To Publish Or To Self-Publish?
I’ve been thinking lately about the real value of getting published vs. self-publishing. Of course, as a poet, it’s a different question than it is for fiction or nonfiction prose writers, who have more paying options (though also more competition). So I hope some prose writers (as well as poets) will chip in their views in the comments.
It’s the general wisdom that getting a book published by a press is worth more than putting the book out yourself. But what exactly is this value?
In terms of economic value, a press can supply professional support in marketing, editing, design and production. There are a few better-funded presses that take out ads in widely-read journals or other major venues, that set up well-attended readings, or that have connections to get well-placed reviews. But most poetry publishers (especially those open to emerging poets) have neither the money nor the staff to play a significant role in publicizing a book. In most cases, whether self- or press-published, the writer’s going to be responsible for sales.
With the availability of low-cost, professional-looking print-on-demand (often automatically distributed through popular shopping Web sites), the production support presses supply is of minimal value. In a way, it can even be limiting. The press run for poetry books is generally quite small, so a poet who’s good at marketing hir book might be better off with an open-ended print method. (Some publishers do use print-on-demand).
As far as editing and design goes, I think in those areas presses retain their value, although there do seem to be an awful lot of writers who make their living as graphic designers.
Of course, the main supposed benefit of getting published by a press isn’t economic – it’s prestige. Being chosen by an editor or contest judge tells readers this book is better than a book merely self-selected by the author, right?
But how much does the editor’s/judge’s choice really mean? Arguably, when you pay an entry fee for a book contest (or a reading fee for non-contest submissions), you’re just playing the lottery (at least, if you’re good enough to make the first cut, I expect it’s pretty much a lottery of taste after that). Although in this case, instead of paying a couple of bucks for a chance at millions, you’re typically paying $20 for a chance at $1,000. When you pay a reading fee to a publisher who doesn’t pay for the books or only pays minimal royalties with no advance, and who does nothing to help publicize or promote the book, what are you paying for but the off chance of a stamp of approval (often by editors/judges with limited, if not downright dubious credentials)?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to the many fine authors who have given their work freely to Fickle Muses. I too am more concerned with bringing my poetry to people who’ll get something out of it than with making money. I’m also grateful that FM’s contributors are willing to forgo prestige as well as money – I certainly wouldn’t contend that there’s much honor in being chosen by a couple early-career writers for a journal with a modest, though steady readership. We only promise to publish work that moves us and endeavor to bring it to others. (Our new art editor, whose selections will begin appearing in the spring, is in a different class. See her bio to the right.)
Personally, I’m still sending my first book out to contests & presses. For the time being, I’m still a sucker for the stamp of approval (and the chance of getting a few bucks I can use to promote the book on my own – though I might have saved as much not paying the fees).
Still, it seems a question worth asking – Is press-publishing really any better than self-publishing?
Electric Literature
Literary zines providing content in a variety of formats I’ve heard of. Literary zine paying writers $1,000 per story? This you’ve got to check out: http://flavorwire.com.
Should FM Tweet?
I got a request for Fickle Muses to start a twitter stream, and I was wondering how many fans would be interested in that sort of thing. So what do you say; would you like to see FM on Twitter, Facebook, etc.?
You can find me on Twitter & Facebook (MySpace too, but I haven’t been there in ages):
http://twitter.com/sarikro
http://www.facebook.com/sarikro
Question of the Week
If you were modernizing a myth, which would you choose and what setting would you put it in?
Question of the Week
What god, saint, etc. would you add for the modern pantheon?
Poetry Superhighway Contest
Poetry Superhighway’s annual poetry contest opened yesterday, with entries due by Sept. 25. The fee is super cheap – $1 per poem – and everyone gets a prize – top three divvy up the entry fees, and others get prizes donated by poets and publishers – poetry books & services, generally.
Editor
Sari Krosinsky lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her partner and two cats.
She received a B.A. in religious studies and a M.A. in creative writing from the University of New Mexico. Her poems have appeared in Poesia, Pebble Lake Review, The American Poetry Journal, Arsenic Lobster, Verse Daily, and others. Fiction Editor
Leslie Fox lived in Central America during her formative years and in New Mexico since the mid-70s – before it was cool.
She writes novels, short stories, plays, screenplays and creative nonfiction. Some of her short fiction has appeared in The Medical Muse, red. a journal of arts, Earth’s Daughters and Earthships: A New Mecca Poetry Collection. She has a M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of New Mexico.Art Editor
Dianne Schlies is a practicing artist and has taught studio art since 1986. She received her M.F.A. from SMU at Dallas, Texas in 1990. She has studied or worked with David Bates, Mel Bochner, Squeak Carnwath, Harmony Hammond, Ed Harris, Joyce Kozloff, Mary Ellen Mark, Duane Michals and Robert Rauschenberg. Schlies presently teaches Drawing and 2-D Design in Albuquerque, New Mexico.