#PublishingReinvented2
The pre-Corona world of publishing is not coming back.
Last week we discussed all the ways traditional publishing is weighted down with absurdities and hangovers from the pre-first world war era. I should also have mentioned that trad publishers pay twice a year, a system established over a hundred years ago.
But how will we reinvent publishing? Surely several million authors cannot overturn a century of exploitation?
Yes, we can. If we organize.
Exploitation is what publishers and agents are good at. Most pay 25% of what they get for your ebook sales, which means they get 75%. And if you are unlucky enough to have an agent they get 10 or 15% of your part, leaving you with about 16-18% of the selling price of an ebook priced from $2.99 to $9.99.
The day is near when to be trad published will be a drawback to a writing career.
Hush, I hear you say, they need to earn money. Sure, but too many trad authors do not earn enough to live on.
The reality is that most trad published authors will either be mid-list, making a few thousand dollars a year, or their books won’t sell at all.
Traditional publishing is a multi-level lottery system. First, you have win a lottery to get an agent. Then another, to get a publisher. Then a third, to have a book that sells.
And if you worked out the hours invested in writing a book you might find that minimum wage rates are a dream, when you figure out how much time it takes to fail at publishing with a trad publisher.
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Back to what we can do to help reinvent publishing.
Here’s Secret #1 - invest time in getting the presentation of your book right.
That includes the cover, description, title, subtitle, price and reader reviews on Amazon.
If you want a 1-10 score for how your book is presented please email a link to your book to me: lob@yourasms.com and I will send it to you. But please only do this if you are open to changing things.
Here’s what this newsletter is about:
This #PublishingReinvented newsletter will provide you with:
Weekly insider advice on preparing, editing, publishing and marketing your own work.
Your questions answered in the next email or personally by reply if you are a founding member.
Mentions of selected books by members. I will feature a different author member occasionally and I will buy their ebook and encourage you to do the same.
A community to support you, with an option to appear live or recorded at our International Dublin Writers Festival, either live in Dublin or for our online event.
Discounted editing, publishing and marketing services and advice on what you can do yourself to keep your costs down and earn money from your writing.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
Be part of your new team. Join us.
The weekly email will hit your inbox each Monday.
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Laurence O’Bryan
Author
Founder BooksGoSocial & The International Dublin Writers’ Festival