Many forms of art can be practiced either solo or in a creative ensemble. A pianist can play piano solo, in a trio, or in an orchestra. Dancers can dance solo, as a couple, or in a group, as can singers. However, some forms of art, like fine art painting, sculpture, and the like, are usually solo efforts. Movies, TV shows, and plays on the other hand are almost always ensemble creations. So where does writing fit in?
Traditionally published books can be said to be ensemble work since traditionally published books go through an extensive development process, which these days, may start with re-writes requested by the agent even before the work is offered to publishers. Once the book is purchased by a publisher, a team of editors, artists, designers, and publicists , go to work to make the work as commercially appealing as possible.
Because all these publishing house contributions are anonymous, it is hard to say how much of the final shape of the story they have contributed, but judging from the praise authors often give to their agents and editors, (which I’m certain is not a symptom of Stockholm Syndrome) as well as a page or two worth of credit to others who have helped them write the work, one has to wonder just how much of the initial form and words of the story end up on the cutting room floor. Indeed, one gets the impression that if publishing was like music, the book cover would read “Author X and the Z Publishing House Book Staff.”
Which brings us around to self-publishing. One would think that the name itself – self-publishing – would tell you what’s going on in this type of publishing. I suspect that once upon a time, it was actually a true description. Those days may be long gone. My impression is that a more accurate term these days would be “self-financed publishing,” since it seems that a traditional publishing mindset is taking hold in the self-publishing world. While I am sure that self-publishing authors have long sought feedback from other people, and the assurance that they wouldn’t be making a fool of themselves if they published their story, these days it seems that self-publishing authors are expected to employ as many professionals as they can afford to publish their work. All of which makes the only difference between traditional publishing and self-publishing being who pays the wages of all the various professionals involved in producing the book, even as traditional publishers are shedding editors and other staff positions.
This trend annoys me in self-publishing. Especially the case for hiring developmental editors in self-published works. But on reflection, I believe that is because of my particular view of art, arising out of both as a painter and from my age. I started writing all of my published works after the age of 60, when I had read close to two thousand books and knew what I wanted in a story. Thinking about it however, I realize that for writers thirty or more years younger and less read than me, a case can be made for using editors to help these writers find their way, and in a lot less time than it took me.
That said, while I have no issues with writing as an ensemble art form, it simply isn’t my ideal of art. I view my stories like I do my paintings, which is to say a unique expression of me. I want to tell my story, my way. I think it works. I know from my experience in painting that all art finds its audience. The only question is how large of an audience it will find. In art, size doesn’t matter. While iIt does matter if we’re talking about creating a product, as art, no.
And by the same token, I embraced the whole process of “publishing.” As a painter, though not an illustrator, I could nevertheless produce some sort of cover. I also worked in the printing business, so I had an understanding of the requirements for print books. Where I lack the ability – I can’t spell and I’m far too careless and blind in proofreading – I found much-need help with volunteer beta readers. In addition, I’ve been exploring other options to help me produce better books, like adding on-line grammar checkers to my process. All of which is to say, I have pursued both my writings and my publishing, as solo art. And for the same reason – I want my art to be mine. And mine alone.
As I said at the top, I’m not against writing as an ensemble art. It may be necessary for commercial products, though with only a 33% success rate, and that 33% due in no small amount to the promotional budget of a book, one has to wonder just how essential certain aspects of it are. So for me, writing as a solo art is the most authentic form of writing. Which is why I love self-publishing.
Still, where do you guys land on this topic? Are you all in on the traditional publishing method, feeling that it produces a superior outcome? Or are you all in the do everything yourself camp? Or somewhere in the wish-y-washy middle? How much input do you need and use from other people to (re)shape your story? How much of the story do you think this input contributes? As someone who has the mindset that “here’s my work, warts and all, like it or lump it,” I’m curious to hear the viewpoint of writers who are perhaps more of a perfectionist than I am, or who are more open to embracing the cooperative approach, readily incorporating into their work the ideas of alpha, beta readers, and editors.
Writers Supporting Writers 
Like you, I started writing and self-publishing in my 60s. Almost 5 years later I have 13 books published and another WIP. I’ve also gained a wealth of information on how the industry works, and it’s been a steep learning curve. At one point I did some training as a sub-editor, and it bothered me how bad some of the work that came in was, and how much work was needed to make it worthy of publication. It also bothered me that, using the editor’s ‘house rules’, everything that passed through was homogenised, to an extent – although there was a stricture of ‘leave something of the author’s voice’. Nevertheless, I came to the opinion – similar to your own – that the published work had moved far from the author’s original. I won’t go on, but my own experience has been that I’m good with editing and formatting my own work, with a couple of good friends to read through, catch errors and give developmental feedback – I return the favour for them. I’ve learned to make my own covers too, and I self-publish via KDP. In short, I’m in control of my own work, which is my own work – not an ensemble piece from myself and a group of others. There will be those who need the input of others, although they need to use this to learn. I’ve been in the position of reading a friend’s MS and feeding back – about a passage which had no place in the text, undermining the MC and the premise of the story – only to have him ignore me. His choice, but this was a gaping flaw, and I wasnt the only one to think so. There’s little point in using the experience of other if you’re unwilling to learn from it. Anyway, I’m going into a rant here so I’ll stop. Thanks for an interesting post. 🙂
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I sort of think that learning by experience (& mistakes) is a slower, but more organic way of developing one’s talents. Self-publishing allows you to do that. It is said that 90% of trad published authors are out of the business, in part because they are not given time to develop their skill.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
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You’re welcome, and right. Development of talent and skills is needed, but I think there are those out there who don’t understand that. They think it’s okay just to write and publish, without any need to improve. Whatever, I prefer the self-published route. Thanks again for your post. 😊
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I like to do it mostly myself, occasionally seeking input from trusted friends and family. But ultimately, I make the final call on all the book’s content. If all my trusted sources said, “we hate this,” but I like it, and can’t think of an alternative that we all like better, I’ll keep it.
