I’ve made myself unpopular before, by suggesting that easy, cheap self-publishing is not the instant ticket to success that many writers dream it could be. The blunt, sad truth is that many self-published authors now publish too soon. In their rush to market substandard or just-good-enough work, they neglect to hone their writing craft. Or they’re so new they can’t even see the flaws in their work.
I am incredibly grateful that self-publishing (as it is now) didn’t exist when I was an utterly clueless writer in the early nineties. I wouldn’t have made much money, I’d have suffered burnout, and probably stayed away from writing for longer than my art-decade hiatus. Or I’d have had enough success to ensure I remained lazy, and never pushed myself to become a better writer.
Locus Magazine has an excellent essay from author Kameron Hurley, on her reactions to the self-publishing glut and the myths that have grown up around it.
It’s worth a read for those of us considering self-publishing: are we doing it for the right reasons, and are we prepared?