Another View--or two--on Self-publishing.

Most of you know my take on self-publishing. I've posted about it HERE. You also probably know that I am a reviewer at Underground Book Reviews--a site dedicated to reviewing "Indy-published books." We take a fairly broad view of "Indy," including small publishers, vanity presses (as long as they aren't imprints of a major publishing house), and self-published. At UBR, we're all very committed to providing honest reviews and feedback to authors, even when it means exposing them to some harsh truths about what they've put out. You can read about my approach to reviewing in this blog post: So, You Want Me to Review Your Book, and also at UBR HERE.

I've also written about the long haul of the writing life...it's a marathon, not a sprint. You can read my thoughts about writing as an endurance sport on author KW McCabe's website (and updated HERE in 2014), and about the patience required during the writing, querying, and publishing process HERE and HERE .

Yes, I've taken a pretty harsh tone for someone who did self-publish the electronic versions of my books (the print versions are published by Casperian Books, a full-service, no cost, fees, or book purchase requirements to the author, or, as the publishing industry truism says, "money flows to the author"). But, if you read those posts, you'll see that I'm not opposed to self-publishing, but I am very much against rushing to publish without "paying one's dues" by putting in the time and effort needed to learn and hone the craft.

Yesterday, an opinion piece appeared on Huff Post: Self-publishing: An Insult to the Written Word.

An insult to the written word.

Wow.

That's harsh. Even by my standards. And as a read through the comments (time-worthy) shows, many of her points really do lack validity. But, many of them don't.

A better, more evenhanded and accurate take on the impact of self-publishing on the reading and writing world can be found in Kristin Lamb's Blog Generation Author Snowflake & the High Cost of Instant Gratification.

This.

This.

This!

All authors and aspiring authors, all those who "won" NaNoWriMo in November and rushed to Create Space or some other instant-gratification site to "publish,"--you need to read this. Take it to heart. And while the "participation award" mentality may be more pronounced in the millennial generation, don't think any of us are exempt from the excitement and ego-stroking of some instant gratification. That's pretty clear in all the self-published novels from the 40-, 50-, 60-, 70+ year-old authors. While many are well-written, with great story-telling, an equal (or greater) number are premature publications, put out by "good writers" who didn't take the time and make the effort to become better, to strive for "great."

As Lamb predicted, the slush pile has been dumped in the reader’s lap and it has devalue what it means to say, “I am a published author.” It's been overrun with rough drafts from those who have always been told they're "good" writers. Sure, they're good--more than good enough for the writing in their life--the annual Christmas letters, the college-essays, their personal blogs. But is it good enough to be a "professional"--a published novelist?

Probably not.

In academia, good enough is a C...it's average. A "good" athlete doesn't walk on to a pro team without putting in an awful lot of work first. Why assume it's different for writing?

What's the solution to the glut of not-ready-for-prime-time published books out there?

That's the big question for all of us--authors, agents, publishers--isn't it?

We're still in the midst of the mayhem. A new model for publishing is still thrashing around, trying to emerge. It hasn't fully formed and worked out what it is yet.

I do think it's going to become more imperative for reviewers to give honest reviews, not just 5-star hoping for the same in return. I also think it's a disservice if/when reviewers only post a review if they can give >3-stars. That's not really helping anyone, is it? If an author has asked for the review, give it to them--the one they earn. They have every opportunity before asking for a review to find critique partners, edit, revise, rewrite, go through beta readers, rewrite again. Their failure in due diligence shouldn't give them a pass to not receive a bad review when it's merited.  Too many of us are worried about "revenge reviews" coming back at our own work if we're that honest. I'd like to think any petty, revenge-reviews would be obvious, so wouldn't really cause any real damage. Maybe that's naive.

We do need more review sites like Underground Book Reviews, where the reviewers are held to a high standard for our reviews (higher, at least, then I've found at some review sites where it's clear they're just pumping out 5-star reviews based on the back cover blurb and maybe some info they found on the author's website.). We are required to read the book, and we post the review the book earns, not the one the author necessarily wants.

