What would you do if an Author gave you negative advice?

[Himandi1]

I went to a book signing with a friend and when it was my turn to get my book signed, I stepped up and smiled, passing her the book. I was asked if I had a question for the Author. I said yes and asked her... "what advice would you give a young Author, like myself, who was interested in self-publishing her book?"

HER RESPONSE: Give it up!

I was shocked. I said, "you mean don't give up?"

She responded, "no, I mean give it up. If you can't get a traditional publisher to sign you, then you aren't any good."

Then she yelled NEXT.
I wanted to jump over that table and strangle her - I was so mad.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

[Lisalovecraft]

I would ignore that advice. It is old fashioned. While there are many horrible self-published books out there; there are also some great ones. It's upsetting when people we admire turn out to be dunderheads. Sorry that happened to you!

[Gustavsson]

Self publishing subject aside, it sounds like she was having a really bad day? Or she's just obnoxious in general. Anyways, I wouldn't take her advice. When people can only be rude, it's best not to listen to them. Judgmental people often haven't thought their opinions through.
But on the self publishing subject, you still might want to consider alternatives. I don't think it's the first option for most authors. Traditional publishing has its advantages, many of them having to do with money. Quality-wise, I don't think there's anything wrong with self publishing as long as you've edited it thoroughly.
Don't let the haters get you down, Himandi1. Even published authors can be wrong.

[moderntimes]

The author was rude but correct. Self publishing is narcissistic. My rule for this is to watch which way the money flows. If it's out of your wallet, that's the wrong direction. Even if the inflow is small due to maybe a teeny advance from the publisher, it's better than your paying.

The author was also correct that if your book is good enough, it will be picked up.

Sorry, but I review books and I've seen self-published books full of typos and grammatical errors, as if written by some 4th grader. And I don't care how careful the author is regarding the book, it takes a professional editor and proofreader to put the book in proper shape for publishing.

Sometimes the answer you're not hoping for is still the right one. But yes the author was rude to be so abrupt. A more reasonable answer would have been better.

I sat through a book signing and Q/A session from fans for one writer who was abrupt and rude to the people who'd come to buy his book: the late Robert B. Parker, creator of the Spenser PI series. If a writer doesn't want to be cordial and pleasant with fans, just refuse to do signings and appearances.

On the other hand, I've had nothing but the nicest experience with the famed mystery writer Robert Crais. He's patient with difficult fan questions and is about the nicest guy I've ever met via a signing. And as I remember, someone did ask about self publishing and he smiled and told the person that it was essentially a dead end and to keep honing the skills and working to place the book with a professional publisher or agent.

Which is the advice I give to those who want to self publish. But I'm nice about it.

[ALynnPowers]

That answer seemed a bit rude. It is attitudes like that which actually make me want to stay away from traditional publishing houses, because people there just have that kind of high and mighty attitude that they are better because someone else said that they could sell their book for them.

I had a friend whose book was published through a publishing house, and it was the worst experience in the world for her. She advised me to take the self-publishing route because at least then, I knew that I wasn't going to get screwed over.

Anyway, I would just take it with a grain of salt. It was just one person who told you that. There are lots of other people in the world who can give you advice, and you don't have to listen to everything you hear. Get lots of opinions and see which piece of advice speaks the best for you.

[moderntimes]

When my first 2 novels were purchased and published, I was treated just fine. I was never pressured nor did my editor try to make me change themes and the rather dark content of my books.

It's often said that AFTER your book is picked up for publishing, then your work REALLY starts. And this is true. I spent weeks and weeks going back and forth to the proofreaders and editors, working out the precise structure of the novels. And endless proofreading, literally line by line to get the precise and accurate text. Then simple stuff like my author headshot photo, my approving the cover art, and the general typography of the book. A terrific amount of work.

Did your friend say what specific problems she had with the publisher? Because I'm not at all a bigtime author, very low on the totem pole, and I've always been treated very nicely, and professionally. Maybe your friend thought that she could dictate exactly how the book was to look or something similar? Maybe if your name is Stephen King you can get away with that, but I tell everyone here that you're essentially treated like a wayward but beloved nephew or niece, and cajoling the publisher to get your perfect idea of cover art just won't fly.

