By John Ramsey Miller
I almost clean forgot this blog because I’ve been so absorbed in work that I almost forgot I was up to bat this week.
This week I got an emailed message from the International Thriller Writers that stated that due to the insanity in the publishing world at the moment, authors who are members can submit their self published works for inclusion in the ITW awards selection process. That, my friends, is HUGE.
Part of it went as follows:
“The awards committee would like ITW members to know that he criteria for the 2012 Thriller Awards have been expanded to include self-published work by active ITW members. Active status members may submit independently published work to the appropriate category of Thriller competition (best Hard Cover, best Paperback Original, best Short Story).
Independently published work from Associate ITW members will not be considered for competition at this time.”
There is no eBook only category, but everything is up for grabs at the moment.
Our organization is promoting eBooks self-published by members in their (our) webzine which goes to 13,000 individuals and industry related businesses.
This goes to show you how many previously published authors there are in our ranks. These are guys and gals who have proven they have the “goods” and are quite capable of writing a book that is at least readable, and probably ought to be on shelves as long as there are shelves.
I am proud of the ITW for understanding where a lot of us are right now, and largely through no fault of our own. We the houseless. Not long ago this would have been a dire situation. Whether or not our large houses need an individual at the moment, said individual needs to write, and have their work available to their readers, existing and future. I don’t know if the MWA (Mystery Writers if America) or the SIC (Sisters In Crime), or the other similar organizations will follow suit, but I think the ITW has been a leader among the organizations that “serve” us authors. It shows me that there is an organization that “gets” the situation and is trying to take care of its members. This flexibility is crucial and shows that the ITW cares about its members as individuals. I have heard that others do not want to change something it might have to change back in the future.
Recently I found a talented author who is writing top notch books, and he is self-published. I’ve been reading his series as fast as I can download them to my Kindle. I sent him a note and we started a correspondence. He wants a legitimate house to publish his work because he feels the self-published stigma. As he is successful at self-publishing a house has offered to re-release his books under their banner and take half of his profits. To his credit he has so far declined their offers because they won’t give him an escape clause in the event that they do not increase his numbers significantly. The only upside is the branding. I have heard that there are houses, both large and small, trolling the eBook world looking for authors with a following. Often they can pick up the author’s catalogue cheaply. I get it.
I look forward to the day that authors like this talented individual will not feel as though they are looked down on by other authors who are (or have been) published by a “name” house. I am finding more and more quality authors available only on Amazon. So the quality is there, and the I imagine the stigma (real or imagined) is getting to be a thinner curtain. It is the story that counts and there are more talented storytellers than publishers who will get behind them.
Sorry if this is a disjointed mess of a blog, but I am rushing so I can spend my Saturday on the planet Rewrite.
We all have books we like or don’t like, for a variety of reasons, but disliking a book or an author because of their means of publication is utterly silly.
There will always be great books, good books, mediocre and subpar books, but either way, an author put in time bringing it to creation. Let the market decide what the book’s quality is and forget the rest.
Joe, I like the ITW’s decision. Previous publication via the conventional route is one indication that the author’s self-pubbed book will (hopefully) be of decent quality. I agree with BK that the market decides what books are good (and I disagree with the market quite often), but when it comes to entries into a contest, a few criteria help keep the field manageable. I’ll be watching carefully.
Thanks for sharing, and good luck with your writing.
As ITW co-president emeritus, I can assure everyone that the organization is trying to address the shifting publishing marketplace with as much of an open mind as possible. A few years ago, we adopted the mission statement that if we imitate, we fail, if we innovate, we succeed. The board fully realizes that e-publishing and self-publishing, and the criteria for accepting non-traditionally published authors and electronic-only publishers is one of the biggest issues facing the organization. This recent change in the eligibility requirements of the Thriller Awards is just the first sign of many new changes to come.
The statement from ITW seems very carefully worded to completely avoid the issue. They will include independently published works, but not ebook only books? Wow, that is really completely pointless. Ebooks are what the changing landscape is all about, not hardbacks or paperbacks. This might be a slight shift in the right direction, but it’s still a duck and weave, and accomplishes nothing.
