Where’s The Gate? ~ More Thoughts On Publishing…

 I published my book, Notes from An Alien.

I published it…

Even though FastPencil was listed as the publisher, they are far from a traditional publisher. For instance, they don’t have the Rights to my book; I do.

I’ve written a number of posts comparing Self-Publishing with Traditional Publishing. You can type “traditional” into the search box up there in the right corner or just click this link to see them. The most direct comparison I make is in the post, Traditional VS Self Publishing ~ Some Thoughts…

I keep track of what Joel Friedlander says on his blog, The Book Designer. Recently he brought attention to a new label in the publishing world in his post There Are No Gatekeepers, There Are No Gates.

That new tag is “Nongatekept authors“.

Of course, the gatekeepers of traditional publishing are the agents and editors and publisher’s marketing staff.

You can find plenty of articles claiming these gatekeepers are there to assure the reader they’re getting a book that’s worth their money–well-written, well-edited, possibly even of lasting literary value…

One question that seems to be ignored quite often is: Can’t a self-published author provide all those things to their readers?

Our society is dripping with fears–economic, political, social, and literary. Some people (especially in the mainstream houses) are afraid of authors who decide to do, on their own, what the traditional publisher has so often done.

And, since fear often breeds lies, many folk are now claiming that the ease of publishing will rob the reader of literary quality.

I’ll let Mr. Friedlander speak to that fear:

“The myth of the noble gatekeepers is exactly that, of course. There never were bastions of cultural authority in this country, empowered to pass judgment on their fellow authors. But if you face year after year of rejection, it can be seductive to think there are.

“The problem is that this worldview completely dismisses the fact that publishing is a business, and publishers businesspeople. Books that find a home with profit-oriented publishers can be defined this way: books that might sell enough to make the publisher a profit.

“That’s the reality of gatekeeping, no matter how romantic it may sound. Publishers who make no profit are no longer in business. The business of business is profit, pure and simple.”

I heartily recommend reading his whole post…

What are your feelings and thoughts on being Nongatekept?

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