After having enough stories written (and a few more ideas to flesh out), I have enough for my own horror anthology. The problem I'm having now is which road to take as a I stare the unpredictable fork in the road.
Traditional publishing takes quite a bit of good time to get going, and that's even AFTER you've been accepted (we won't get into how long that could take, if it even happens at all). Also, these days traditional publishing (unless you've got a best seller on your hands, and let's face it, a horror anthology will never be a bestseller unless your last name is Barker, Koontz, or King) is really no way to make money. It's costly, and nowadays a lot of writers spend their time waiting for the dollar signs that never come. There are pros and cons with taking each road. Self publishing gives me creative control, but it also puts every bit of advertising in my own lap. I already spend more time networking, marketing, and building my writer platform than I do actual writing. I've had my eye on a few different publishers that I'd love to have handle my book, but I am leaning toward a full DIY release.
Traditional publishing takes quite a bit of good time to get going, and that's even AFTER you've been accepted (we won't get into how long that could take, if it even happens at all). Also, these days traditional publishing (unless you've got a best seller on your hands, and let's face it, a horror anthology will never be a bestseller unless your last name is Barker, Koontz, or King) is really no way to make money. It's costly, and nowadays a lot of writers spend their time waiting for the dollar signs that never come. There are pros and cons with taking each road. Self publishing gives me creative control, but it also puts every bit of advertising in my own lap. I already spend more time networking, marketing, and building my writer platform than I do actual writing. I've had my eye on a few different publishers that I'd love to have handle my book, but I am leaning toward a full DIY release.
My particular blog entry isn't going to cover all the pros and cons from each side, but I will say that while a lot of people seek out traditional publishing, they're looking at an old school publishing world, not a new school one. With the internet, CreateSpace, Amazon KDP, Smashwords, Lulu, e-books, etc. things are much different than they once were. Ideally, yes, being picked up by one of the major publishing houses is every writer's dream, but good writers can make things happen even on their own in the modern literary world. There are success stories out there. A lot of them.
In the U.S. alone, between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books are published each year. The good news is a very large percentage of those books published are complete trash that could have been written by any middle-aged dreamer with a 7th grade education, a keyboard, internet access, and zero originality. Go to Amazon and type in any keyword under books and search through them using the most recent publication dates. You may be amazed at the amount of titles you'll find using keywords like "breaking bad," "twilight," "vampire," "zombie," "shades of," "fifty shades," "throne games," "winter is coming and the dead are walking causing an American horror for sons of anarchy in Dexter, Michigan," etc. Heck, there are even books cashing in on Ebola right now.
In the U.S. alone, between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books are published each year. The good news is a very large percentage of those books published are complete trash that could have been written by any middle-aged dreamer with a 7th grade education, a keyboard, internet access, and zero originality. Go to Amazon and type in any keyword under books and search through them using the most recent publication dates. You may be amazed at the amount of titles you'll find using keywords like "breaking bad," "twilight," "vampire," "zombie," "shades of," "fifty shades," "throne games," "winter is coming and the dead are walking causing an American horror for sons of anarchy in Dexter, Michigan," etc. Heck, there are even books cashing in on Ebola right now.
If an award-winning television show starts this fall called "Cavities & Caspers" about ghosts attending dental school in a post-apocalyptic world run by albinos who hate rainbows, you'd better believe by next year not only will you find books holding all those choice keywords, but I'll bet even dental school admissions will be on the rise. This is the kind of originality found in a large amount of the literary world. Unfortunately, the fact that most of these books being published are trash, this is also the bad news. People now no longer trust John or Jane Doe selling their book, because after a while your average reader (which also has dwindled...reading texts doesn't count) isn't going to fall for your book spiel because, they're still recovering from reading "Night of the Fifty Shades of Zombies at Twilight." They've already been taken for a ride...and a misspelled, poorly written, boring one at that.
This is where word of mouth comes in. It's the real seller; the mother of sales. Ads do nothing. Posting in every writer's group on Facebook does nothing. Tweets drowning in a sea of a billion other tweets covering a million other topics does nothing. Spreading the word, sharing the author's blog, sharing the one-sentence review you've written for said book; these are what gets the word out. I don't expect anyone to spread the word about something they hate, but my reader base so far has really managed to build my confidence that I happen to be a decent storyteller.
This is where word of mouth comes in. It's the real seller; the mother of sales. Ads do nothing. Posting in every writer's group on Facebook does nothing. Tweets drowning in a sea of a billion other tweets covering a million other topics does nothing. Spreading the word, sharing the author's blog, sharing the one-sentence review you've written for said book; these are what gets the word out. I don't expect anyone to spread the word about something they hate, but my reader base so far has really managed to build my confidence that I happen to be a decent storyteller.
Throughout this writing process, I've become stingy with my stories. I have OCD tendencies and am a perfectionist (those who know me best will laugh at the understatement). When painting my house, I use the paint sparingly and it takes me twice as long. I save leftovers from dinner and then make sure they're used within the next few days. I penny pinch at times. Everything I do I try and make it last. I stretch it out. I add water to the shampoo and shake it to get the very last drop out. When I smoked cigarettes, I'd save the longer butts (nothing like having a skunk in your pocket to enjoy later). This collection of stories I've been treating the same. I'm trying to stretch them out as if I'll never have anymore, or at least none as good. The funny thing is, they just keep getting better. I'm so torn because I want them to have the perfect home. I want to share them with as many people as possible. I believe in them.
It's a lack of faith is what it is. Like a tree limb down attempting to block the self-publishing road, is this faithless behavior of mine. It's the only thing stopping me from taking the self-publishing plunge. After NaNoWriMo (my last blog entry will fill you in), I think I'll have a better idea (and yet another book looking for a home). Stay tuned for more rants and decisiveness when that's over. For the most part, I think I've already made my mind up which road to take, but I like to vent. Hopefully you like to read it.
It's a lack of faith is what it is. Like a tree limb down attempting to block the self-publishing road, is this faithless behavior of mine. It's the only thing stopping me from taking the self-publishing plunge. After NaNoWriMo (my last blog entry will fill you in), I think I'll have a better idea (and yet another book looking for a home). Stay tuned for more rants and decisiveness when that's over. For the most part, I think I've already made my mind up which road to take, but I like to vent. Hopefully you like to read it.
News Update: It's looking like the Twisted Christmas horror anthology from Dressing Your Book, featuring my story "The Cross Examining," will be available by the end of the month. Also, stop on by Crystal Lake Publishing and read their "Beneath the Lake: On Writing Horror" section. They used my piece on finding your writing space. View it here:
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