Everyone’s a writer

The last thing I want to do is discourage people from following their passion, especially if that passion is to become a published writer. The emergence of e-Books, especially Kindle, has no doubt helped many writers reach their dream of seeing their stories in print. There is a major downside to this anyone-can-do-it formula, however: suddenly, every single person on earth thinks they can become an “author” by simply writing down words on a page, formatting them into book form, and posting them on Kindle (and/or any number of other e-Book publishers).  

So what’s the harm, you say? It’s not as if anyone is forced to buy a book they don’t want. Well, that’s true of course, but think about this: The more titles available on sites like Kindle, the harder it becomes to make your book get noticed. I had no idea how many titles were actually available until my daughter gave me a Kindle for Christmas. It would take literally days to browse every title in the catalog if you clicked on each entry to get a synopsis. (And if you don’t do that, how will you determine whether it’s a book you want to read?)

It used to be, if you chose the self-publishing format to have your work printed, it would cost a literal fortune—$50,000 and up. I know because several of those places approached me when I first began soliciting agents back in the late 1980s. They sent out form letters claiming they heard about my book from such-and-such literary agency, and would be honored to “publish” me. They were great at hiding the fact they were vanity presses in disguise. I was never desperate enough to bite on those offers, but other writers must have been as vanity (later known as subsidy) houses flourished for decades.

Thankfully most of these “presses” have vanished into the wind, and we have to assume that’s because of the emergence of e-Book publishing. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the ease of getting a book up and running brings with it an onslaught of authors who have no idea writing is a craft that requires a skill set like any other occupation. I wish I could say I expect the problem to fix itself with time; alas, it’s much more likely the exact opposite will come to pass.