Warning: This article might touch a few nerves and I sincerely don’t mean it to do that. This is only one man’s perspective, nothing more. Am I right in what I’m about to say or am I wrong? That’s up to you to decide. Perhaps I might be a little of both. Anyway, thanks for reading. On to the article…

E-xcellence?

For authors around the world, there has never been a more exciting time in publishing. The e-revolution is among us, folks. Everything’s e-volving. Those who only dreamed their stories would ever make it into print are finally starting to see their dreams realized. Those who always wanted to have their own publishing house can now set one up with minimal cost and start cranking out book after book after book after book, and make that “oh-so-holy moola.”

Yes, thanks to eBooks and POD (Print-on-Demand) publishing, any Joe Schmoe with a book can publish for little (min. $200) or no cost. And I’m happy that this method is available to authors. I started out that way, too, with my POD book, A Stranger Dead. It is a good stepping-stone. However, as any author will tell you, those of us who published via the electronic route, either eBook or POD, we are not accepted by the “traditional” publishing community even if we not only publish our stuff but the works of others, too (thus becoming a traditional publisher).

It is true that some of the big houses are using POD for test marketing, bringing out-of-print titles back for reader consumption, and all the rest, but those houses still use offset printing 99% of the time, still have an army of very, very picky editors who still only read works represented by agents. Comparing these two sides of the publishing industry, the “electronic” side and the “traditional” side, is like me, as a Canadian, living in the same continent as the USA, and as I, along with others in the US, is a North American, but I am certainly not an American. Why? Division. A border, a line, whatever you want to call it. Sure, there is some smudging on that dividing line but there are still two sides. Why is that, well, sadly, e-publishing has garnered a bad rep for putting out, quite frankly, crap. Terrible stories, poorly edited work, terrible layout and presentation. Cover prices are too high and the majority of most of the covers printed have that amateur multimedia feel to them. Who is to blame for this? Two people. The author and the publisher. And especially the POD service providers who will “publish” anything as long as the author ponies up the dough. But let’s just examine the e-publishers, whether they are the authors or publishers themselves, which put out quality work.

In the e-world, quality is truly few and far between, but there are independent authors out there making sure their book is as close to perfect as possible before releasing it to the masses. These folks should be commended for stepping out onto a battlefield where the hope of victory is, at times, only a dream. But, it is the responsibility for the author to, a) write a damn good story, b) edit that story until it’s polished to a shine, c) don’t rely on the publisher to fix any or all booboos. And if you are able to have input on the cover design, please use good judgment and try to make it as professional as possible. Go to your local bookstore for ideas, if you have to. Secondly, the publisher has the task of ensuring that the book or story is 99.99% perfect if not 100% perfect. Think of the author’s book as your own. Would you want your story sent out into the world as it is, or does it need more work? Did you hire an editor, someone with experience and who can weave the English language like a quilt to go over the work before it goes to press? What is your eye for quality? Are happy with just good enough? Good? Darn good? The best ever? Did you take your eyes off the dollar sign and put them on the book where they belong? You can think about the money later. Just produce a good product first.

Why is e-publishing so frowned upon? I think the main reason is that anybody can do it. The costs are so low that even those working a McJob can afford to publish either through a POD or e-service provider, or through their own imprint. As a result, the market has become saturated with so many books that, as a reader, where can you begin? There are so many choices. So, so many. First off, as I think nearly all readers will attest to, is that they’ll buy books from the authors they know and/or have read before. Give a warm welcome to Stephen King, John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark and all the rest. Then, if they’re voracious readers, they’ll hunt down either more big names or some of the smaller names, the books written by authors that have been published by the small press.

This is where the smudging begins.

A lot of small presses these days are using the e-publishing method to get their work out there. I’m talking about the houses that don’t charge the author to publish their work. So, Joe Reader goes and buys a book from ABC press because it looks interesting. He reads it; he likes it, and goes and sniffs out another small press author. Wow! Another good read. So he keeps going and, eventually, winds up picking up one of the many e-published titles that read like somebody in kindergarten wrote it. Okay, he thinks, that was a fluke. Bad luck is all. The next title will be better. So he tries again. Same thing. Crap quality. He might give it one more try, he might not. One thing is for sure, Joe Reader will be more inclined to stay with the Kings and Grishams of this industry because those boys’ books are well-edited, put together with style and even some TLC, and the stories are damn good. They were picked up by the big houses for a reason, after all.

In the end, the e-publishing revolution has been both a blessing and a curse. Those who sincerely want to succeed in this biz and continuously produce quality work are desperately trying to survive against the small presses that put out crappy books and the POD services providers who “publish” the shameful dribble of someone who can’t write, just because that author had the cash to pay for their book to be in print. The e-revolution, as stated, as offered aspiring writers a shot of turning their manuscript into a finished, bound book. But at what cost? In the end, it’s the author’s and not just financially. Because e-published titles carry such a bad rep of poor quality, the author who puts out a good e-published product now has to assure the reader that he/she isn’t one of the million other authors whose books suck. They end up paying for the crimes of others just because the majority of folks the e-publishing biz have stopped caring about the books they publish/print and only care about the money.

So, to you authors who brave the cold and fight on despite the e-publishing setbacks, my hat goes off to you. To those of you who exploit the e-revolution either to make money off hungry authors or because you’re too damn egotistical to take rejection from a reputable publisher, I kindly request you stop what you’re doing and ask yourself why you’re in this biz. If it’s not for the stories, then all I have to say is: don’t let the door kick you on the way out. Actually, on second thought, I hope it does kick you. It might make you finally realize that you’re ruining the e-biz for the rest of us, folks who are trying to succeed as honest and hard-working authors, who believe in quality and how it’s presented. Just think about it even if only once.