I can make a million for you overnight.
That’s a line from the Beatles’ excellent song, Paperback Writer, but it got me thinking when a friend posted it as her Facebook status the other day. The concept of the song is that an aspiring writer has sent a letter to a publisher, along with his manuscript, and is promising that it will be their next Big Thing, therefore they should buy it and make him a real, live Paperback Writer.
This encapsulates the ultimate writer’s dilemma: if you’re writing a kick-ass book that could make a million for someone overnight, shouldn’t that someone be YOU?
Yeah, that’s kinda what I thought, too. Which is why I decided to self-publish my book, Naked Montreal, and do all the promotion myself (BTW, you can buy a copy of this excellent book in advance right here!), despite the fact that traditional publishing definitely has its assets (i.e. you get to concentrate on writing, rather than marketing and selling the book). I’ve self-published stuff before (see: Black Heart Magazine), and it’s not as hard as traditional publishers would like to have you believe. In fact, it’s even easier now that you can do print-on-demand (though I’m still torn on whether or not I dig that particular approach).
Previously, I had spoken to a traditional publisher in Montreal about working together on my book. I was told that if I found a “partner” to help pony up half the cash required to print the project, we could move forward. To me, that was a total non-starter. I mean, if I had this mystery backer to begin with, why would I need this publishing house? My partner and I could go it alone, me doing the writing and my partner handling the financial end of things, and promote it together. We’d both make more money this way, and this publisher wouldn’t be profiting off my work for no reason.
Ultimately, I guess it all comes down to this: I’m not at all against traditional publishing, so long as it actually helps the writer promote his or her work and get it out to the right audience. But if traditional publishing is like the proposal I received from the publisher mentioned above, then why bother? A small press isn’t going to have the money to send you on much of a book tour (if any), and a big press is just going to go through the motions because you’re not their bestselling author. With either approach, I’m not sure where the benefit is to the author, except in not having to logistically plan out your own readings, getting your books into stores, and the other assorted crap work associated with getting your book out of your basement and into the hands of your public—things that suck to do, but which the writer of the book is probably best qualified to do anyway.
I think, really, it’s all about the way writers view the concept of selling. They tend to view it as shilling, as shady, as some pushy salesperson in a bad tie sweating to close the deal. And it doesn’t have to be. It’s not simple, but it’s not really rocket science either, is it?
In the end, if I make a million bucks overnight, that would be awesome. Then I shall retire to the country and work on my next opus, thereby making myself a multi-millionaire. Realistically, that’s not going to happen. So while I’m not quite as naïvely hopeful as the dude in Paperback Writer, I do think that if properly done, I could make a couple thousand on my book, and maybe even “overnight.” Self-publishing writers do this on a more regular basis than the media want us to believe. Just ask Bobbie Christensen, who makes a living writing and selling her own books, and giving guest lectures on the subjects of her books—including how to write, publish and sell your own books.
“I can make a thousand for you overnight” just doesn’t have quite the same ring as McCartney’s line, though, so I’m sticking to this mantra for now. Thanks, Paul.
