Blogger: Rachelle Gardner
One of the themes that crops up frequently in my conversations with writers is the romantic fantasy of the author as a loner, holed up in his/her writing cave, emerging to deliver a masterpiece to the publisher, then retreating once again to remain forever invisible while the book takes care of selling itself.
But the truth is:
Publishing is a collaborative art and business.
The world conspires to persist in the fantasy of a book as the product of a single brilliant individual. We all love this fantasy, readers included. Even those of us involved in the business of creating books can succumb to it.
It’s true that the book is primarily the product of you, the author. But in general, I’d say that most books end up to be roughly 75% the author, 25% everyone else involved in bringing the book to market.
For some authors, the percentages may be different. But even for self-published authors, collaboration is usually a crucial element in publication.
The author may spend months or years digging up that book from deep down inside, and wrestling it to the page. But when the author completes that manuscript:
→ An editor will edit it.
→ A copyeditor will copyedit.
→ A proofreader will proofread.
→ A designer will design and typeset the interior.
→ Another designer will create a cover.
→ A marketing team will create and implement a comprehensive plan for promoting your book.
→ A sales team will work with retailers, physical and online, to make your book available to consumers.
→ A printing company will print your book.
→ Bookstores will sell your book.
By the time your book arrives in the hands of a consumer, dozens of people have played an important role in getting it there. You’re the one who gets the ball rolling. You’re the most important part of this collaborative team. Without you, no one else on the team has a job.
But it’s a collaboration. Don’t get too used to the fantasy of the solo artist in a cave, toiling alone. If that’s the life you want, you probably should give up the idea of publication, and simply write for yourself, because even self-publishing requires you to come out of your cave and work with others.
It’s great to know so many people have a part in the process. It allows other people to enjoy your success with you.
It’s NOT a cave, it’s a dining room! And hubs is using up the other half of the (refinished by yours truly) antique sapele table.
One thing I learned early on is the absolute gold that is a critique partner. Holy cow, there’s nothing like an honest, loving kick in the butt.
I’ve wondered about how various tema members feel when their “new baby” hits the shelves. I’d hope they’re as proud as punch, I know I would be.
Funny, I’m sitting at my refinished antique table (by yours truly) with my laptop too. The rest of the table is full of family stuff. I do have a cave, but the entrance is blocked by a bear of a pile of stuff right now. It’s ok, I’m not the live-in-the-cave-and-never-come-out type. I like to go in, out, in, out. :o)
No way! Do you also equate the smell of sanded wood with pure happiness?
What kind of wood is your table?
Do you refinish much?
Oops, I digressed here into a support network for Varsol addicts.
I’m thankful for the collaborative aspect of publishing a book. For one thing, I know I’m not good enough on my own to create the masterpiece. Having critique partners, (one day) an agent, and a publishing team can only serve to create a beautiful product.
I like that, Jeanne, the masterpiece takes a team. It’s so true!
I remember listening to a commentary on the movie The Incredibles. The animators finally mastered how to digitally mimic falling fabric. Apparently, at the premiere, when Edna Mode drops Helen’s old uniform and it falls like fabric should fall, they went insane with joy.
A tiny part of a masterpiece, but to the people who perfected it, it was the best part of the whole movie.
I didn’t know that. I love to see joy in “small” accomplishments. Those little details are important, yes?
Little joys are still joys, aren’t they?
Small details make for the fine things that complete the whole.
Writing can be a very lonely profession. I love knowing I’m part of a team, even if I can’t see the other players at the moment.
BRAVO!! I’m posting this all over Facebook and Twitter! When I speak, my main point to beginning writers is one I wish I’d learned sooner: your book, if you choose to offer it for publication, is a PRODUCT that is sold by a COMPANY in the course of doing BUSINESS. Yes, it is your creative work and as such should be your BEST work with as much polish and good writing as you can manage. But ultimately it will be edited, pushed, prodded and poked, so to speak, until it resembles the product your publisher wants. This is not a bad thing, at least in 99.9% of the cases (unscientific number used for dramatic effect), but it is reality.