All in all however I was treated like a real professional and I respected this. And when I've written articles for various magazines (I've written articles for local slick mags and also for national gun mags -- I'm a longtime gun owner w. concealed carry license, etc) I was also treated just fine. Especially when I was given the COVER for a national gun mag and paid 2,000 bucks! I had to laugh however. In the article itself, there were photos of me shooting my 1911 .45 and demonstrating my "special" technique for practicing safely. But the cover? No way they'd put a pudgy guy with shaggy beard, so I was "replaced" by this handsome manly guy in his manly executive office, making manly decisions and wearing a manly shoulder holster! My friends howled at the cover photo, and so did I.

When I worked for a local slick monthly mag (you know the type -- all big cities have them -- ads for upscale restaurants and articles about civic pride and maybe a keen new tavern), my boss, the editor in chief and the owner of the mag, would say "What do you want to write about this month?" And maybe I'd want an expose' on sham car repairs, or maybe a new recruit for the local baseball or football team, or an in-depth interview about a civic leader. And he'd say "Okay" and I'd write the article, take photos, and get paid $500 per.

All these experiences I've had were professional and the publishers and editors treated me very well. And I must emphasize that I'm not a famous writer (except in my daydreams, ha ha).

I can pretty well guarantee that the vast percentage of publishers treat their clients professionally. I've got no idea what bad experiences your friend had and she may have indeed become hooked up with a cruddy publisher -- they do exist. But not many are like this -- word gets around and writers who are prominent simply drop a bad publisher (or agent) like a hot potato.

Self publishing means that YOU pay, and that's precisely the wrong direction for the money flow. And yes, the author was right, that if your book is good enough, it will get picked up. Nevertheless, the author was very rude to speak so abruptly and sharply about this.

In my book signings, I've had some awfully dumb questions. But this person spent 20 bucks or whatever to buy my novel and get my signature, and there's no way I'd be rude or short with anyone at the signing. I'm just not that sort of guy. I take the hint from the fine mystery writer Robert Crais and act with kindness and patience to everyone who's there. After all, they are paying me!

Re. self publishing... I've got a pal who wrote a new mystery thriller and it's a pretty damn good story! He kept submitting it to publishers and kept getting rejected. So he asked me "What's wrong with the book?" and I told him "You really wanna know?" so he said Yes and then I took a PDF of his book that he'd sent me, cranked it over to MS-Word, and put 2 random chapters through a careful proofread. There were maybe 30-40 typos PER PAGE! Misspellings ("their" instead of "they're", "principal" instead of "principle", etc). Incomplete sentences -- and not just incomplete via modern writing, but simply wrong typing. Character names spelled differently from page to page. And plot holes (how did the guy know the baddies were at the wharf?) -- many many errors. And all fixable, except that he'd not fixed them.

What happens is this: Unless you're Stevie King or Hillary Clinton, and you submit a book for possible sale, the publisher has proofreaders who give the book a first read and advise "No" or "Yes" or "Maybe". And when there's a typo, each typo, the reader does a little mental tic-mark that downgrades the book's acceptability. And eventually the errors add up and the reader says Nope and you get a reject email or letter. "TBNT"

Thing is, the general attitude of publishers is that if you as the author don't care enough about your book to ensure that the typos and other errors are very few and far between, they go on to the next novel in the stack.

My pal isn't stupid and his book was a real treat to read -- nice twisty plot, good characters, etc -- but he'd just not been meticulous about his mechanics. That's what happens for most self published books that were originally rejected via conventional publishers -- the book's just not good enough.

[Avid SciFi Fan]

Making a comment like that with out even knowing the quality of your work or if you even tried to get a publisher is just plain wrong!

She should have said something about how it's a hard road to get picked up by a publishing house or something like that. Being rude is one way to loose fans (and potential customers).

