This week I’m supposed to reveal the results of the survey we ran last month on the book production processes used by our readers. It was a lot of work, so I’m going to milk the survey for as many posts as I can. But we also have a theme for this month, focusing on “publishing fouls.” Guests and minions alike have been providing stories and hints on how to recognize and avoid being victimized by those in the publishing world who prey on eager neophyte authors.
I could tell the story of the book my mother self-published more than twenty years ago. At the time I was vaguely aware of vanity publishers, although I have no idea how. I was concerned someone would take advantage of her, but she’d done her research, knew the pitfalls, what her goals were, and made all the right decisions. Of course, the fact that my dad is so cheap (he’d claim the word is thrifty) and she was dependent on him to bankroll this, would mean any vanity publisher was going to be wasting their time with her. Continue reading “And the Publishing Process Survey Says: Part 1”
The conversation in the minion canteen sometimes takes interesting twists. The other day the authors in the group started discussing the process they use to produce a book. They also discussed which things they pay for, what they do themselves, and those they trade or barter to accomplish. (When we complain about how empty our stomachs are after eating, we’re told how ungrateful we are to have the opportunity to slave for one of the best websites around, so we’ve learned to talk about other things, like writing.) Having nothing to contribute to this discussion and knowing how these things always turn out (the Evil Mastermind or his Enforcer asking “who wants to do a post on this?”) I started taking notes.