From Big-Five to Self-Published
Navigating the Wild West of today’s publishing world
I recently read a story in BookLife about a well-respected Big-Five published author, Cynthia Swanson, who took her new manuscript and went home.
So to speak.
Big publishers were not interested in the manuscript for myriad reasons: Changes at the publishing houses, story issues, editor issues, agent issues, on and on. So, she began her own imprint (basically self-published) and put her book out into the world, rejecting all the big-time traditional publishing she had grown successful with for years.
Isn’t it supposed to work the other way around? Just as the article suggests, aren’t self-publishers looking to break the barrier and get a big-time traditional contract from a Big-Five house?
Apparently, the rules have changed, or at least are beginning to change. The publishing world is the Wild West these days, and is barely surviving through tiny, narrow margins. Taking risks with a book, even if it’s written by a bestselling author, guarantees nothing.
So, what is a writer to do?
Most of my own work has been traditionally published, albeit by small and mid-range publishers, so my experience with Big-Five houses is not there. But other writers I know have worked with the big houses and some of the stories are frightening. What do I mean? Well, that’s probably another post, but generally the difficulties stem from marketability of a story (meaning that the house believes the manuscript must be a big seller within their matrix or it’s not worth the time) to literary agents retiring, giving up, or agencies closing their doors.
I still believe in one big rule: Writers must write the story for them and them alone. If the work resonates with you, you’ll find readers. That said, finding your readers isn’t always easy. In fact, it’s mostly quite hard. The landscape is scattered with books that have sold fewer than 500 copies. The average traditionally published book sells 3000 copies over its entire lifetime. That’s not a lot in terms of what the Big-Five publishers need to stay alive. So, they look for the BIG authors to take care of that. Problem is there is only one Stephen King, only one Ann Patchett, only one James Patterson, only one J.K. Rowling. And then, there are the rest of us, the tens-of-thousands of us who write for very small audiences and somehow soldier on.
The bottom line is this: You must decide why you write and then go about your work with that driving you. If you are writing to get rich, well, good luck with that. If you’re writing because you really, really, really must be an author with a Big-Five house and that’s the only way you’ll find legitimacy, well, again, good luck with that. But if you are writing because you can’t imagine not writing, well, then maybe, you are onto something.
All writers want readers and the more the better. But the reality is that writing a bestseller that ends up on the New York Times list is like expecting an NFL contract because you’re a good high school football star. The odds are against you. Not because your stories aren’t good, necessarily, but because the publishing landscape is full of rocks and valleys and high cliffs and quicksand, and God knows what else.
If you want to stay sane as a writer, write the story you want to read. Write it the best way you know how. Refine it. Polish it. And find a way to share it through good, professional editing, production, and decent distribution. There are plenty of ways to do that today. And if you’re goal is all about the Big-Five, that’s great, but understand the chances are slim. If that is your only measure of success, you might be disappointed.
Ask Cynthia Swanson. She knows.
David W. Berner is a former associate professor at Columbia College Chicago and currently teaches memoir and fiction at the Gotham Writers Workshop. His newest memoir, Daylight Saving Time is available now. His novel, American Moon will be published by Regal House in 2026.
