Award. Such nods between bloggers are gestures of respect. I especially like the tagline on this award’s logo, “because writers are the new rock stars.” Whatever truth there may be in this, the Internet made it so. Much of what we post to blogs would have found no outlet in the traditional print world. In the same way that the rock revolution of the fifties and sixties changed the way we think about music, the Internet revolution has changed the way we regard the written word. Reversing a decades-long downward trend, more people read now than have ever read before.

Indie Writers Need Critical Feedback

The thing indie writers lack more than anything else is honest feedback. In the traditional publishing industry, all but the biggest-selling authors are subject to the opinions of their publisher’s various editors. Stories deemed too long or excessively rambling earn requests for cuts and rewrites before publication. Poorly drawn characters must be made more vivid. Perceived defects in the plot must be remedied. The use of words not suitable for the novel’s type or period also comes under fire. Copy editors rework spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Some companies even change works to fit their notion of what a book of any particular genre should be like; and so on.

C. S. Lewis (of Narnia fame) depended on editors to clean up his shaky spelling and clumsy punctuation. (Image: public domain)

Should Indie Writers Choose Print or Digital?

A lot of struggling writers are still hoping to break into print. They see self-publishing as a humble temporary stop on a journey towards grander things. Their ebooks are merely practice runs as they whip themselves into shape for their real careers as print authors. It is easy to see why they might have this attitude. The old publishing paradigm has been around for centuries, an awful lot has been written about it, and it is still surrounded by a powerful aura of tradition, respectability, and substance. Even the least literate know a little something about the lives of a famous print author or two. Many such authors are positively draped in glory, with reputations that span the globe. Some of them have even become very wealthy. What up-and-coming author would not want to join them?

Print is now ancient and definitely on its way out. Your local bookshop probably fills space with new kinds of merchandise. (Image: public domain)