Just How Awful is Traditional Publishing?

I laugh now when I think back to my querying phase. I was so naive! I don't think I technically did anything wrong when I queried agents, but my materials didn't exactly wow them, either. That could well have been the quality or lack thereof of whichever book I was submitting. (I queried three different novels.)

The writer's forum I browsed at the time had lots of posts describing how to write a query letter and a few regarding writing the dreaded synopsis, and I tried to follow the advice as best I could. I honed my query letter, not as much as I've since honed my book blurbs, but I put forth a lot of effort. I dutifully added my personal info at the end, which amounted to just adding meaningless words to the jumbled mess. "This is my first novel. I'm...(whatever)..." probably something about where I lived, as if anyone would care. 

I included no comps, because I didn't know any and I couldn't figure out how to find them. (It's much easier now with AI.)

With all three of those novels, I was convinced I really had something. Thus, despite all the rejections and all the "no responses", I kept at it. I'm not exaggerating when I say I submitted to over a hundred agents for each of those books. By the end, it sort of became a game. "Let's see what happens with this one!" 

Don't get me wrong. It wasn't a game. It was a puzzle I'd yet to crack. 

The hard truth is, even if those books had been spectacular, I would have never snagged an agent. The agent demographic couldn't be more dissimilar from mine: young; mid-twenties, extremely liberal, fond of "under-represented" voices, be they LGBTQ or indigenous. The only under-represented voice they absolutely don't want is an older female who's conservative and who writes about the world as it is, not the way someone wants it to be. Not that I ever divulged my age or political leanings, but my queries alone probably pointed agents in that direction (if they even read them, which I doubt).   

I freely accept my share of the blame. Writing three complete novels wasn't enough to develop my skills to the point that I'd be publishable. To be fair to myself, though, the third one did have potential; it just needed more polishing. (Still thinking about doing that.) And even though the first two weren't up to par, I did myself no favors in the way I represented them. I accepted other writers' advice, rather than following my own instincts, so my query letters ended up reading as rote. Step One: do this. Step Two: add this. Et cetera, et cetera.

I have no hard feelings. On the contrary, I feel immense relief going the self-publishing route. And I think I was ahead of the curve. Traditional publishing is not doing well. It's actually doing really poorly. If not for the short list of guaranteed best-selling authors, publishing houses could just as well shutter their doors. I understand the whole loss leader mentality, but I still find it hard to justify. Publishers buy these snooze novels for "cachet". Maybe they'll win an award and headquarters can mount a plaque on its office wall. Maybe an award will steer readers toward the houses' actual readable novels (by that short list of best-selling authors). 

I just finished reading two Substack articles pertaining to traditional publishing, and both of them depressed me. (And I'm not even in the game!) "Your Query and I Were Really Hitting it Off...Until I Read Your Summary" and "The Truth About Selling Fiction No One Says Out Loud". (The second one also spills some hard truths about indie marketing.) I almost forgot to include this one: "Dumped by the Prom Queen: 8 Things I Learned After My Agent Ghosted Me", which includes real answers from a literary agent.

The reality of traditional publishing is that it takes between 2 - 4 years for a novel to hit the shelves. First, of course, the author has to land an agent. That can happen quickly or can take up to a year. Then comes the polishing and editing. Then comes the shopping. If a publishing house bites, the author has to edit, edit, edit some more (maybe a year's worth). Book cover design takes about 6 months (??), and then there's the formatting and printing, and maybe some advance publicity.  

What fool is willing to take that deal? Especially for a pitiful advance and little hope of the novel selling? 

Authors who insist on pursuing traditional publishing have some wild-eyed notion, I think, that they're going to become superstars. I'd rather write, edit, and publish a novel when it's ready to be published. I'd rather rely on my own judgement, rather than a stable of editors. I can get a book cover designed in a week or two; a good book cover.

My marketing, such as it is, will be about as successful as the Big Boys' marketing. And much cheaper. Plus, I'll sell approximately the same number of copies (i.e., hardly none).

Are literary agents and publishing houses power mad? Do they relish telling us what to write about, banning us from "the club", ignoring us like a snotty teenaged girl? 

Yes.

Fortunately, that power doesn't have much longer to last.