I can totally see leaving out e-book only publications. There’s really no reason for a book to be available only as an e-book, other than laziness or an unwillingness to accept the risk. It is a safe assumption that these books wouldn’t win anyway.
Hey John– did you see where ITW is promoting self-pubbed ebooks too? You can submit it online like you did before. They also have audio resources thru a company called ACX, I think thats the name. Yeah, ITW is doing really great stuff.
So, as I understand it, this new eligibility extends only to those self-published authors who were formerly traditionally-published with a publisher who meets all the criteria on the ITW laundry list of requirements? And self-published authors who have never been traditionally-published are ineligible, regardless of how many books they’re selling? Is that right?
Forgive me for saying this, John, but as long as groups like the ITW and the MWA continue to sneer at indie authors and pretend they all write “crap”, they will be buying a lot of ill will which will carry over to the day when they finally decide to admit them as first-class members. Many of these authors will give these groups the same cold shoulder, and deservedly so.
Mike, I don’t think the issue is a presumption that ALL independently-published books are junk, but merely that the bulk of them are. Without some guidelines, judges would be flooded with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of entries. I’m thinking of high school students submitting their teen angst, and white supremecists who want to vent. I have had both submitted to me for evaluation at conferences. I just came back from a conference where one of the attendees wrote a thriller that is 370,000 words long–and he steadfastly refuses to cut it because he considers it be to perfect as it is.
Anyone who’s ever been part of a conference ot critique group knows how proud writers can be of really awful writing. Having judged for both the Edgars and the Thriller awards, I can attest that the burden is already huge, and that some of the books that are submitted never should have been. To open up a new floodgate would be madness.
John Gilstrap
http://www.johngilstrap.com
I agree with Gilstrap that quantity is the problem, just as quality is. If ITW or any other opens its doors to anybody with a keyboard why not just call it the Inclusive League of Typers? Clubs have to have some standards, even if you don’t agree with them. Otherwise there would be no discrimination. Just kidding.
Aside from a contest that only one author can win in each category, joining the ITW (as an associate) gets you most of the advantages offered to its active members. Anyone can attend Thrillerfest and make the contacts that are crucial to building a career. I attended Bouchercon before I was published.
I let my memberships lapse on all but ITW because it is what the others can’t and will never be. They will address the eBook only hing sooner or later, but sooner than the others.
There’s really no reason for a book to be available only as an e-book, other than laziness or an unwillingness to accept the risk.
I couldn’t disagree more. How in the world is it lazy?
There’s also a financial matter. I figure with a professional editor, formatting, cover art, etc, you could spend 2,000-5,000 dollars. Add printing a few hundred hardcovers, or trade paperbacks, and you’re in for up to maybe $10,000 without any promotion costs. EBook alone can be quite a bite for a lot of authors, and out of reach for others. Nothing lazy about a significant financial expenditure.
I self published two thrillers as ebooks–there are no paper versions. I researched and wrote the stories; took them each through a critique group of solid, working writers; learned how to format the manuscripts; and released them on multiple platforms. Now I’m promoting them via my blog, Facebook, Twitter, requests to book bloggers, etc.
Because I don’t have money to spare, I had to keep my costs down. I paid a graphic designer to do the covers, and I’m paying $10 a year for my blogsite. Otherwise, I’ve done the work myself. It was a lot to learn.
I don’t feel ‘lazy’ or ‘risk avoidant.’
I feel tired.
I also feel satisfied that I’m doing the best job I can.
As one who self-pubbed 3 novels in ebook, print and podcast before getting them accepted by a traditional publisher (albeit only in audiobook form via Audible) I can attest that doing it on your own is really rather hard. But boy is it rewarding when you finally get recognized as being something more than dross. I was a paid associate member of ITW for two years before I finally qualified for author membership earlier this year. I not only understand the but applaud the requirements. Without them, like the Johns said, there’d be a lot of stinky doo-doo out there that makes claims to greatness because of an affiliation. Now via ITW’s leadership there is a way that some of the gold nuggets out there can rise more easily from the cesspool.
I don’t know, John. I can’t help but think self-pubbing will play a role in every author’s career. I’m just sayin’ . . .