Why Big Publications and Publishers Are So Often A Disappointment
Expectation vs reality
I was lurking the Medium groups on Facebook. Reading the comments about publications struck me like the Goldilocks story all over again.
A lot of people lamenting publications that are too big, or too small. Finding just right was a lot easier in the fairy tale.
Of course, what isn’t?
In the fairy tale, just right was right in front of Goldilocks. When you’re a writer, it’s not quite so straightforward.
Someone was distraught that Mind Cafe isn’t taking submissions.
Another writer suggested The Ascent. A third writer said sure, but they take a really long time to respond. He’d submitted and didn’t hear back for over two weeks.
Someone else said yeah, PS is like that, too. So long to respond. Which then devolved into a conversation about publications that take too long to respond. Several days, most of them. Weeks, some of them.
I guess they’ve never written for magazines.
You think publications on Medium take a long time to respond? Try writing for a print magazine. Yikes. Not days or weeks. Months, sometimes.
Interesting to notice what some people think is too long. If you think a few days is too long, you’ve never been an editor. Any idea how many submissions flood into publications all day every day?
Lots of lamenting about the Startup. They’re huge, someone said. One of the biggest on Medium. They accepted her post and she was so excited.
Then they mass published so many stories at the same time, her post scrolled off the page instantly and barely got any views. She was crushed.
I laughed. Me too, friend. Me, too. Been there, done that. We’ve all been there.
That’s an easy rabbit hole to fall down on Medium. Omg, 200K readers? 100K writers? In-house pub? Who wouldn’t want to be there?
Then they’re crushed that the response was so weak.
It was only ever about credibility.
The problem is expectation vs. reality
A while ago, I read a story by an author whose first book was picked up by a mainstream publisher. It was like a dream come true. At first, anyway.
Signing contracts. Negotiating royalties. Telling all her friends.
She posted it on Facebook. I have a book contract! So excited.
Until she realized they didn’t have a marketing budget for her. Sorry, you have to market your own book. If you can’t sell enough copies of the first book, we won’t publish the next one.
It was a trilogy. They’d accepted the first book in a trilogy. And if she couldn’t sell book one, there’d be no book two. At least, not with that publisher.
The fear kicked in instantly.
A lot of it comes down to expectation vs. reality.
Too often, the exchange isn’t clear. Writers think a big publisher or publication will do their marketing. Find their readers. You know, to make money on the book they accepted. When they don’t, it feels like they dropped the ball.
The reality is that big and reputable publications and publishers were never planning to do the marketing. What they bring to the table isn’t visibility, it’s credibility.
If you’re Stephen King, sure. They’ll do the marketing. But there’s not much marketing to do there. Just an announcement, really.
Any idea how many fans he has?
When a writer gets accepted by a big distribution company, whether it’s Random House or one of Medium’s biggest or in-house publications, what they offer is the ability to join the elite group of people they did not reject.
Credibility, not marketing.
Credibility itself is a pretty big deal. But when you’re talking publishers, there’s other things. Who paid for the cover art? Who paid for the editors?
The publisher, right?
Easy to get disgruntled that the publisher isn’t going to market the book and make the best selling author dream come true, but the truth is that publishing is about turning a profit, not finding the next standout author.
Do you know how many good writers there are?
Being a good writer doesn’t make anyone a designer. When a publisher accepts a book, they often oversee the cover art. Amateur covers don’t sell books unless the author already has a large following. Most authors do not.
Most self-made covers are awful.
Being a great writer doesn’t give anyone literary connections, either. Some publishers use their connections to get reviews the author would not have had on their own.
Novice writers, especially, don’t always realize that.
They just expect the publisher to do it all. Never mind that 70% of books accepted by traditional publishers don’t earn out their advance.
The days of big publishers promoting a new unknown writer are long gone. I’m not sure they really ever existed. They were gone 15 years ago when I worked in publishing. The same concepts apply at Medium.
There’s a reason it’s about credibility.
There’s no street cred in getting accepted by a vanity publisher who accepts everything as long as you pay their fees. Same applies for publications that reject nothing.
Do you know why bookstores and book awards don’t want self published books? No guarantee the book even had a proof-reader, much less an editor.
Same with publications. An upper level publication knows the curation rules. They’ll reject pieces that don’t follow them.
So when they accept your writing, it’s a vote of confidence. A nod to the work you put in.
It comes down to knowing what you’re getting. Expectation vs. reality.
I’m working on a post about how to find publications that will help you get more eyes on your writing. Because the way too many people approach publications doesn’t work. It’s not helping them grow.
I hope you’ll watch for it.
“Truth and wisdom are always attractive and beautiful, even when they are not attractive and beautiful.” — E.A. Bucchianeri, Vocation of a Gadfly
