My uncle self published a book last year after a several decades long quest to try and find a publisher ended in failure. One year later he has already written and self-published a further two to complete a trilogy.
I read the first quarter of his first novel which was really poor – I couldn’t finish it. Fair enough if you want to have a bit of fun and self-publish, but it’s the fanfare that comes with it and the expectation that as family and friends, we must support it and be terribly excited. I’m talking constant social media posts along the lines of “I’m now a published author!”, “you can buy my book on Amazon”, self arranged ‘book signings’ at the local independent coffee shop, signed copies posted to our homes followed by constant follow ups about ‘what we thought’, ‘please share with friends’ etc. I’m stalling on why I haven’t read them, which is because they’re rubbish and I have a long reading list already.
A similar situation occurred with a friend too. How do you handle it? I don’t really want to take part in this charade or support mediocrity (at best) – to do so would be like those awful people you see ok X Factor and you wonder why no one they know has told hem they can’t sing.
by craftbysuzy
5 Comments
I mean, it’s true that the odds of being published by the big three (is it two now? Can’t keep track) publishers or even an indie press is very low. So certainly there are decent to even good writers out there who self publish because they can’t sell their books to a publisher. But I tend to agree with you…a lot of it seems like rubbish. Especially because self publishing also means sometimes forgoing professional editors or proofreaders.
One positive example that I can speak to is Chelsea Fagan’s self published book A Perfect Vintage. Fagan (CEO of the media company The Financial Diet) self published and self financed her novel. She talks about it on her social media. She hired a trusted editor and other professionals to work on the project. Of course, she is open about discussing her financial privilege in doing so. Most people don’t have the kind of capital to fund a project like that. Anyways. It’s a pretty good book. But I think it is probably the exception and not the rule.
Edit: I personally think it’s fine to opt out of buying someone’s book if it doesn’t seem like it’s for you. We all have different taste!
It likely varies depending on your location and the cultural norms regarding bluntness. My father also writes books that aren’t well-received. In my area, being straightforward is generally discouraged, so I usually opt to explain that I have limited free time and an extensive reading list when explaining that I have not gotten to reading his books (after the first few — it has now been years). I believe he understands that his books simply don’t align with my preferences, as he has stopped asking me to read them.
Self-publishing is fine, especially when there are so many options these days.
Self-EDITING is not. Even the best writer is going to make mistakes that they can’t spot in their own work. That’s doubly true if they’ve never published anything before. So if you’re thinking of publishing your own work, pay for a professional editor if you’re hoping for any kind of success.
For fiction specifically, get pre-readers to give you some feedback before your final draft. Again, they’re going to spot problems with your story and characters (even if it’s only stylistic issues) that you won’t.
Do you know how much time and effort and tenacity it takes to write a book? How much courage it takes to then put your baby out there in the world for others to pass judgment on?
Most people who attempt writing never even finish a novel, let alone publish one. That’s an accomplishment and should be applauded. Celebrate your uncle and your friends for having the perseverance to finish and the courage to publish, even if you can’t enjoy the books themselves
As for you not liking it or thinking it trash, go look at one star reviews of books you loved and then remember that there is a reader for every book — even your uncle’s.
Yup. It was bad. Like, bad bad. It was a fantasy book and only about 60 or 70 pages. I bought it to support him because he was/is a friend of mine.
He clearly had nobody proofread or edit it because it was brimming with typos (they went threw the woods instead of through).
Thankfully it is a long distance friendship and I never had to discuss the book with him ever. I would have happily helped him edit it for free had he asked or mentioned needing help.