As for what I would do? I certainly wouldn't buy anymore of her books.

[Melanie_Page]

If an author gave me bad advice, I would cry and then I would get mad and try to do better.
I recently (Sept 2014) published my first novel, a genre romance with kindle self publishing. I gave away a few hundred copies and got some good reviews but sales are still slow. It has been a great experience but there are a lot of not so great books out there.
It took me years to write my novel because I kept wondering if it was any good or if I was kidding myself. It is not perfect, I know that, and I'm working hard on the next one... when I'm not procrastinating on this site.
So, to sum up, I would read everything I could on the topic or in the genre I wanted to imitate and then imitate like crazy (in a non plagiaristic kind of way).
So, work hard and be brave.

[TLGabelman]

Well given the situation and that she was short on time for each person o think she was harsh and honest. I would guess its due to her experience and the experience of people she knows. I bet a real conversation would reveal she is not as rude as your initial impression. Then again some people are just assholes.

[C S Harper]

It is very unfortunate that this particular author was rude to you. I'm guessing she has been asked this question many times and thought that she was giving you a very honest response. Sure she could have been less blunt, but everyone is different. I definitely wouldn't let her words discourage me from accomplishing my goals. Maybe once you get out there you will see what she meant by her response to you. At any rate, you might just become a successful, self-published author. But yes, she could have been nicer with her response because without loyal fans she would not be where she is.

[moderntimes]

There is no doubt that getting a book professionally published (that is, purchased and published, not self-published), is very difficult.

It took me quite a while to find a publisher (selling my book) but it's worth it. Those who keep telling themselves that professional publishing is wrong or that self publishing is the new "right" way to do it is just a bit silly. If people wish to self-publish, fine. Just don't persuade yourself that actually selling your book to a real publisher is impossible. Hard? Yes. But it's still the best way to go. Keep working at it, and if your book is a good one, it will get picked up.

Regardless, as I said, the author was rude to be so abrupt. If the author is tired or whatever, then hey, don't go on a signing tour.

When I had my signings I received some tedious and fairly silly questions. But I took each question as politely and sincerely as I could. After all, these people were my supporters!

[TLGabelman]

@moderntimes i always enjoy reading your responses. You are quite thoughtful in your words and always honest.

[LivreAmour217]

Wow, that was a rude reply! I'm thinking that she just doesn't like the idea of self-publishing. While it's true that there are many awful self-published books out there, you will run into some good ones as well. I would not take her response pesonally, as she is probably of the mindset that every author should have to claw and scratch their way to publication (as she probably did). Since she hasn't read your work, she cannot comment on the quality of your writing.

If I had been in your situation, I would have simply walked away. Someone who is that rude is not worth my time and energy (or yours, for that matter).

[THWilliams82]

I have to say i feel the opportunity for sucess through self publishing is more real today than it ever has been. To say simply that its a dead end is a bit one sided. I feel the most merit comes from selling enough self published books to then be picked up by a publisher. Eg- 50 shades of grey (not well written), but a huge success through selling ebooks. It would never have been picked up by a publisher otherwise. As for spending money, you wouldn't start a business and expect to put $0 into it.

[moderntimes]

Well, regarding starting a business, the analogy is a bit faulty. I worked as an engineering consultant and surprise! I didn't pay them to go into work. They paid me. As a writer, that's what I do and that's what my "job" is and I expect to get paid for it, not pay others for the privilege of working. I work very hard at my writing, having taken over a year to write and edit my new novel and don't expect to then pay someone for the printing of it thereof.

I do realize that self publishing has taken off since the internet bloomed, and that's fine. It does provide a venue that otherwise only existed via hard copy "vanity presses" that mostly were scams. And yes, there are a few actual books that made it to success via self publishing.

But the point I want to emphasize is that if fledgling writers really work hard at their craft, they will find a market, and by "market" I mean finding someone -- a publisher -- who will pay you for your writing. I'm no Stephen King but I found a purchaser for my 2 mystery novels. And if I can do it, anybody can.