Are You Published? - Do you or people even know what that means?

INTRODUCTION:

It seems I have been on a blog post kick writing about things of interest to writers. Yeah, I do that from time to time. With that said, I saw a post on Twitter from a writer that posted an interesting question for discussion about being a published author. (@authorlinzfera) After reading many of the replies, I realized that many writers really do not understand what that word means in the writing world today. I also noticed that many answers, although not specifically stated, gave me the impression that some thought they were not a successful writer because although they have books out, they feel that they are NOT published. Of course, being me, I had to put my tactful 2 cents in. So I ask you. Do you even know what the word "published" means? Do not take that as an insult. You will understand as you read on.

BEING PUBLISHED:

The biggest mistake any writer can make is thinking they ARE NOT published if they have released a book. Why is that? May aspects of life and skills look to tradition. TRADITIONALLY, being published means you have been picked up by one of the TOP 5-10 traditional publishers. I get it. However, you are GROSSLY mistaken. That may have been true decades ago when I first started writing. However, the book industry today is the farthest thing from traditional you can get. Another HUGE mistake is reading so of the online crap that state brick and mortar bookstores do NOT support Indie Authors. Indie meaning, self-published authors. That is also NOT true.

Before I became a career firefighter and paramedic, I owned a retail business for 17 years. What most do not know is, and this does not apply to every form of retail, product manufacturers buy shelf space to be guaranteed their product lines will have space in a store. That concept would not work in a bookstore because at any given time, there are over 12 million titles available, and more being released each day. A bookstore would need to be the size of a football field. Therefore, bookstores only stock what is popular and usually by the most popular authors. Basically, authors that sell many copies of their books.

For this reason, when the internet was born, online bookstores became the number one source because it takes no physical space to display 12 million titles. If you are self-published and people are flooding your local bookstore looking for your book, they will stock it. No bookstore is going to turn away profit because you are self-published, so do not feed into that crap.

MOVING ON:

Now, to the question. Do you or people really know what the term "being published" means? I stated earlier, many years ago, when I started, there was no such thing or avenue for self-publishing. Therefore, if you wanted to release a book, you had to be picked up by a traditional publisher. That in itself was a challenge, but then, at that time, the competition was a fraction of what it is today, mostly due to technology. I was lucky and had the right topic for the times and was picked up by a traditional publisher, and was blessed to get a best-selling book out of it. When I left writing for a few years to raise three children, the industry exploded as the internet and technology grew. The publisher I was with went out of business, so it was a challenge for when I got back into writing. My point being, that is where the term "TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING" originated. A writer went with a publisher that published books in the "traditional" manner. Well, that went out with spats.

Welcome to the age of technology. As the online bookstore market started to boom, so much so that the big online sellers have virtually put the small brick and mortar stores out of business. Think about it for a moment. How many book signings have you done? If you really want to tell the truth, if you did a local signing at your local store, if you have one, most of the people that show up are friends and family. If you do a signing after a speaking engagement, which I often do, the audience will want to meet you. Other than that, the census at book signings has dropped so much that many of the large bookstores do not even do them any longer. Unless of course, your book is a smashing success. That data is also dependent on location. I live outside in a major metropolitan city that hosts one of the top-ten Ivy schools. They have a bookstore. I was invited to do a signing there because of the topic of one of my books, "A Woman's Fear." When I arrived, which I always arrive early and completely prepared, the spokesperson said to me, "Please do not feel bad if the turnout is not good. Our census at signing has dropped so much that we may stop doing them." I was fortunate and had a nice turn out, but honestly, smaller than others I have had in a less popular setting. My point is, deduct the family and friends that showed up for yours, and how many new faces were there?

Again, the industry is changing. People do not leave their houses as much, and because they can preview your books online, the times are changing. Honestly, I see great turnouts at the small bookstores in a smaller quaint town. Probably because it gives people something new to do rather than sit at home. With all this said, we have two basic types of publishing. The traditional publishing from a top publisher and self-publishing. Self-publishing breaks down into two categories but is considered self-publishing. The other type of self-publishing is called hybrid publishing. Not to make this too long, I will save what those are for another post.

IN CLOSING:

Let us answer the question. The fact is this.

Whether you are traditionally published or self-published. If your book has a published by credit, regardless of who that may be, which it must have to obtain the various ISBN's,

YOU ARE A PUBLISHED AUTHOR.

Under no circumstance or for any reason, feel, or make anyone else make you feel, that you are NOT a published author because you are not published by a traditional publishing firm. THAT IS HOGWASH. You have worked too hard to belittle yourself to that degree. You released a book, it had to be published by someone, you are published. PERIOD. Now, stand up and take a bow and be proud of what you have accompolished. Good luck and all the best. Enjoy .... Caesar Rondina

Check out my new private investigator series coming in 2020.

LINKS TO MY MOST RECENT BOOKS:

When Two Worlds Collide - A love story, is now available in print, e-book, and Audio book.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE.

Life Through A Mirror-When Murder Calls, - This murder mystery trilogy is now complete and available in Print, E-book, and Audiobook.

A Woman's Fear-Female Abuse is a must-read for every woman, and yes, even men.

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