Lesson learned from recent events blowing up the publishing world:
How publishers find new authors has changed.
I'm a bit slow with change. I tend to avoid it until I have no choice, or it slaps me in the face and wakes me from my fantasy world of malted balls and endless frozen custard treats, which don't cause me to gain an ounce of weight.
I've seen change taking place in the industry for years. I chose to ignore it and continue to believe what I'd been taught when I started down the challenging road to publication.
Over a decade ago, a friend convinced me to join the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and attend their National Conference to study the romance industry and learn how to find an agent and editor and eventually sign a publishing contract. At the conference, publishers taught workshops on how our manuscripts needed to be polished before we submitted to agents and editors. It needed to be in mint, out-of-the-box, ready-to-be-published-yesterday condition. If the formatting was off, that was a strike against you. (Read their submission guidelines.) If there were grammar or punctuation errors, you were kicked off slush pile island and into the no-author-land's trash bin. If the writing wasn't tight, the plot meandered, the characters were inconsistent, or the story too cliché, then you received a standard-form rejection letter.
Better luck next time. Try again. Try harder. Study the genre. Know your market. Learn the craft.
Back at the keyboard, rejected authors took writing classes and editing workshops, hired editors and book doctors, formed critique groups with other authors to polish their stories. Authors continued to submit their manuscripts—again and again—to hundreds of agents and editors. (Some authors used spreadsheets to keep track of submissions.) A month would go by until an editor or agent responded to a query letter. Another month went by after an author submitted a partial (synopsis and first three chapters). Six months to a year later, an author might receive "the call" that their full manuscript passed the tests: The acquiring editor loved it. Senior editor loved it. The marketing team could sell it. And anyone else whose opinion was needed chimed in with a resounding, "We'll buy it!" (This was the author/agent/editor/publisher dance for a long time.)
About five years ago, a shift occurred in the industry. Self-publishing became a viable alternative for rejected manuscripts to find an audience. Ereader sales grew. Demand for ebooks grew. Digital publishers had smaller overhead and could afford to take a chance on new authors seeking publication. Large publishers experienced greater competition as more authors found different (and at times more lucrative) avenues to publish their manuscripts. Blogs, forums, and websites like Wattpad, where writers can upload and share their creations with the masses, provided an endless variety of stories for readers and a way for new authors to get noticed.
And many writers are getting noticed on these platforms—through fan fiction (fanfic).
For those of you not in the know, this is Wikepedia's definition of fanfic:
Fan fiction, or fanfiction (often abbreviated as fan fic, fanfic, or simply fic), is a broadly defined fan labor term for stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by the original work's owner, creator, or publisher; also, they are almost never professionally published. ... Most fan fiction writers assume that their work is read primarily by other fans, and therefore tend to presume that their readers have knowledge of the canon universe (created by a professional writer) in which their works are based.
50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James started out as Twilight fanfic. James posted her work on a fan forum, and many excited Twilight fans, who longed for a titillating version of the young adult lovers, made her fanfic take off on the web. After 50 Shades was bought by a publisher, names and most plot scenarios were changed, so it didn't read too closely to Twilight. The story was broken up into three volumes like the Twilight books. Riding the enormous wave of the Twilight phenomenon, 50 Shades hit the bookstores and electronic shelves where thousands of forum readers who loved James's original fanfic, Twilight fans, and many readers, curious about the hype, made this book an international bestseller with a movie being released next year.
Now another type of fan fiction is in the news for the millions of readers who have made it a digital success on Wattpad. RPF (Real Person Fic) is a form of fanfic that involves ... you guessed it ... real people. Most RPFs are about hot celebrity crushes.
Enter Anna Todd, the woman behind After, an RPF about the band One Direction. Her serial story, centering on a romance between band member Harry Styles (playing a surly, sexy bad boy college student) and Tessa (an innocent, smart, and conservative college student), was distributed in installments through Wattpad and received about six million views and legions of devoted fans. Through Wattpad, authors of fanfic and other types of writing can post their work for readers to comment and share. Some material is in the first draft stage. Authors can post work to receive feedback on their WIPs (works in progress) or to just get their story in front of readers, so they may choose not to edit or re-read their work before posting—like Todd has revealed about her story and process.
The excitement surrounding her series didn't escape the notice of the publishing industry. She signed a three-volume publishing deal with Simon & Schuster with talk of a possible movie deal.