I am fortunate in that my mother is a professional graphic designer, so she designs my covers for free.
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I will make some changes, but I only give it to my wife and beta readers after the third or fourth revision, which by that time, it is what I consider the final copy. It’s then up to my wife and beta readers to change my mind.
Thanks for your thoughts, Berthold.
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I’m in the DIY camp too. I’ve seen many admonitions to the effect that you must not self-edit. Now, does that mean developmental editing, in which you hire someone to help you shape the story, or someone to check spelling and grammar at the end of the writing process? Could be either or something in between. I have relied on critique partners and beta readers to do the credibility and readability checks, but I do all my own proofreading.
When it comes to covers, I went from rather lame ones early in my publishing career to professionally designed and back to doing my own more recently. I think we all have to identify what parts of the process we can do ourselves and what we need to hire or ask others to do. I think true indies try to do as much as they can themselves. It depends what one’s goals are (selling lots of books or just putting them out and hoping someone reads them, or something in between).
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Thanks for sharing your methods and experiences, Audrey.
On a side note, as I mentioned, I think your self-made covers are your best. Just a personal opinion, obviously. But then you look at book covers in general, and best sellers in particular, there simply doesn’t seem to be discernable pattern as to what covers work and which don’t. Which is good. They’re only the wrapper for the good stuff inside.
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It’s like any other visual creation. Some like it and others don’t. But cover images should match the book inside. And some readers buy books because they love the covers.
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Those admonitions you mention have started feeling like self-edit shaming.
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If you have the skills to self-edit, go ahead and do it, I say!
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Thank you!
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I didn’t start writing until I was 58. Self-published all the way, doing as much of the work myself as I can. My niece is my cover artist, and most of the proofreaders (paid) I’ve had over the years have been friends and family.
I made huge mistakes when I first began writing and republished those early books many times. I definitely feel I have learned a lot about writing along the way.
I like that you said this: “here’s my work, warts and all, like it or lump it,” That’s how I feel about my books. I know what they are – light, fluffy – something to pass the time for a few hours. Definitely not literary fiction. However, I do have readers and a surprising number of followers at BookBub.
I presently have 17 books self-published. I hope to go into 2025 with a bang. I have two books finished (ready to be published), and I am writing three more.
I liked your thoughts in this post. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences, Maddie. Like you, I’ve learned a lot by experiences, i.e. mistakes, in self-publishing. The most important thing I learned was that proofreading is a very special talent. Though my wife was a teacher and initially did all my proofreading, which was a very big job a dozen corrections a page, typos still slipped through. All of my early books have gone through half a dozen revisions after publication to fix typos that readers found. Some of those readers even volunteered to beta read my books, and some continue to so to this day.
Like you, I write light fiction, and really, I’m rather amazed at the number of books I’ve published over the last almost ten years. I suppose the key is having both the time, being retired, and mental bandwidth to write every day. That and a computer with spell-checking. I wrote my first novel, 40 years ago, on a manual typewriter. I brought the typewriter out the other day to play with. I can’t imagine how I did it.
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Proofreading! I can proofread for others well. I am too close to my own work, and my brain fills things in that aren’t there, so I definitely need other sets of eyes on my work.
I love typewriters but have never written a book on one. That must have been satisfying. I do write by hand when I find myself waiting – car service, family at doctor or hospital, etc.
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The loss of control is one of the reasons I never make a serious effort at getting an agent or going through a traditional publisher. The story I write is the story that I want to write and I really don’t want to change it to make an agent or publisher happy.
As for the process I use… I typically have a couple of friends read my finished manuscript just to make sure I’ve done something worthwhile. And if they find typos or things that don’t make sense, all the better. I did have another writer who had an editing business edit a couple of my pieces. But not developmental editing — that goes back to the whole control thing and wanting to tell the story I want to tell. No the editing I paid for was just a bit more comprehensive than what my beta readers provided. To make sure nothing was missed.
These days … the only thing I pay for is a cover artist because I such at that. And she’s very reasonably priced. Typically charging me $200-250 per cover. When I learned about her, somebody else told me that they paid $2,000 to another cover artist. My jaw dropped. I’m fine with my cover artist and what she charges. 😉
I see what some people describe as their process (on blogs, on Twitter, etc.) and it sometimes amazes me how much money people spend putting their book out there … with almost no chance of making that money back.
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Thanks for sharing your experience, Mark. You are one of the pioneers of ebook self publishing.
Now days you don’t just need a cover artist, you also need a cover designer. There is no end to what you need, until your money runs out.
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Sometimes I think writers are encouraged to be self-critical, to assume that we really don’t know what we’re doing and need to pay others to help us out. So when our books don’t do as well as we like, we brand ourselves failures if we didn’t get professional editing or an expensive cover image. It’s almost a form of gaslighting.
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I spent my professional career doing ensemble writing. I did the writing, but I usually had to represent the perspective of a group and reconcile conflicting needs in the intended audience. Intellectually challenging, yes, but not something I wanted to devote my life to. My fiction writing is my own. I went to college and grad school to learn the craft. I’ve been at this long enough that I know when I need another set of eyes on a particular aspect of what I’m writing and ask for feedback.
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Thank you for your professional perspective, Liz.
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