So very true! Thanks for pointing it out! I would also add that with the uprise in internet usage, the solo part has become even smaller. I write ebooks and very rarely do I feel totally alone in the process.
I appreciate your insight on this topic. Before I wrote, I did believe in the fantasy of a solitary writer creating a masterpiece. Now that I have a few years under my belt, I realize even the writing process can be similar to the publishing one.
Even before getting to the submission process I have had so much collaboration on my character’s motivation, conflict and desires with my critique groups. All of those people who help me become a better writer are due credit.
We all help one another is this big business of creativity. Praise the Lord for that!
Our kids’ pediatrician once told me he chose to work in a group practice (rather than have his own office) because he valued his fellow doctors’ opinions and the ability to work as a team on confusing cases. With my son’s medical issues, I sure am glad that 1) he’s such a good doctor (talent and hard work are needed) and 2) he knows when he needs/wants to ask for help to better serve others!
Writing and publishing in such a team has similar benefits. 🙂
Thanks for this post.
Call me crazy, but I actually like the fact that all the pressure isn’t on me! 😛 Kidding, sort of. I love the idea of having a team of people working together to bring quality work to readers. My writing has improved 10-fold since I gained a critique partner. I can only imagine how much better it would be with an agent and editor by my side.
I like the idea of collaboration. Sometimes others can see something you haven’t that’ll really spice it up.
I like the ideal of collaboration and being part of a team however you forgot to add the agent to the team.
Editing is big. While I know what I’m saying, and my husband usually does (that’s only because he’s used to me), I get strange looks from other people (thankfully he’s also good at translation). Plus it seems I’m into speaking parenthetically lately. Hmm.
Oh, and if I had to design a book cover it would probably be white with black block letters. I can only be so creative and I failed art in kindergarten. My youngest wouldn’t even let me help paint the bathroom.
I love the solitary aspects of being a writer. But I also love the collaborative aspects of having my work published. To me, it’s a win-win combination because I get to nurture both sides of my nature. Part of me wants to be a hermit and part of me loves interaction with others.
I have no idea if I like the collaborative aspects. I do like being in my cubby hole when I’m writing, so I think the collaboration is going to take some getting used to when the time comes, probably with a clamp on my tongue.
Wonderful post, Rachelle, reminding us that we’re not alone!
Blessings,
Becky
I don’t have a published novel (yet), but I do know, having written for magazines, that the same process applies. Editing, copyediting, fact checking, art to accompany the piece … and on and on. The author may put words to the page but many, many others are pushing that baby out there. And frankly, I enjoy the collaboration, especially after the solitary process of writing.
Hello Ladies,
I was wondering . . . Is this a woman’s only writing forum?
I haven’t seen any “guys with dogs” here, or is G’s with D’s another separate forum I’m not aware of?
I also don’t own an antique table so I don’t know if I would fit in.
Thanks. don and Doodle
Don, a few brave hombres hang out here, but you’re taking chances if you a) diss chocolate and b) diss chocolate. Otherwise? Hello!
Rachelle,
My romantic fantasy is me in a cabin, wearing yoga pants and a cozy sweater, hair in a sloppy bun, my husband prepping dinner … only to be seen when the bestseller is down for the night.
With that in mind, I think I should add to your list of those who helped in the process: The children who resisted bothering you while you pecked out your prose (if those children actually exist) and the husband who took on extra chores when deadlines were due. I actually have one of those.
Wanted to share a comment I was inspired to make regarding books houses, and what books are to me. (On the subject of books, libraries, etc)
…Why brick & mortar when there is Amazon? A book in the hand is worth 200,2000 online,and doesn’t require shipping charges and the wait!