Cue the new normal: build a fanbase and get discovered. (Kudos to Anna Todd for her success with this platform, and other authors who saw the shift and are reaping the benefits.)
I feel bad for authors who believed they weren't good enough and who followed the old publishing rules (see above) to only be rejected time and again. Authors who gave up writing because they couldn't get a publishing contract—even though they won writing contests, received reader awards and even had agents. Some had publishing contracts that weren't renewed because their line closed or their acquiring editor left and the new editor didn't like their writing style.
I empathize with my fellow writers who are frustrated after spending years pursuing publishers only to be told that their writing was solid and their story great, but there wasn't a market for their book. Several of these writers are now on the best-selling lists after self-publishing their books. A few have had editors approach them to buy their books since they have proven their saleability. One editor recently contacted an indie author to buy the same book she had rejected the previous year. This was after the book reached the USA Today Best-selling list. These indie authors invested money and time marketing, branding, and perfecting their writing to build their fanbase and sell books. Now that they weren't a risk and had a built-in audience, the publishers were willing to take a chance.
Of course, considering the uncertain state of publishing with houses closing and constant layoffs, no wonder publishers are looking to invest in sure things. It's a business after all.
I'm a bit disappointed with myself for not seeing publishing as a business from the start and believing their judgment and approval was the be-all and end-all when it came to books. Actually, the power belongs to the readers. They are speaking with their purchases and downloads, and the internet is providing a variety of distribution channels for authors.
So, what lessons can authors learn from these developments?
How publishers find new authors has changed.
I'm a bit slow with change. I tend to avoid it until I have no choice, or it slaps me in the face and wakes me from my fantasy world of malted balls and endless frozen custard treats, which don't cause me to gain an ounce of weight.
I've seen change taking place in the industry for years. I chose to ignore it and continue to believe what I'd been taught when I started down the challenging road to publication.
Over a decade ago, a friend convinced me to join the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and attend their National Conference to study the romance industry and learn how to find an agent and editor and eventually sign a publishing contract. At the conference, publishers taught workshops on how our manuscripts needed to be polished before we submitted to agents and editors. It needed to be in mint, out-of-the-box, ready-to-be-published-yesterday condition. If the formatting was off, that was a strike against you. (Read their submission guidelines.) If there were grammar or punctuation errors, you were kicked off slush pile island and into the no-author-land's trash bin. If the writing wasn't tight, the plot meandered, the characters were inconsistent, or the story too cliché, then you received a standard-form rejection letter.
Better luck next time. Try again. Try harder. Study the genre. Know your market. Learn the craft.
Back at the keyboard, rejected authors took writing classes and editing workshops, hired editors and book doctors, formed critique groups with other authors to polish their stories. Authors continued to submit their manuscripts—again and again—to hundreds of agents and editors. (Some authors used spreadsheets to keep track of submissions.) A month would go by until an editor or agent responded to a query letter. Another month went by after an author submitted a partial (synopsis and first three chapters). Six months to a year later, an author might receive "the call" that their full manuscript passed the tests: The acquiring editor loved it. Senior editor loved it. The marketing team could sell it. And anyone else whose opinion was needed chimed in with a resounding, "We'll buy it!" (This was the author/agent/editor/publisher dance for a long time.)
About five years ago, a shift occurred in the industry. Self-publishing became a viable alternative for rejected manuscripts to find an audience. Ereader sales grew. Demand for ebooks grew. Digital publishers had smaller overhead and could afford to take a chance on new authors seeking publication. Large publishers experienced greater competition as more authors found different (and at times more lucrative) avenues to publish their manuscripts. Blogs, forums, and websites like Wattpad, where writers can upload and share their creations with the masses, provided an endless variety of stories for readers and a way for new authors to get noticed.
And many writers are getting noticed on these platforms—through fan fiction (fanfic).
For those of you not in the know, this is Wikepedia's definition of fanfic:
Fan fiction, or fanfiction (often abbreviated as fan fic, fanfic, or simply fic), is a broadly defined fan labor term for stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by the original work's owner, creator, or publisher; also, they are almost never professionally published. ... Most fan fiction writers assume that their work is read primarily by other fans, and therefore tend to presume that their readers have knowledge of the canon universe (created by a professional writer) in which their works are based.
