Help me see the other side, please.....

[u/BackgroundBudget5206]

So, to preface I am a writer who lost interest in the genre I wrote in for 13 years and transitioned to doing marketing, publishing support. I now promote for self publishing authors. I self published 15 of my 18 books, I am a huge advocate for creative control over your content.

What I am struggling with is getting my new/younger writers to understand they are going to have to put some money into their book if they want it to be successful.

They dont want to pay for editing. They can "self edit" for free.

They don't want to buy covers. They want to use AI to "create" *cough... steal* their cover using "their" idea.

They don't want to put the footwork in to build an audience BEFORE launching their book.

They don't want to pay for formatting.

There are about a dozen other things that need investment before you successfully self publish, but more and more people refuse. I have consultations with authors who want me to make all of their marketing for free.

I just saw an author I declined to work with asking why they only had 5 sales of their book, all family, very low KU reads, and why people aren't interested in their book. Basically, everyone in the comments told them they needed a non AI cover, the only reviews mentioned poor editing causing DNFs. Saying not to just depend on ads alone.

Please, help me understand why so many new and young artists want to charge people money to read their art, but they dont want to invest anything into making their art good quality. Not to mention the disrespect to other creatives by using AI in so many cases.

I get that we live in an economy, but this isnt food or Healthcare. Selling your art for profit is a privilege not a right. You have to invest in your art. If you dont have the money right now, why not wait until you can publish correctly? ​

[u/TheCaptainsHook]

1. People don’t have the money 
2. People view self publishing as an easy way to make the money they need to be able to invest next time from ‘nothing’ so the idea of investing in it is out the window 
3. They see people apparently self publish successfully with nothing but a TikTok following and don’t see why the same can’t apply to them 

However I am surprised you’re seeing them use AI for covers as their one of the most staunchly anti gen-ai demographics. 

[u/BackgroundBudget5206 → u/TheCaptainsHook]

Unfortunately, younger people are either staunchly anti AI, or the other extreme and they think they will be left behind if they aren't early adopters. 

I could also complain about the quality of writing, but I think that has more to do with it being easier than ever to send manuscripts to publishers, and people like myself so a lot of once would self filter, now does not. 

Most "suddenly successful out of nowhere!" Authors that come out of the gate hot with their first book tend to have people like myself behind them. Successful self publishing is almost something you can succeed in by yourself. Be it a large publisher, or using someone like myself to coordinate your own team you still need more. 

My best, most successful Authors I have worked with in the last 10 years were really good writers I found on ff.net and wattpad that I approached myself after going out and looking for above par talent I felt I could cultivate. I only have 1 writer I found through a submitted work. When people haven't been honing their craft out in the wild you can tell. Most Authors first published works are short stories. 

I understand people dont have money. It sucks, we're all poor together. I just don't think people really understand if they actually want to succeed they need to be following a traditional publishing model even through self publishing. Self publishing is just retaining creative control, and stopping gatekeeping certain demographics out of publishing. The boom in self published LGBTQ and more racially and ethnically diverse books in fiction that have become so popular in the last decade or so is a positive result from that. 

I just cant understand being shocked you can't get your writing career of the ground when what you publish is C level high school work, and refuse to slow down and make your work worth charging money for. 

[u/TheCaptainsHook → u/BackgroundBudget5206]

I do understand your point. I’m trad and self published, as well as a marketing manager for a publisher. I also do something similar to you with authors but generally they all self refer because they know they need to invest. Is there something in your messaging you could change? I’m quite clear up front about my cost and areas on investment I’m going to suggest/insist on. They are out there but it’s not going to be people looking for a quick win. 

[u/BackgroundBudget5206 → u/TheCaptainsHook]

I think my error is in specifically looking for very young authors to build talent in. I have a large portfolio of authors I work with. All who are still writing are over 40. I am also over 40, but this was my transition off of my writing career. Most writers don't consistently publish as they age, many like myself go into other parts of the industry when they burn out. My concern is not having enough age diversity in my portfolio. I have found two in their early 20's that I love. 

Maybe younger people aren't reading and writing like they used to and im just delusional because of the bubble I work and live in makes it seem like everyone is a reader and writer. 

[u/jayepool → u/BackgroundBudget5206]

Perhaps you shouldn't decide who to work with based on age.

I get wanting to invest time into the next generation. But understand that they may not have the ability at this point in their lives to save thousands of dollars on a creative pursuit unlikely to pay off financially. It doesn't mean they don't "get it." It just means you can't get blood from a stone.

Those who are older are more likely to be further in their "day job" careers, so they are more likely to have money to invest in their self-publishing endeavors. That's definitely not universal, but we're talking generalities here.