This is a great insight, Ben. As a book publicist myself I think these are important things to remember. However, following the Luke Bateman thing from three start, I think announcing the book so quickly is a bit of an own goal, and I think lots of the audience do feel a bit played and in the world of social media authenticity matters so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
thanks Kelly and I agree – perhaps if they'd kept it under their hat for a few months and he could come out and say, 'I've been beavering away on this in secret and have a deal,' it would be more palatable.
I don't get annoyed when celebrities get book deals, even if they don't write the books. I expect this. What's harder for me to expect or accept is a lack of interest in the mid-list writer. Should I self publish? Maybe. I'm just not quite there yet.
perhaps it reflects the death of the mid-budget Hollywood film too – too expensive to make, too hard to market, but often the most exciting pieces of work.
I have five novels, published in the traditional way. It was lovely having Kensington ship my books all over the country and do a little bit of publicity, though not much. I wasn't happy with the covers, which didn't reflect the content, but I'm certainly not the only one to complain about this. Self-publishing is more widely available and acceptable now. It's just different from what I know.
well there's loads of resources - I would start with Joanna Penn. the other thing I've seen people do is negotiate their rights differently. you could do a print paperback with a publisher and try to keep ebook and audio. lots of possibilities!
Thanks Ben, well said. I didn't realise you had self-published your book and like what you have to say. Would love to hear more about your self-publishing journey.
I'm late to the controversy but your points are well taken. In the end aren't we surrounded by people that are given a trophy without the hard work all the time; cuter, flashier, a hunk? And then the library shelves are filled with those that earned that shelf space the old fashioned way - blood, sweat and tears. At the end of the day the quick hit wonder won't be remembered but the hare (not the tortoise) will. I get the twinge of spite (I don't think that's the 'write' word, but it can be a placeholder) and the emotion associated with his leap frog into the literary spotlight but he will never know in his soul what it feels to create out of whole cloth the fantasy, the world and the story. And in my mind knowing that means you get the rose!
longevity might be harder to come by but who knows?
also, there's the counterexample of the TV show runner who coordinates a group of writers. does Jesse Armstrong take less satisfaction from Succession because he had a team under him? probably not!
This is a great insight, Ben. As a book publicist myself I think these are important things to remember. However, following the Luke Bateman thing from three start, I think announcing the book so quickly is a bit of an own goal, and I think lots of the audience do feel a bit played and in the world of social media authenticity matters so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
thanks Kelly and I agree – perhaps if they'd kept it under their hat for a few months and he could come out and say, 'I've been beavering away on this in secret and have a deal,' it would be more palatable.
I don't get annoyed when celebrities get book deals, even if they don't write the books. I expect this. What's harder for me to expect or accept is a lack of interest in the mid-list writer. Should I self publish? Maybe. I'm just not quite there yet.
perhaps it reflects the death of the mid-budget Hollywood film too – too expensive to make, too hard to market, but often the most exciting pieces of work.
what's stopping you self-publishing?
I have five novels, published in the traditional way. It was lovely having Kensington ship my books all over the country and do a little bit of publicity, though not much. I wasn't happy with the covers, which didn't reflect the content, but I'm certainly not the only one to complain about this. Self-publishing is more widely available and acceptable now. It's just different from what I know.
well there's loads of resources - I would start with Joanna Penn. the other thing I've seen people do is negotiate their rights differently. you could do a print paperback with a publisher and try to keep ebook and audio. lots of possibilities!
Thanks for this - there are a lot more options now!
Thanks Ben, well said. I didn't realise you had self-published your book and like what you have to say. Would love to hear more about your self-publishing journey.
hey Bill – I've talked about it in other places a long time ago so perhaps I'll collate the material and republish an updated version here!
The list of parallels is short.
I'm late to the controversy but your points are well taken. In the end aren't we surrounded by people that are given a trophy without the hard work all the time; cuter, flashier, a hunk? And then the library shelves are filled with those that earned that shelf space the old fashioned way - blood, sweat and tears. At the end of the day the quick hit wonder won't be remembered but the hare (not the tortoise) will. I get the twinge of spite (I don't think that's the 'write' word, but it can be a placeholder) and the emotion associated with his leap frog into the literary spotlight but he will never know in his soul what it feels to create out of whole cloth the fantasy, the world and the story. And in my mind knowing that means you get the rose!
longevity might be harder to come by but who knows?
also, there's the counterexample of the TV show runner who coordinates a group of writers. does Jesse Armstrong take less satisfaction from Succession because he had a team under him? probably not!