50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James started out as Twilight fanfic. James posted her work on a fan forum, and many excited Twilight fans, who longed for a titillating version of the young adult lovers, made her fanfic take off on the web. After 50 Shades was bought by a publisher, names and most plot scenarios were changed, so it didn't read too closely to Twilight. The story was broken up into three volumes like the Twilight books. Riding the enormous wave of the Twilight phenomenon, 50 Shades hit the bookstores and electronic shelves where thousands of forum readers who loved James's original fanfic, Twilight fans, and many readers, curious about the hype, made this book an international bestseller with a movie being released next year.
Now another type of fan fiction is in the news for the millions of readers who have made it a digital success on Wattpad. RPF (Real Person Fic) is a form of fanfic that involves ... you guessed it ... real people. Most RPFs are about hot celebrity crushes.
Enter Anna Todd, the woman behind After, an RPF about the band One Direction. Her serial story, centering on a romance between band member Harry Styles (playing a surly, sexy bad boy college student) and Tessa (an innocent, smart, and conservative college student), was distributed in installments through Wattpad and received about six million views and legions of devoted fans. Through Wattpad, authors of fanfic and other types of writing can post their work for readers to comment and share. Some material is in the first draft stage. Authors can post work to receive feedback on their WIPs (works in progress) or to just get their story in front of readers, so they may choose not to edit or re-read their work before posting—like Todd has revealed about her story and process.
The excitement surrounding her series didn't escape the notice of the publishing industry. She signed a three-volume publishing deal with Simon & Schuster with talk of a possible movie deal.
Cue the new normal: build a fanbase and get discovered. (Kudos to Anna Todd for her success with this platform, and other authors who saw the shift and are reaping the benefits.)
I feel bad for authors who believed they weren't good enough and who followed the old publishing rules (see above) to only be rejected time and again. Authors who gave up writing because they couldn't get a publishing contract—even though they won writing contests, received reader awards and even had agents. Some had publishing contracts that weren't renewed because their line closed or their acquiring editor left and the new editor didn't like their writing style.
I empathize with my fellow writers who are frustrated after spending years pursuing publishers only to be told that their writing was solid and their story great, but there wasn't a market for their book. Several of these writers are now on the best-selling lists after self-publishing their books. A few have had editors approach them to buy their books since they have proven their saleability. One editor recently contacted an indie author to buy the same book she had rejected the previous year. This was after the book reached the USA Today Best-selling list. These indie authors invested money and time marketing, branding, and perfecting their writing to build their fanbase and sell books. Now that they weren't a risk and had a built-in audience, the publishers were willing to take a chance.
Of course, considering the uncertain state of publishing with houses closing and constant layoffs, no wonder publishers are looking to invest in sure things. It's a business after all.
I'm a bit disappointed with myself for not seeing publishing as a business from the start and believing their judgment and approval was the be-all and end-all when it came to books. Actually, the power belongs to the readers. They are speaking with their purchases and downloads, and the internet is providing a variety of distribution channels for authors.
So, what lessons can authors learn from these developments?
- How publishers acquire books is changing. They are not only mining the slush pile and taking pitches at conventions but browsing the book selling sites, fanfic sites, anyplace writing can be posted and shared.
- Publishers are looking for authors with fanbases. For years, editors and agents have suggested that authors have a web presence and be active on social media even before they are published. They want to know that a new author is invested in marketing their book (because the publisher usually doesn't have a large budget to spend on newbies). However, it seems that putting yourself out there isn't enough anymore. Sharing work for free and building a readership through these free downloads may be the way to garner attention for your stories. Publishers are looking at download numbers and recognize that these free downloads can translate into sales for a published work.
- Wattpad and fan forums offer good marketing value for indie and traditionally published authors. Indie authors who aren't looking for a publisher may turn to sites like Wattpad to acquire new readers by hooking them with a serialized book that could lead to sales of their other books. Even for authors signed with a publisher, these sites are a free way to market with the potential to reach millions.
- I shouldn't be afraid to share my work. I know authors like me who believed that their work needed to be perfect (an impossible milestone) before they released it to the masses. So much so, that we NEVER released our work, afraid of rejection or failure or the Big Bad of the author world—criticism. Don't get me wrong. I still believe in the importance of editing and making a good impression. When I sell my work, I owe it to my readers to offer a polished product. However, I will never be discovered by readers if I don't take a chance. Readers on these forums don't expect perfection but want a story that hooks them. Maybe these forums and sites like Wattpad could offer the chance to dust off the old manuscripts and do some test marketing.