Just found your Substack through this (excellent!) post. I think another contributor to the trend you’re describing is the increasing focus on rapid release, read through within a completed series, and other indie publishing “best practices” that emphasize and prioritize volume and speed. More books as fast as possible. In 2020 I wrote and published four books, which meant I had to front load editing, cover design, and marketing costs before any significant sales began, which is scary and potentially not feasible for many. That definitely doesn’t invalidate any of the excellent points you’ve made here. Just another industry trend that militates against taking those essential, quality steps along the way in favor of saying “I can’t afford it!” And then regretting the shortcuts later.
I agree for sure. Rapid release has its place. I'm going to be doing "rapid release" on two books this year. However, they're already written and are being edited. They'll be released together, but I'm not trying to write and release them in a hurry. While some authors absolutely can do the rapid release thing at high volume and quality (Brandon Sanderson, I'm looking at you), most of us can't. It leads to awful burnout.
I am a book a year author which, before the rapid release trend became so common, was considered very quick. I remember waiting a year or longer for some of my favorite authors to release the next book in a series back in the early 2000s and 1990s. I'm old. Shh.
Honestly, I think the rapid release trend will calm down once a lot of the people in it start burning out. It's the idea of firehosing books so you can get income while meeting the algorithm's requirements and... Sure, it'll work for some people for a while. Some authors really thrive under that and invest money in their editing and covers and just write like lightning. However, I would never advise anybody START there. Starting with spending time and investment in their first book and using it as a way to learn to do the rest of it? That's the key.
An author I did a podcast with recently started the way I am: a book a year or so, and over the course of fifteen years ramped up to rapid release because he got his process nailed down, and he does very well for himself. He also pays his editor and has a very streamlined, familiar process and knows his genre extremely well. It makes sense that he is able to perform to that degree and do what he does. He also is a full-time author. That's his whole job. It's easier to do when you have all day every workday dedicated to your writing and publishing work. Nobody usually STARTS in that place.
All this to say: I agree with you wholeheartedly and hope authors learn that the process isn't as simple as it might sound on the surface. Nor is it free. It takes investment (in money and time) to get to that place. As I've said for years and many others have said before me, publishing is a marathon, not a sprint.
In all fairness, Sanderson averages a book a year. He only had more last year because he wrote a ton during the shutdown and then edited and polished them before announcing that those bonus books existed.
That's fair. I just recognize him as being incredibly prolific as an author and doing so with a high degree of skill and understanding. I don't want to undercut people like him!
Excellent post! Thank you. Editing is expensive, but becomes more affordable as you improve in your writing skills (which happens when you work with a competent editor).
This is absolutely the case. As your writing improves, your editing costs drop because the amount of time it takes goes down. The more experienced authors I work with require a far lighter touch than the newbies who need a lot of really deep edits and instruction. Is it worth it? Absolutely. One of my favorite things about what I do is seeing the authors I work with grow and learn!
I'm all for helping people where I can, but doing it at the cost of my own health and ability to live in the world isn't something I can swing. I know a lot of editors feel a huge amount of pressure and guilt about the situation, too. It's rough. I really wish folks saw our value for what it is.
Just found your Substack through this (excellent!) post. I think another contributor to the trend you’re describing is the increasing focus on rapid release, read through within a completed series, and other indie publishing “best practices” that emphasize and prioritize volume and speed. More books as fast as possible. In 2020 I wrote and published four books, which meant I had to front load editing, cover design, and marketing costs before any significant sales began, which is scary and potentially not feasible for many. That definitely doesn’t invalidate any of the excellent points you’ve made here. Just another industry trend that militates against taking those essential, quality steps along the way in favor of saying “I can’t afford it!” And then regretting the shortcuts later.
I agree for sure. Rapid release has its place. I'm going to be doing "rapid release" on two books this year. However, they're already written and are being edited. They'll be released together, but I'm not trying to write and release them in a hurry. While some authors absolutely can do the rapid release thing at high volume and quality (Brandon Sanderson, I'm looking at you), most of us can't. It leads to awful burnout.
I am a book a year author which, before the rapid release trend became so common, was considered very quick. I remember waiting a year or longer for some of my favorite authors to release the next book in a series back in the early 2000s and 1990s. I'm old. Shh.
Honestly, I think the rapid release trend will calm down once a lot of the people in it start burning out. It's the idea of firehosing books so you can get income while meeting the algorithm's requirements and... Sure, it'll work for some people for a while. Some authors really thrive under that and invest money in their editing and covers and just write like lightning. However, I would never advise anybody START there. Starting with spending time and investment in their first book and using it as a way to learn to do the rest of it? That's the key.
An author I did a podcast with recently started the way I am: a book a year or so, and over the course of fifteen years ramped up to rapid release because he got his process nailed down, and he does very well for himself. He also pays his editor and has a very streamlined, familiar process and knows his genre extremely well. It makes sense that he is able to perform to that degree and do what he does. He also is a full-time author. That's his whole job. It's easier to do when you have all day every workday dedicated to your writing and publishing work. Nobody usually STARTS in that place.
All this to say: I agree with you wholeheartedly and hope authors learn that the process isn't as simple as it might sound on the surface. Nor is it free. It takes investment (in money and time) to get to that place. As I've said for years and many others have said before me, publishing is a marathon, not a sprint.
Thank you for the comment!
In all fairness, Sanderson averages a book a year. He only had more last year because he wrote a ton during the shutdown and then edited and polished them before announcing that those bonus books existed.
That's fair. I just recognize him as being incredibly prolific as an author and doing so with a high degree of skill and understanding. I don't want to undercut people like him!
Thank you for this article. I enjoyed reading it.
I'm glad you did! That makes me happy to hear. :)
Thank you for writing this!
I'm so glad you found it helpful!
Excellent post! Thank you. Editing is expensive, but becomes more affordable as you improve in your writing skills (which happens when you work with a competent editor).
This is absolutely the case. As your writing improves, your editing costs drop because the amount of time it takes goes down. The more experienced authors I work with require a far lighter touch than the newbies who need a lot of really deep edits and instruction. Is it worth it? Absolutely. One of my favorite things about what I do is seeing the authors I work with grow and learn!
This is an incredible post. Thank you so much for writing it!
Thank you! I'm so glad you found it helpful and interesting. :) I appreciate that tremendously.
I've been saying for a while now that many indie authors expect editors to subsidize their businesses. Those aren't the people I want to work with.
Thanks for writing this post, E. I hope it makes a positive impact in the author world.
I'm all for helping people where I can, but doing it at the cost of my own health and ability to live in the world isn't something I can swing. I know a lot of editors feel a huge amount of pressure and guilt about the situation, too. It's rough. I really wish folks saw our value for what it is.
Stay true to yourself. As long as you see the value in what you do, you will charge accordingly.
This is a post that all authors and editors need to read. Great job!