Published: What does it mean?

The other day I was in the store debating which Febreeze to buy when someone called my name. I looked up and there was this older woman who looked kinda familiar. She introduced herself as the mother of a friend of a friend. We chatted for a bit and she congratulated me on publishing my book. I said thank you, feeling both pleased and curious if she knew the genre in which I’m published.

She said she has a friend who wrote a book that will be published later this year. I asked who she was published with and she said, “Oh, she’s publishing it herself.”

I said, “oh.”

She went on to say how her friend says it’s so hard to publish a book.

You know what? I was angry. And damn it, I felt cheated. Quite frankly, the emotion surprised me so I took some time to think about it.

If she’d said it was hard to write a book, I’d have simply agreed. It is hard to write a book. But that’s not what she said. She said it’s so hard to publish... a self-published book.

I realize this is a touchy subject for some and this blog isn’t meant to draw any lines in the sand. Believe me, I’m happy being Switzerland. But with that little phrase, she diminished the months of querying, synopsis writing, looking for an editor, submitting, waiting, the rewrites to make the book good enough for that editor and publication. And the satisfaction of knowing I’d done it, I’d gone through the gauntlet and was now a published author.

The years of looking for an agent, the partials, fulls, hope and ultimately, so far, rejection all diminished with that one phrase.

The querying part of publishing can take over a year. Over a year out of my life spent attempted to be published when I could have just sent it to any of the self-publishing tools and voila! Published.

You see the difference? Anyone can send a finished manuscript to a self-publishing company. I don’t want to be anyone.

Yes, I know that any good writer will send his or her book through beta readers galore, and there are edits, and edits, and frustration and joys in that process, but that’s only the first step of publishing, or it used to be.

I also realize I’m an e-book author and some of those published by NY, in print, might think the same thing about me, but you see, although the road to publication is shorter in e-publishing, it’s not automatic. I just skipped the agent step. In e-publishing, I have never run across an editor that accepted less than the best. But then again, I don’t query the e-publishers that would.

I am not saying I’m better than someone who chooses to self-published. I’ve read some damn good self-published books, but I’ve also read awful books.

The publishing industry is changing, we all know that. And if you want to skip straight to published and bypass the agent/editors, you’d be among thousands that take that road. Some would say skipping the agent/editor step is a good thing. Industry professionals make mistakes. And they do, they're human. They are also the filter on the publishing industry. They are the gauntlet that I choose to run, because I believe it's necessary.

I was sure my first book was publish-ready. If not a NY Times best seller than damn close. I read it now and blush.

The second book was a winner. I look back on the agent comments, which stung at the time, and I have to agree.

I want the gauntlet because even though I may emerge bloody and bruised on the other side, I'll also be a much better writer.