With the rise of self publishing, I’ve heard many people over the years say,
“When it was harder to get published, it weeded people out.”
True, writers have more options than ever to get their work out there, but I still wouldn’t say it’s easy.
I think what people mean is when it was harder to have your writing seen, many people gave up instead of going the self publishing route. Many people gave up instead of continuing to flood agents and editors with piles of queries and pitches. Many people gave up, and there were better odds that if you were a good writer with a tenacious spirit, you’d be seen through traditional means of publication.
Still, any industry based on gatekeepers and trying to control people is an industry destined to crumble. Some published authors loved that there wasn’t as much competition in the past. I’ve seen authors I respect — even today — say something needs to be done so fewer books are published; so those published have a better chance at making a living.
I’m not a fan of trying to control the market through exclusion. And even though anybody can publish an e-book, it’s still not easy; people are still being weeded out.
Writing a novel is hard work — technology and new opportunities haven’t changed that. While it’s easier to self publish your own work, it’s still hard to be seen by enough people to support yourself through writing.
But some things never change: the trek to the top may take years — even decades — but if you sit down each time you write with the goal of getting better and you’re not afraid to listen to feedback, you will improve.
Whether you’re published by traditional means or do it yourself, if you have the fortitude to climb to the top, you deserve to enjoy the view as much as anybody.
When Flannery O’Connor was asked if MFA programs discouraged potential writers, she said she thought they didn’t discourage enough of them.
I think the advent of email and online literary magazines has made the whole quest immensely easier too. I can email a dozen queries in the time it would have taken me to snail mail a single one. And I can study many more publications more easily (and cheaply) online than I ever could have by finding and buying print copies of them.
Still, it does take perseverance and faith.
I love that Flannery O’Connor quote!
I read about people sending out blanket queries more than ever because it is so easy, and acting surprised when nothing happens. I have to think, in many cases, that lack of research and care comes through in their queries. And I definitely have my days when I wish people who don’t put in much effort wouldn’t flood agents and editors with so much stuff!
At the same time, I think it creates an environment where you stand out more than ever if you can simply put together a decent query or pitch. When I query agents, I let them know I’m only querying a handful at a time. Before i send any query, I do a lot of research.
At a writing conference last summer, I felt sooooooo bad for the agents at an after conference cocktail party. People swarmed agents with a sense of desperation I’ve never seen before. I was near a table with a person who kept pointing and saying, “Agent!” When she saw an agent, even if she were in mid sentence in a conversation, she blew everybody off to chase the agent down, or hover at their table for a moment to break in and pitch. And then stick around after getting her chance.
At one point, she told me I needed to jump on every agent I saw, because “That’s how it’s done.” Nevermind that I had researched every agent there and knew that many of the agents this person was telling me to chase down didn’t even remotely represent the kind of thing I’m currently doing.
Respect definitely goes a long way. Patience, too. I respect what I do enough that I’m never going to be desperate about it, and I hope that comes through in the things I do.
It’s definitely easier than ever to send queries, self publish, and get your work out there in other ways. And I definitely understand where some of those people are coming from who wish some people were a bit more patient in getting their stuff out there. But it quickly becomes evident if a person writing an e-book is good or not, or if they care enough about their work to hire and editor, or at least try to make sure that what they’re releasing is good.
Even in a crowded space like electronic publishing, those who work hard and care the most about what they do will always stand out.