Instantaneous gratification, and books in person actually radiate energy. No offense online bookstores, love ya, use ya, (If I can’t find a near copy), but you don’t get the same feeling as 1000+, 10,000+ books all at once in 3 dimensions. Books are their own art, just as they are, and carry the history and love of all who shaped them, labored over the copy and proofing, designed them, illustrated them, bound them, shipped them, all circling around the authors who birthed the universes and magic inside of them. An intoxicating melange!
How lucky we, to enter a such a temple, to inhale and hold breathing galaxies in our hands.
The first time I had an academic article published, I was both shocked and thrilled to see how such a simple change at the end of the article gave it that punch it needed. So, from the beginning of my publishing experience, I developed quite a bit of respect for editors. I can’t wait to have my book in production and see what wonders the editors will do for it. I know it will only become better.
I look forward to the collaborative effort involved in publishing a novel. It should be
interesting to see how others perceive it &
how everyone’s creativity melds together.
“It’s true that the book is primarily the product of you, the author. But in general, I’d say that most books end up to be roughly 75% the author, 25% everyone else involved in bringing the book to market.”
Not to sound flippant, but then why is the author only getting around 15% of a return for every publishing dollar, when they are doing 75% of the work?
Furthermore:
→ An editor will edit it.
(Sometimes the best editor is the writer him or herself. Yet, should every writer need an independent editor, the problem is the higher up the talent level of the writer one goes, one needs an equally talented editor. For some writers, they may not find one.)
A copyeditor will copyedit.
→ A proofreader will proofread. (The nitty-gritty roles which are truly helpful. No disagreement here about needing a copyeditor or a proofreader).
→ A designer will design and typeset the interior.
(It is rare I find a book that has a typeset which does not offend the eyes; personal tastes, I suppose? I agree completely that it is an important role, but as I said, it is one which does not seem to be carried out by professionals far too often. Bad typesetting gives the feeling of a cheap and tawdry book, no matter how well told the story is.)
→ Another designer will create a cover.
(Sometimes I wonder if those designers have even read the galleys of the books they are designing for; oftentimes the cover is devoid of resonance with the story and its themes. Personal taste, once more to be sure, yet I still feel it is valid; any writer wants a cover as unique as the story they offer to the reader. Shouldn’t the cover itself be a work of art?)
→ A marketing team will create and implement a comprehensive plan for promoting your book.
(Telling the author to visit every Motel Six in the country and wait in a Barnes and Nobles where no one shows up is not a marketing plan, it is cruelty! 🙂 )
→ A sales team will work with retailers, physical and online, to make your book available to consumers.
→ A printing company will print your book.
→ Bookstores will sell your book.
As you said Rachelle, a writer should be aware of the resources available to them when they sign their contract with a publisher; but they should also be aware that those are limited resources, and the industry is still in a period of change. What ways would you suggest for an author to help with those wanting to make the book sell?
Great post, Rachelle.
I’m in the midst of editing my first published work, and it’s exciting to see the collaboration process up close. The cover is beautiful–something I could never have done on my own. The editing is making it tighter and clearer. What a joy to it is to have someone else care (almost) as much about my baby as I do.
I could see the temptation of feeling solo a bit more in fiction, but with my non-fiction book I see it grow and develop with every workshop, discussion (in person or email) and – as of a couple weeks ago – my first weekend retreat (with a second scheduled next month).
Even before the actual hand off to a publisher/printer…, I see how so many discussions have led the idea to where it is, and look forward to each new opportunity to speak and see where it goes from here.
Publishing to me is an important milestone, to be sure, but in the big picture is part of the journey more than a finish line. I see publication as the open door to a larger conversation with more people, with the opportunity to shape their lives, as they shape mine.
Rich
Even Jesus had a team. What makes us think we are solo in our mission? Like you said, even self publishing requires some sort of collaboration. Thanks for that confirmation.
This is the reason I pulled back from self-publishing and decided to give more time and effort to the traditional publishing route — the experienced hands and minds that would lend so much more legitimacy and weight to my book.