Whatever the new publishing landscape turns into, one thing is clear: Self-publishing is here to stay. How does it become something that lets saying "I am a published author" retain its value?

I wish I knew.

Rampant Gullibility: Ah, so that's how it happened

A common reaction from students learning about the Holocaust 40, 50, 60+ years after the fact is, "How could the world have let that happen?" or "How could the German people let that happen?" The latter comes after reading about all the German people who claimed not to have known what was going on in the concentration camps, even while soot, thick with the incompletely incinerated remains of humans burned in the crematoriums, fell on their homes and in their yards. We are repulsed by what that country did to the world---and yes, we blame the entire country. "How could they not know?" "How could they let it happen?" "How could someone who was so clearly demented come to power?"

By promising to make Germany great again.

By promising to fix the economy.

By placing the blame for all the woes of the "Aryan race" on "others"--anyone with dark hair, dark eyes, swarthy complexions...

anyone different: homosexuals, foreigners...

anyone who could recognize and call out the lies: intellectuals, scientists, journalists...

Anyone not gullible enough to believe Josef Goebbels propaganda machine, the fake news spewed out with little regard to even a passing acquaintance with credibility.

Those were the enemies of the state who were to blame for all of German society's ills and against whom Hitler and the Nazi party directed all the animosity, hate, and revenge of the small-minded, ignorant, and gullible. Those like them.

Trump. Bannon. Flynn. Pizzagate.

The ignorant and hateful, led by the ignorant and hateful, spewing lies by and to the ignorant and hateful. The reality is already playing out. When members of Trump's team blatantly post fake news, when his minister of propaganda runs a "media" outlet that's not only known for, but proud of, how well it can get gullible people to believe its fake news, when followers read not only fake, but so ridiculously-over-the-top-that-only-a-complete-moron-could-believe-it news, when an ignorant and gullible Trump-supporter will drive hundreds of miles to shoot up a pizza parlor and "free the children held captive in the basement" because of that news, there can no longer be any doubt about what you--Trump voters--have wrought on this country.

I am repulsed by those who voted for Trump, and even more so by those who continue to support him. If you voted for this deplorable man, you are deplorable. There is no rational reason for it--the economy has steadily been improving,slowly but surely, since the devastation of the Bush administration, so it can't be the economy. It can't be in support of his policies: there were no policies, there were no remedies proposed in his campaign, only blame and lies.

Some initially wanted to be patient, give him and his ilk the benefit of the doubt (because 2 years of campaigning wasn't enough to see the real man? How stupid and slow are you?) But now we're seeing more and more that what he spewed for those two years does show the man he is, and he proclaims it loudly and proudly with ever appointment to his transition team, with every Tweet, and with every refusal to disavow the clear and obvious fake news spread by those with whom he surrounds himself. Hell, who he surrounds himself with is more than enough evidence of what a misanthropic, manipulative, mean-spirited man he is.

If you're still waiting to see, to give this deplorable excuse for a human being a "chance," I wonder how you'll respond in 10, 20, 30+ years when people ask, "How could the US have let that happen?" and "How could they not know?" "How could they not have stopped it?"

Future generations will judge us. They will judge you. They will ask how you could be so ignorant and gullible. And like millions of people judging the Germans after World War II, who don't separate out the German people from the Nazi party, or those who didn't vote for Hitler from those who did (yes, he was elected to office), they won't separate out those who committed atrocities from those who claim to have opposed them but did nothing to stop them, or those who will claim ignorance.

We will all be judged, and we will all be blamed for the atrocities that have already started.

How far will we let this go? I'd like to think we'll be smarter, braver, stronger than the Germans who opposed Hitler were, but so far, all evidence is to the contrary. So far, this country is exhibiting the same rampant gullibility the Germans did when Hitler came to power, with no sign in sight that we have the ethical or intellectual will to stop it. No sign we'll stand up for what is right, good, and decent.

We should all be very ashamed of our country. More so with each passing day and each new assault to democracy and truth that the incoming administration heaps on us. Instead, we're taking the easy, lazy way out, saying "this to shall pass." That might be true, but maybe we should ask Germany about what can happen between now and the time the evil passes.