Authors: Throw Yourself Upon the Gears of Big Publishing

Today's indie author revolution can trace its roots back to the Free Speech Movement that began at U.C. Berkeley forty-seven years ago.

I gave a presentation in Berkeley this past Sunday before the Northern California chapter of ASJA where I argued that book publishing is a matter of free speech.

My visit to Berkeley represented a homecoming of sorts for me. My parents were U.C. Berkeley students in the '60s, I was born there in '65, and my mom, who was active in the Free Speech Movement, brought me me along to many of the demonstrations (first in utero and later in a stroller). I returned in '83-'88 for my business degree.

Mario Savio Channels Author Angst

On December 2, 1964, Mario Savio delivered his now-famous "Bodies Upon the Gears" speech on the steps of Sproul Hall. I embedded it below.

I listened to this speech for the first time this weekend as I prepared my ASJA presentation. I was struck by how Savio's feelings of injustice (he was upset at the university administration for limiting free speech on campus) map so closely to the angst so many authors feel today.

Although I've always felt authors should have the right to publish, it wasn't until I watched the video and reviewed the origins of the Free Speech Movement that I fully grokked the connection between book publishing and free speech.

A tweet or a blog post is free speech, but a book -- especially the long form variety -- is about the weightiest form of deep-thinking, deep-expressing free speech possible.

Big publishing is in the business of selling books, not publishing authors. It wasn't always this way, and there remain welcome exceptions among progressive independent publishers and university presses.

Publishers acquire books they think they can sell. They say no to most authors, thereby preventing those authors from expressing themselves through the communications vehicle that is their book.

I don't fault publishers for saying no. After all, it's not their responsibility to enable your free speech rights when they think Donald Trump, Snookie or Justin Bieber have more important things to say.

Until recently, if a publisher refused to publish an author's book, it limited an author's ability to reach readers. Sure, you could self-publish in print, as the great Dan Poynter has advocated for the last 30 years. However, without distribution access to brick and mortar bookstores -- something the big publishers controlled -- it remains nearly impossible for self-published print authors to reach readers.

The indie e-book revolution has changed all this.

Now, the e-book printing press is free and available to all. Indies enjoy the same (or better) distribution opportunities as traditional publishers. Major e-book retailers such at the Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony and Kobo are all hungry to carry self-published ebooks. Indies can out-compete the big boys with faster time-to-market and lower prices.

The big publisher gatekeeper-as-curator is being replaced by readers, as it should be.

Say No to No

My challenge to you, the author, is to throw yourself upon the gears of big publishing. Take a stand and say no to those who tell you no.

If your book is finished and ready to stand before the judgment of readers, you have the freedom to get it out there today as a self-published e-book.

The tools for ebook publishing and distribution are fully democratized. Any author, anywhere in the world, can publish instantly and at no cost. All you need is a finished well-written and well-edited manuscript, a word processor, an e-book cover image, an Internet connection, and the desire to have your words heard.

 

 

 

Follow Mark Coker on Twitter: www.twitter.com/markcoker

Comments

[Terry Connell]

07:29 AM on 05/22/2011

It's not always about the sales! I was holding onto my manuscript for years, after being told in 1994 that there was "no market" for my book (though several really liked what I had written). A year ago, when my religious father's version of our family tree didn't include my partner (who had died from AIDS), I decided to resurrect my manuscript and ensure that our family's history was told - completely. Now.....if anyone knows a publisher looking for a well-written memoir, send them my way.

[heneverdies]

01:11 PM on 05/19/2011

Yes, I agree but a lot of eBooks are not selling. I just released a joke book and it takes awhile to go through all of the platforms. I did the joke book as a test for my real novel Hellucination which should be available in late July across all platforms and print on demand. I have a marketing budget so that should help get it out there.

[SF TKF]

11:22 AM on 05/19/2011

The reality is (as stated by Mr. Coker himself to the Washington Post) that Smashwords has less than 50 people making more than $50K a year. The Amazaon Veep states in the same article that “There are a lot of books, even low-priced, on Kindle that are not selling at all.” So yes, feel free to fling yourselves on the gears of publishing, but don’t be surprised if no one notices.

[pendletonauthor]

05:07 AM on 05/19/2011

Good comments, Mark.
I now have a number of my books and those of Don Pendleton at Smashwords, with more to come.
I also have many of our books in print, and I love the freedom of self-publishing.
Thanks for the opportunities you have given authors, Mark.

[PyjamaPress]

01:53 AM on 05/19/2011

Well said

[JedDiamond]

01:04 PM on 05/18/2011

Mark, Good connection. I was there in 1964 and agree this was a time of standing up for our beliefs and not being afraid to bring the system to a halt rather than let it continue to roll over our lives. We are at a similar time in human history. Caught between an old system which David Korten calls Empire and on the way to Earth Community. We need people everywhere who have the courage to stand for the truth and write about it so others can learn and share. Thank you for creating a venue for us all.

I'm glad I published my recent book, Mr. Mean, on Smashwords.

[JasonMatthews]

12:12 PM on 05/18/2011

I love it, Mark. My back has tread marks from the gears to prove it. Viva la revolution!
http://ebooksuccess4free.wordpress.com/

[Saffina Desforges]

11:26 AM on 05/18/2011

Completely agree Mark! We got told 'no' (well, not no, as such, more like, sorry, we daren't!) and 50,000 sales later (since January 2011) Sugar & Spice is now #1 in 6 catagories on Amazon UK and #3 in the paid store!

That's not counting B&N/Nook and Smashwords Sales.

Now people are starting to come to US and we have to decide whether to say 'yes'!

Saffina Desforges- Sugar & Spice

[Lisa Pelto]

11:22 AM on 05/18/2011

Excellent article. Great perspective from a man who is making it possible for impossible things to happen.

[ChrisPetersenTX]

11:19 AM on 05/18/2011

Great article Mark... Keep 'em coming.

Christopher David Petersen
http://christopherdavidpetersen.wordpress.com