The Independent
Publishing route is pretty fast, from the day of the contract signing to
publishing, there is a gap of less than a year. And most of the writers are
thrilled that they have bypassed an agent’s hefty commission.
What one
writer said to me was, “ there is no guarantee that even after I sign with an
agent, that he or she will be able to sell my book. I may have to wait for
months and months and then start searching
for another agent.”
Another
writer said that even after requesting a full manuscript submission at a
conference where the writer made her pitch, the said agent took ages to get
back with any kind of feedback. By then the writer was so exhausted with the
submission process that she just went ahead with the Independent Publishing
house which was ready with a contract.
I would love
to have an agent represent me and champion my Manuscript to editors, but to be
honest the entire query business is wearing me down mentally. I find the long
wait is killing me and the silences from most agents more deadly that cyanide.
To divert my attention from agents I am working on several projects. Though I
stepped on the Query bus just 3 months back, I am getting weary. Maybe deep down I am succumbing to the lure
of going the Indie way. The only thing preventing me is that the book I am
querying is a standalone book. Most Indie publishers prefer signing a 2 to3 book deal. Standalones are a hardsell at
any time.
Another
trend I have noticed is that most of my writing friends are going the YA (Young
Adult) way. There is a huge market for them. MG (Middle Grade) fiction, which I
write is being forced to take the second place.
What do you
all feel about the Agent versus the Independent
Publishing Route
I just read a long post on this topic. Check the comments section for further debate.
ReplyDeleteAnother fascinating post. I would choose the Independent Publisher route, if only for its greater chance of success. (greater perceived chance, that is!)
ReplyDeleteI am glad that authors have so many options now days. I think the reader is the one who wins in the end.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough but if you go with the Independent Publisher, it's always a worry no one will see it. It won't get out there. It's so hard to know right now what to do--I think we're in a strange phase of publishing.
ReplyDelete@ Gargi..thanks for the link. I would love to read about that debate.
ReplyDelete@ Dave.. In India we normally go h the Independent Publisher route as we don't have agents. I would love to get an agent to represent me.
@ Slamdunk... I agree that the ultimate winners are the readers who are spoilt for choice.
@ Kristen..I am currently in a phase where I am pondering the benefits of going the Indie way.
I believe it is a very personal decision to make and one has to take into consideration one's personal circumstances, personality, experiences, etc. (I am trying to publish my short stories in literary journals now).
ReplyDeleteIt's a complex question and there is not an easy answer. The choice is up to you in the end.
ReplyDeleteI would recommend trying both if you have more than one piece of work. If you have a book that has been shopped around, but you are not getting feedback that there is anything wrong, I would self publish it. If you are getting feedback that they want it, but just can't find a home, I would keep querying.
In some circles you can leverage self published success. Instead of an unknown first time author with no track record. You can tell them you have 2 books that are self published and have sold 15,000 copies in the last two years. This gives you some marketability and lowers your risk in their eyes.
Personally I went with self publishing. Primary reason is time. I am not going to wait a year to find an agent, who takes a year to find a publisher, who takes two years to release my book and I have 90 days to become a star or all my books are returned and pulped.
I have made mistakes in my self publishing career that would not have happened otherwise, but I have a book that has sold around the world, and I am about to launch my second. All this inside 6 months. I am building a fan base and getting word of mouth sales. This takes time and time is the one thing you can't get back.
I see advantages and drawbacks to both. And I can totally understand your weariness with the query process. Writing is not for the faint-hearted. Hang in there! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachna, for these insights! Your blog covers the entire gamut of queries that cross my mind!
ReplyDeleteI think there might be more of a case for agents with YA and MG, as the e-book revolution hasn't hit the younger audiences as much yet. For those, print media and distribution is still very important. For genres that are poor sellers right now with big publishers (chick lit), or defy being pigeonholed in one class (cross-genre), going indie might be a brilliant idea.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, there are no wrong answers, it just what the author wants to do.
This is a hard dilemma, Rachna. Knowing what the right thing to do is. What is right for you, may not be right for me. I feel the agented route is the best way to go. And for middle grade, self-publishing is definitely out. Querying is not for the fainthearted. Keep on keepin' on, Rachna. It will happen. :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't give up. 3 months isn't a long time all. Like others have said, there are pros and cons to both routes to publication.
ReplyDeleteBecause so many writers are leaping over to YA, agents and editors are begging for good MG fiction. So don't give up yet. You are wanted. :D
ReplyDeleteThree months isn't long and I wouldn't give up. Especially if you've got other projects in the wings, but I definitely understand what a distracting drain the search is. I've been at it for three years, but I began too early. The good news is, I've finally found professional help. Have you tried finding an independent editor? They might be able to give you invaluable tips. In the end, it depends a great deal on how much you believe in your project. Also, you might consider if your project is "nichey." If it is, going the indie route is not a bad way. They frequently have more money to put behind niche books than big houses because the indies view themselves AS niche markets. That's become their bread and butter. I would NOT do self publishing. Then it's ALL on you. Good luck in whatever decision you make!
ReplyDeleteEveryone needs to make that personal choice, If I thought my book was good enough and after having it professionally edited--then I would go independent but I would rather go the agent route and be sure that people in the business thought my work was quality.
ReplyDeleteI have been noticing this, too. Writers who were agented before are even ditching their agents and going the Indie pub way. Since I'm not in the querying stage, I haven't had the chance to look into these options. I guess the thing to do is to figure out what's best for YOU personally, regardless of what your writer friends are doing. Which makes it an extremely hard decision to make. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteBtw, I have a blog award for you. ;)
I would agree with some of the other posts who said that b/c the eBook revolution hasn't really hit the MG market, an agent is the way to go. But even if you look at eBooks as a whole, they still account for a staggeringly small percentage of overall book sales. And of those eBook sales, the major trade publishers still account for over 90% of the sales. So the independent authors are clamoring for 10% of an already small piece of the pie.
ReplyDeleteCertainly it's possible to have success going it alone, but it's not the easy way, imo.
Also, there are some independent presses out there that sell books by the truckload and who still accept unagented submissions. Have you considered submitting directly?
Coming from a published writer your posts are always informative....Since i dread all the running around I stay away from writing a book.
ReplyDelete