The debate: self vs traditional publishing

The first in an occasional series of debates sees us tackle the thorny issue of self vs traditional publishing.

Which is best? Write a book, put it out yourself, be responsible for your own destiny or write a book, find an agent, let them find a publisher and see the book hit the shops, reviews pages and shelves. Which is best? There's merits in both, surely.

We asked Dan Holloway, curator of Eight Cuts press, self-publisher and author of books such as The Man Who Painted Agnieszka's Shoes and Clare Hey, editor at Simon & Schuster and brains behind Shortfire Press to present both sides of the argument. So... read on as we go toe-to-toe on this debate.

Ding-ding-ding!

For self-publishing: Dan Holloway

People get very aerated about self-publishing. I have certainly been one of them. On 2 January 2009, I posted an article on Myspace called 'Let's Make 2009 Publishing's Year Zero' and at the time that Pol Pot reference was right from the heart. That post spawned a collective of self-publishers of experimental and literary fiction, imaginatively called Year Zero Writers, and marked the start of a journey into self-publishing that has seen my position both mellow and harden in ways that if the metaphor were physically accurate would probably mean I'd turned into some kind of rice krispie klein bottle.

I self-publish for several reasons but at the heart of it are two very simple ones.

1. My writing goes off on too many tangents for an editor ever to agree to work with me. Wait, no. Ah, yes: I knew as soon as I started doing any research at all the chances were I would never make a career out of writing, publisher or no. But if I wanted a publisher I would have to fit myself into a box of their choosing (I have tried at times. I wrote a thriller and self-published it. It sold. It was even one of Blackwell's staff picks of 2011. But I'd rather have teeth pulled and salt rubbed into the stump than try and write another one). I would have to make the thing I loved a second day job.

2. I am one of those ridiculously idealistic creative types who want to make their mark/change the world/sing to a different tune/touch people's lives. I want to change the way people think about words themselves. I want to be part of something that does for literature what YBA did for art. And in 2009 I saw no place for that with a publisher. Yes, I will certainly fail. But I would also fail at being a career writer. The difference is I wouldn't enjoy the attempt in the latter case, whereas I enjoy pretty much every moment of what I do now.

Now, in the short space I have left, let me explain how my position has changed. It has changed because publishing and self-publishing have changed. On the one hand, there are (or it feels like there are) far more exciting, tiny publishers doing innovative things well. At the same time, more and more people are self-publishing as a commercial decision. And doing very well. All power to them. The media is picking up on this too, and running their stories.

The result of these two things is that the self-publishing world that was edgy and exciting when I dipped my toe in feels awash with endless marketing-obsessed types who will only at a push remember that the product they have to shift is, oh yeah, a book. And the world of the small press has become really rather exciting.

So my sympathies have changed radically if not switched.

But my decision hasn't. I have the freedom to take on any project I want - from a novel written on Facebook to a Modernist experiment in decoupling form and content using transgressive limericks. I set my own timetable, my own agenda, and choose my own collaborators. I am living an adventure and not a second job.

For traditional publishing: Clare Hey

At an in-house launch meeting the other month a colleague told a story about how one of Simon & Schuster's authors, Lisa Genova, had started out: she had self-published her debut novel. So what? That happens all the time. But what was interesting to me was that she hadn't done this in the past year or so, but back in 2007. She'd written Still Alice, inspired partly by her grandmother's struggle with Alzheimer's, but couldn't find representation for it, so had copies printed and flogged them herself from the back of her car. That was five years ago. Today she is published by S&S across the globe, Still Alice has sold over a million copies, spent 40 weeks as a New York Times bestseller, and Lisa has gone on to write two further bestselling novels.

Since 2007 much has changed, both for traditional publishing houses and for self-published authors. Today Lisa would not have had to print copies of her book and travel miles to sell it; with a couple of clicks she could now publish direct onto Amazon. And many have done it, and hugely successfully too. But what hasn't changed is that sometimes it takes more than just one voice shouting to get people to listen.

It is not a coincidence that many self-published authors have chosen to 'come in-house'.  Sure, authors don't need to be published traditionally. But the reason we are given time and again by self-published authors who come to us - authors who have had considerable success on their own terms - is that it is not only the print edition that they want, but the skills, contacts and, crucially, experience that a traditional publishing house offers. It is an editorial relationship, a dedicated publicist, a knowledgeable and connected sales and marketing team.

But what is interesting about the self-publishing phenomenon is what readers are telling us. We publishers can't kid ourselves that readers care about the logo on the spine of our books. And perhaps, despite being more available and transparent than ever, we are not as connected to the reader as we might be. So while there are lots of things the publishing industry does well, there are many places where we can learn from those self-publishing. Are we publishing what people really want to read? Are we representative of the country outside of the London bubble? Do we really cater to readers of all ages? The answer is probably not. We can do better.

But in a world where there are so many different forms of entertainment to choose from, where our attention is demanded from all angles, the publisher - the publishing machine, if you will - can use its might, its combined voice, to shout for the author and the book. Working together, the publisher and the author can become greater than their parts. As that Toyota advert rather cheesily says: we're better together.

So there you have it... impassioned statements from two very knowledgable individuals. What's interesting is that the boundaries between self and traditional publishing are changing, the landscapes are evolving. People are venturing out into hybrid publishing, or self-publishing to make a name for themselves before venturing to publishers with a readymade audience. Or they're continuing to use the freedom that self-publishing allows to produce arts experiments, creative experiments and unique voices that write to write more than they write to be read.

It's an interesting place to be right now, as it's always changing, and who knows where we're be this time next year let alone in 2022. What we do know is this, though... that the need for both self and traditional publishing will never go away because both offer such different experiences.

Bios:

Dan Holloway runs the literary project eight cuts gallery and is the MC of the spoken word show The New Libertines. He is the author of several self-published novels including The Man Who Painted Agnieszka's Shoes for which he was listed as one of mashable's top 100 writers on twitter. His latest self-published book is Last Man Out of Eden, a collection of poems on the subject of lost friendships.

Clare Hey is a Senior Commissioning Editor at Simon & Schuster and runs digital short story imprint Shortfire Press. Clare was previously at HarperCollins, where she worked with authors including Lionel Shriver and Tracy Chevalier.

We want your comments! Tell us what you think... which one you would consider, your experiences and whether you have any questions for either contributor...