What it means is struggling authors are getting shoved back to the bottom of the slush pile. If not automatically thrown in the bin.
More and more publishers seem to be relying on their already “established” authors who bring them money, or books by “celebrities” such as Snooki or Lauren Conrad, there’s “reality” books by “experts” in the fields of money, like Dr. Phil who’s son now has a publishing house (talk about keeping the money in the family), weight loss (any Biggest Loser trainer), cooking (any Masterchef contestant), and now bloggers are big on their list.
Bloggers are getting books deals and they don’t always go well, like Cashmere and Cupcakes, based upon the blog of the same name. The book didn’t sell well, or get good reviews either because the people that did buy realised it was just a replica of the blog and were disappointed that they forked out money for something they had already seen for free. It wasn’t different, it wasn’t unique, it was the same.
Bloggers and celebrities get things easy. They don’t actually do much hard work. They don’t sit and write a novel, spend a year editing, refining, printing, schlepping it to agents and publishers, and hoping they pick up a book deal. They just get book deals handed to them by agents or publishers who ring them. Yes, RING THEM with a book idea that turns into a book deal.
They have no idea what it takes to write a novel, they have no idea what it takes to come up with an original idea and write and write and write. They just get a book deal. They don’t do what the rest of us do and that annoys the hell out of me. Like “reality” show contestants, always thinking this is their big break and they’re going to get books and tv shows out of their short time in the spotlight.
Where are 99% of them now?
Exactly!
Bloggers may be getting publishing deals but that does not make them “real” authors. That does not mean they will succeed. But as long as publishing houses see bloggers as easy targets to pick up as they are already online with some sort of presence then those of us who slog our guts out printing manuscript after manuscript don’t even stand a chance any more.
I feel sorry for struggling authors, of which I am one. Even though I self-published and many self-published authors do extremely well, we are looked upon as not “real” authors. Because our books were not picked up by ACTUAL publishers and aren’t in ACTUAL book stores.
We may not be in bricks and mortar book stores but we are available at some of the biggest online book stores available.
My books are at Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords Amazon and Kindle and tens of thousands more.
I AM an author. And while my books have not been physically published and placed in physical book stores (although there aren’t that many any more) you can buy physical printed versions of my books at Amazon. So at least I don’t have 10,000 copies lying around, not being sold, having to be sent back to be pulped like so many publishing house book store books are.
In the meantime, I’ll go simmer about ANOTHER blogger getting a publishing deal based on what she writes about on her blog, and she’s not even the stylist she claims to be, she has no qualifications, just helped out her friends to make money. ANOTHER book about the same thing from their blog and making money from it while getting their book published by a publishing house and placed into physical book stores (not that there’s many of them any more).
What the fuck is the world coming to when people who have no idea get book deals for having no idea? So many of the blogger turned books deals are based upon reader comments or the pictures that get posted. No “real” content, just snippets and tidbits or photos and comments.
Jesus Christ.
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