Why Digital First Publishing Might Not Be Your Route...

In the world of publishing, there are ton of ways we can get our book to the readers. One of those is a digital first publishing approach. There are a lot of publishers out there who offer this approach, and it is often VERY easy for a new author to finally get their book published. With that said, today, I want to discuss some reasons why you might not want to go this route.

First of all, I want you to do a little homework activity for me. Go to Amazon (or Barnes and Noble) and go to the digital books section (Kindle reads for example). Once there, find the genre you write and then do a search, sorting from Low to High in terms of prices. Now, study that list of books. What you will find are pages upon pages of books being offered for free, or pennies on the dollar. These authors are hoping that by setting the prices low, they will attract the audience they want, and then from there, will build up their readership.

This is actually an approach a lot of publishers will use to hype of some of their authors. Ahhh, but here is the catch. Did you see how many people are doing this? The list is endless. The point here is simple - you are a new author and you have to find a way to attract the attention of your first book amid all of these other people who are just self-publishing their digital books and flooding the market. This is not easy.

Now, let's go with the other angle and a reason to maybe think otherwise. These publishers can release A LOT of digital books each month. Remember, there is no printing costs here, just a digital file. But here is the problem. Each month, those prior month's books are taken down off of the companies advertising and the new round is up and running. 

So, how does this affect sales? Most digital authors will see a spike in sales during that first release. After that, sales tank horribly. And why is this? Out of sight, out of mind. Unless you have another book coming out the following month, and the month after that and so on, readers will forget you.

I want to circle back to the concept of "digital first." What this means is that IF your digital sales are AMAZING, the publisher may then decide to release your book in print format. This is, after all, what you were hoping for. But did you note how they decide? Sales numbers and not reviews. If you don't sell through the roof, they have every right to come back and say your sales did not warrant moving to a print format. 

Those people who have found success with this route often already have a follower base. They have an audience, or they may be published in a print format somewhere else. New authors simply do not have this.

I would also add that for many of these publishers, they DO NOT offer an advance. This means you have just spent months writing a story all for, maybe nothing. Ugh.

Just think about this before you leap. Is it an easy way to get published? Certainly. Will it help you with your career int he long run? That may be tough. 

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Can I Send My Manuscript If It Isn't Finished

You see the end on the horizon. You have been writing like crazy but now, you know exactly how your story is going to end. It is just a matter of having the time to write, but even then, it is all mapped out on your calendar. You can do this! And then, you see that the agent or editor you have been following is open to submissions and your story (when it is finished) is exactly what they want.

Do you send in the project?

This is a tough one, because, like everything in publishing, it all depends.

In my humble opinion, I would argue absolutely NOT! "But Scott, they want my story! This might be my only chance!" 

Here is the issue. If I send out a #MSWL to everyone it means I am actively looking for a project right now. I am not looking for something 6 months from now. I mean I want it now. There is a chance that I have an editor who is eager to find this story. Maybe I have a hot new lead. Maybe for an editor, they have a couple of slots to fill and are looking for that complete project now.

Now, if you can write like crazy and get that project to them within 2 weeks and it is ready to go to press, then I think you have a chance. Of course, this depends on if they want a full now or not. If they are just looking for a partial or a query, then you have a little bit of wiggle room, but not much. 

What often happens is that we get this great project showing up in our inbox and we get excited. This is exactly what we are looking for. BUT, if you are still writing and you still have to do edits or send it to your critique group, the project you pitched may end up not being what we asked for. On another level, if we are sitting around and waiting, that editor who wanted the project now will likely have moved on to someone new and you lost your chance.

The reality is that we want YOUR BEST WRITING! If it is going to take you time then use the time. I promise, we will be here. Sure, that #MSWL might have gone away, but there is a pretty dang good chance we will still want something similar in the future. 

Becoming a Beginner Again

We all hated being a beginner, right? The thought we were just learning something and we wanted to just "move on to something bigger." But hey, we all have to start somewhere, right? The reality, however, is that being a beginner isn't that bad of a thing. Let's talk about this for a bit.

First of all, when you were a beginner, you had the drive and the desire to do more. You pushed yourself to try things that, in all likelihood, you would fail at at least one or two times. It didn't matter, you kept pushing. Watch that child trying to learn how to ride a bike. This is not an easy task considering you have to balance, steer, and keep peddling all while mom, dad, aunt, uncle or someone else is yelling at you to try something your brain just cannot comprehend. But the kid keeps going until the skill has been achieved.

Secondly, that beginner mentality opened your brain up to learning and possibilities. Your brain was a sponge that absorbed everything, while at the same time, was already thinking of ways to adapt, improve and change things to make the world (or that activity a better place). Consider this for example.

Brand new teachers are always spending far more than the required hours of work looking up new curriculum or activities to make the classroom a better place or to make the learning more successful for the students. 

And yet...

As we get older in our careers, we stop that learning. We stop that curiosity. 

I see so many authors, who, once they sell that first book settle in to a life of complacency. They quit going to workshops or trying new things. We see this in their writing. At a certain point, sure, they may be cranking out books left and right, but the spark that we saw early on in their career is simply not there any more.

I think it is so important that everyone, whether you are a writer or doing anything in a job or a hobby, stop and become a "beginner" again. Get that spark back. Take your inspiration from Figment in Disney's Epcot... 

"Sure, you can see with your eyes. But imagine what you could see if you used your imagination!"   

My book will appeal to readers... but why?

I understand you are all told to use comps in your query letter. Don't get me wrong. This is a great way to give an editor or an agent a feeling of what your book is like, without reading it, simply by connecting it to another book. There is a big problem that the majority of you, and I do mean the majority of you have, when it comes to comps.

You don't tell us why. 

Let's go back to writing 101 for a second. Remember the rule - SHOW DON'T TELL. You seem to have forgotten that. If all you do is tell me your book is similar to Julia London and Bronwyn Scott that means nothing that you throwing names around. 

"But Scott, I do tell the editors and agents which book so that counts, right?"

Absolutely not. Again, all you are doing is telling and not showing. It is your job to explain what it is about your voice or style that as similar to the other authors. Be specific here. If it is the layering of characters and subplots then go for it. If it is how you set your story in a small town and make it a character like Debbie Macomber then explain it. 

Right now, all of you are just wasting your time throwing these names and random titles at us. We want to know about how your book is truthfully, as the name suggests, COMPARABLE!

And by the way, if you don't have a comp or can't think of one, don't make it up!