Self Publishing

By Bonnie Harris

I had so many great ideas for this post, but the minute I opened up the new post . . . they all flew away. So here's something that caught my attention on Facebook. Kelly Sonnack, literary agent for Andrea Brown Literary Agency (she also came to the ANWA conference in 2011), posted this link from the New York Times, with the comment that basically said, something to think about. I clicked on the article and boy is it something to think about. I haven't decided how I feel about it yet, since this is a debate every author, I'm sure, is having. What's your opinion?

Young Writers Dazzle Publisher (Mom and Dad)

Sara Jorde for The New York Times

Ben Heckmann, 14, wrote two books about a fictional band.

By ELISSA GOOTMAN

Published: March 31, 2012

The television news feature about Ben Heckmann, an eighth grader from Farmington, Minn., was breathless in its praise. “At 14 years old, he has accomplished something many adults can’t achieve,” the reporter said. “Ben is a twice-published author.”

Sara Jorde for The New York Times

Ben reading from one of his books at his school in Farmington, Minn.

As the camera rolled, Ben described how “the first time I held my own book, it was just this amazing feeling.” Then he shared a lesson for others his age, saying, “You can basically do anything if you put your mind to it.”

But his two “Velvet Black” books, depicting the antics of a fictional rock band, were not plucked from a pile of manuscripts by an eagle-eyed publisher. They were self-published, at a cost to Ben’s parents of $400 — money they have more than made up by selling 700 copies.

Over the past five years, print-on-demand technology and a growing number of self-publishing companies whose books can be sold online have inspired writers of all ages to bypass the traditional gatekeeping system for determining who can call himself a “published author.”

They include hundreds of children and teenagers who are self-publishing books each year — a growing corner of the book world that raises as many questions about parenting as it does about publishing.

The mothers and fathers who foot the bill say they are simply trying to encourage their children, in the same way that other parents buy gear for a promising lacrosse player or ship a Broadway aspirant off to theater camp.

But others see the blurring of the line between publishing and self-publishing as a lost opportunity to teach children about adversity and perseverance.

The young authors themselves, raised in an era of blogging and equal-opportunity Twitter feeds, take the notion of self-publishing in stride.

“The world is changing — it’s possible for people to do almost anything they set their minds to,” said Elizabeth Hines (pen name: E. S. Hines), a high school junior from Annapolis, Md., whose debut novel, “The Last Dove,” was recently released by the self-publishing imprint Xlibris.

She has other projects going, too. “The Black Panther,” Part 2 of what she is calling the Trilogy of Aeir, will be published soon (at a cost to her parents of $2,700 per title). She has also written the first two books in a separate fictional quintet and begun a work of historical fiction set in 1500s Scotland.

Elizabeth’s parents debated the merits of self-publishing, said her mother, Jacqueline. Would her writing be criticized? Would she “get a little too much of a sense of self?” They finally decided that “self-esteem usually is not a bad thing for kids this age,” Mrs. Hines said.

Camille Mancuso, 12, of Columbus, Ohio, composed “Through the Eyes of Eak,” about the 72-year-old Delphi from the world of Phea, during breaks from playing Jane Banks in the touring production of Mary Poppins (by the time her book was published, Camille was on Broadway). Drew Beasley, 10, an Upper West Sider with an array of acting and voiceover credits to his name, published “Growing Up ... With Jack” last year to inspire children to be kind to special-needs kids.

Mac Bowers, 15, self-published the 112-page “Running Scared” through iUniverse in February. The hardcover sells for $11.63 on Amazon, where it is described as a tale in which “two teenagers embroiled in a dangerous, international web of intrigue have just one goal — to make it out alive.”

Mac’s father, Timothy, a Pennsylvania schools superintendent, said that publishing his daughter’s work seemed a natural way to reward her months of effort.

“What do you do with something you’re proud of?” he said. “You want people to see it.”

Critics say it is wonderful to start writing at a young age, but worry that self-publishing sends the wrong message.

“What’s next?” asked the novelist Tom Robbins. “Kiddie architects, juvenile dentists, 11-year-old rocket scientists? Any parent who thinks that the crafting of engrossing, meaningful, publishable fiction requires less talent and experience than designing a house, extracting a wisdom tooth, or supervising a lunar probe is, frankly, delusional.”

“There are no prodigies in literature,” Mr. Robbins said. “Literature requires experience, in a way that mathematics and music do not.”

Garth Stein, author of the best seller “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” said he saw how publishing could be great fun for children, but cautioned that “part of writing is living and exploring the world and interacting with the world.”

Alan Rinzler, a publishing industry veteran who now works with writers as an editorial consultant, suggested that parents hire a professional editor like him to work with their child to tear a manuscript apart and help make it better.  “That sort of puts a reality check on it,” he said.

Ben Heckmann’s father, Ken, said Ben’s aspirations “weren’t to knock Harry Potter off the list,” but “to get that good feeling inside that you’ve done something.”

“He can play basketball at home, or he can join a team; here he kind of joined a team,” Mr. Heckmann said. “This is Ben’s basketball.”

Ben’s mother, Julie, noted that while Ben has sold hundreds of books, the family could have simply ended up with a stack of Christmas gifts. “You can put your book out there, but it doesn’t mean people are going to like it,” she said.

Ben’s publisher, KidPub Press, which began publishing books by children in 2008, said most sales were made by the families, who buy the books wholesale. The founder and publisher, Perry Donham, said it was “pretty unusual” for a KidPub author to sell more than 50 copies on Amazon.

Some self-publishing companies charge upfront fees, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, for services that include printing, editing, jacket design and distribution. Others, like Lulu, offer to publish books free — though that does not include even a copy for the author’s shelf.

KidPub, which published 140 books last year, charges $250; that includes light copy editing, five printed copies and the promise of distribution on Amazon. “When the kids get the box of books with their name on it and they see their name on Amazon.com, they’re like little rock stars,” Mr. Donham said.

Kevin Weiss, president and chief executive of Author Solutions, which owns or manages 13 self-publishing imprints, said the company expected to publish more than 400 works by authors under age 18 this year.

“Today, a 14-year-old author has as good a chance of creating a following as a 50-year-old author,” Mr. Weiss said. “And maybe a better chance because they understand the nuances of social media.”

Often, they do not need social media to spread the word.

Ajla Dizdarevic, 12, of Waterloo, Iowa, who has self-published two books of poetry, has been on television and in local newspapers. Being a published author, she said, “was always a dream of mine.” Her new dream: three books by age 15.