Beyond White Bread in the World of Publishing

by Jean Sheldon

Recently, my brother, RH Sheldon, posted an article called 'Writers—Cheap, Easy, Expendable'. In it, he discussed where writers landed in the publishing heap. Yep, on the bottom. The statement that struck me as the saddest and most telling was, 'without writers, many in the industry would end up baristas at Starbucks'.

I have long been a proponent of print on demand, and it truly allows us all a shot at finding readers. Remember, the primary relationship is between readers and writers, not publishers, agents, or distributors. If writing is the goal and selling what you've written the bonus, than self-publishing is the solution. If you haven't been able to get beyond a query letter, maybe you should look into it. You won't need a large financial investment, but you will need to spend a great deal of time trying to reach your readers. This, of course, is separate from the time you spend writing. If what you have to offer is readable, you have a shot.

Most people, across the board, are willing to admit that the industry is in bad shape. I am not saying that the people published by the large publishers don't deserve it. They are just not the only ones worth reading. Do the big guys really believe that people only want to read the books that they select? More importantly, do you believe that? Is it possible that people simply don't know what wonderful authors are out there waiting for readers?

I went to the library the other day and saw four shelves of books by the same author. A friend of mine who has spent a great deal of time in libraries over the years, both working and hanging out, said it is what readers want that fill the shelves. They are removing many classics to make room for 'popular' books. Now that is scary.

It's not unlike any other product marketing. You go to the grocery store and on the bread shelf, you see one companies' products. They sell white and wheat bread. You choose what you want from the choices available and go home. You chose wheat bread, and after a while you and your family are not only used to it, but like it. The next time you go to the store, you go right to the wheat bread and fill your cart. You don't even notice the little upstart company that has a tiny part of one shelf selling sour dough and rye bread. Soon, the store sees the little upstart company isn't selling anything. Rather than give them more space, they discontinue their products. They never had a chance, but the little upstart company regrouped. They began to sell only online. Slowly they developed their line of breads and became popular. Guess who tells them they'll give them a whole shelf to themselves, only if they receive seventy-five percent of the profit.

Okay, back to the library. What if it is what readers want. Is it what they really want, or is it because they don't know there's sour dough and rye bread available? You can't blame the librarians. Every book publisher in existence pitches them, and it would be physically impossible to read the number of catalogs, brochures, and books that pile up on their desks. They have to trust someone, and go by what their readers want.

Not many self-published authors have the money to run full color ads in papers and magazines, and often times it is even too expensive to find a cooperative catalog they can afford. Let's assume that the self-published author is in the same league as the author who has four shelves, or maybe even better. What do they do?

Today, I can see only one level playing field—the Internet. Though it is often like shouting in the wind, at least there's a chance someone will hear you. You certainly have nothing to lose by trying. I don't see publishing as a whole improving anytime soon. There's far too much money involved, but people who have a passion for something don't give up. It isn't a question of 'will I', for most of us the question is 'when'. As long as there have been powerful people running things, there have been groups of people considered less powerful, battering down the gates. I say we grab a couple of poles and start.