Who Is To Blame, Really?

When I spend time reading submissions, or listening to authors, it is almost a certainty that I will hear at least one author start ranting and raving about all of the injustices done to them in the publishing industry. "My agent did this...", "My publisher did that...", "They screwed me on my contract..." You know the litany of speeches.

I am equally as frustrated because frankly, the number of comments I hear on this has increased over the years. So the question, I had this weekend as I was mowing the lawn was - Is this an issue of the industry being dorky, or something else. Unfortunately, I had to answer with the "something else" element. And yes, I am going to say this, it is "USER ERROR."

When it comes down to it, the author has the final say for everything that happens. The author DOES NOT have to sign that contract if things do not look right. It is up to the author to know what a good deal and a bad deal looks like. No one is holding a gun to your head.

Consider a few of these examples.

So many authors have gone to the self-publishing model because they have heard you can make so much more money this way and you don't have to give your money away to some agent who "does nothing." While this idea has worked for many, there are so many more authors who have fallen into this pit for one simple reason. They had no clue how the business worked. Along the same lines, when they blamed the 150 rejection letters on the publishing industry being stupid, and then tried to sell their writing and it flopped, it was clearly someone else's problem.

User Error.

What about those authors who refuse to join professional writing organizations to learn about the business because these groups just do not support their authors. OK, that's fine, but when you learn all you know from About.com or Answers.com, or only get advice from those Listserve websites that only take comments from people who are equally as uneducated, who is to blame here?

User Error.

I scream over and over again here on the blog to learn about the industry. Take the time to know what is going on and how the process works. Again, do you go out and get a job in an industry without education? I think not! You go to school. You take the time to learn the craft.

Look, this is not an issue of traditional publishing vs. self-publishing. This is simply an issue of get your butt out there and learn what you are doing before you dive into it. If you get tanked in this business, take the time to look in the mirror. Were you even trained enough to start a publishing career?

Sorry for the rant, but it was a long day!

Organizations and writing

Let me first begin with a single statement. I believe in professional writing organizations for writers, agents and editors. I believe there is a purpose and I 100% support these organizations.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's begin...

I meet a lot of writers that are starting right from ground zero. They may have a "current novel they are working on" or have a lot of ideas for a story but haven't gotten started. Along the same lines, I meet a lot of writers that "have just finished their first novel and want to get it published." My answer to almost all of these writers is to get connected before they start anything. I tell them to find some writing groups and get started. I am talking here about "professional" organizations such as the RWA (both PRO AND PAN), the Pacific Northwest Writing Association, NINC, Mystery Writers of America and yes, even the AAR.

I bring up this idea in connection to what we spoke about yesterday. Remember? Keeping the eye on the prize? There is a connection to writing groups here that we also need to remember.

Writing groups are crucial for keeping the information flow going between the writers and the publishing industry. This is a place where information can be current and everyone in the writing community does not have to feel lost or abandoned as they struggle with their craft. As you all know, I am a big fan of attending conferences. Not for the social aspect of things, but for the simple fact that we can all learn something new as we sit in those sessions or listen to key note speakers.

When I attend conferences as an agent, I tell the audiences that I am honestly glad to be invited. I want to talk to writers. I want to know what is going on in their heads and I want them to know what is going on in my head. It is all about this public face to face interaction. Now, here comes that connection.

Many writing groups have "entry" requirements:

• Sold three books in the prior year.
• Sold to a reputable publisher
• Been sponsored by a current memeber
• Submitted projects for proposal

The intent is supposedly to keep the conversations in the group focused on the needs of that select group and to not be weighted down by having to explain basic concepts to the newbies. Ahh, that sounds noble, but I have to say, even the established writers are still learning. Even more so, remember that at one time, even those established writers were struggling to "learn" the material with no help. The end result, however, is that the flow of information has been stopped.

Writing organizations also put a requirement in an attempt to keep those individuals who are not there for the benefit of the business, those people who are really out to take advantage of people, out of the limelight and away fromt he members. The Romance Writers of America refers to this as "advocating" for the writing. I am all for an organization "advocating for the writer, however, we forget one additional point. This refers to the concept of "buyer beware." Again, in this case, I went to the RWA for a quote. "It will always be the author's responsibility to read all the clauses, question the ones he/she doesn't understand, find out what the industry standard is, and only then, with full knowledge, make the decision to sign or not to sign."

If it is up to the writers are to be fully responsible, organizations have to make the resources available to them. This is where those exclusionary rules tend to work against the flow of communication. If only a select group can participate, then only that select group can "get the information."

I have to admit, that I do, sometimes question the "exclusionary" rules of organizaitons. I am not complaining about the rules though. It is my belief that unfortunately, life is not fair and there are these barriers out there. I also believe that if a person doesn't like the rules to that game, they can always go to another group. We see this all of the time. Our family are members of a USA Swimming Team (my kids swim and my wife and I are officials). We see families leave teams and join other teams all of the time because they "don't like the way things are going." I wish them all of the best. No hard feelings but we have to be where we can get what we need to succeed.

Along with being an agent, I am a writer. There are other agents and editors out there that are also writers. I have been published. But, because I am an agent, I can not participate in groups. Although frustrating at times, I am not complaining about this. This is simply a point of fact. I still find ways to get the information I need as a writer through other outlets to continue to succeed.

As an agent, I follow the guidelines of the AAR. I am a firm believer of all that the organization stands for. I am not a member though. Nothing personal, I am simply not a member. This is also a point of fact.

I only bring all of this up to again ask those of us in the publishing industry to think today about what they are doing. Is the action we are taking helping to promote our craft and business, or is it driving a wedge between the business? I guess, in a way, this is my call to action. Not to change the rules but to rethink why we are in this business. What do we want to see happen.

As an agent of romance and women's fiction, I want to see the genre succeed. Not simply in numbers but in quality. I want this genre to be seen not simply as a summer read, but as a strong piece of the puzzle in literature. For that reason, I will do all I can to assist writers and the industry. That is my contribution. What about yours?

Politics and Publishing

Politics in business. We all hate it (or like it if we are on the winning end). Publishing, like every other business out there has its share of politics. We see it in how publishers deal with agents, selecting some over others depending on likes and dislikes. We see it in how agents deal with publishers, avoiding some over others depending on the politics. We see it in publishing organizations. It is everywhere.

My grandfather was in the Methodist ministry and we always talked about the level of politics that happened within the church as well. His comment however, in an attempt to avoid getting bogged down with all of the politics, was simple. He kept his eye on the prize.

With publishing, that prize is to be published. Writers want to see their book in print. That is the end goal. That is the prize we shoot for. If writers take the time to focus on that prize, and spend time each day pursuing that prize, the chance for that success becomes even greater. Now, when I say pursuing that prize, I am talking about building your craft. I am talking about promoting your writing. Not getting involved with politics.

What am I referring to? Simple enough. The endless chatter on loops about people playing favorites with someone else. The quiet meetings at conferences talking not about the books and the industry, but people. The personal blogs, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter chats and the like, that always end up spreading rumors like wild fires. Although the conversations are always in the tone of "just inquiring" or "just between the two of us" we all know that it never stays that way. The other thing we forget is it has nothing to do with "OUR" writing.

When you sit down at that computer today, or when you go to the next writing group meeting, consider what you are doing and why you are doing it. Before you say, write, or do anything, take the time to ask "What is this doing to promote MY writing, or to improve MY career." Taking someone down a couple of notches, or slamming someone else does not advance you in the least bit.

Scott