by Dane Zeller
It was a warm, foreboding morning at the 2013 Kansas Book Festival. My first book festival paired me with Kenneth Kappelmann, author of the fantasy “The Return of the Dragons” (Tate Publishing). Ken was early enough to have his books and signs set out, and kind and tall enough to help string my poster from the tent railing behind our table.
It was not a competition, just a sharing of booth fees. Even after he sold his first ten books, I did not feel the cut of the competitive edge. I just wanted to sell one to avoid the shutout. It was a rout though, but not a loss entirely. I watched and listened to a master salesman selling a fantasy book to Kansas readers. I learned so much that I could pick out his customers three booths away. They had tattoos, purple hair, bright colored outfits, and wallets unfolding as they approached his display.
I could not predict my mystery buyers.
Given the lulls in the crowd, we had time to discuss the difference between published authors and self-published ones. I learned much from Ken that day, and in a helpful tone, he provided me a final opinion: “Self-published authors have spoiled it for themselves.”
I did not have time to say “Huh?” to him because the guy with the reptile tattoo on his left hand plunked down the thirty-five bucks for Ken’s hardback. Other sales followed. I was packing up at the time, and I left with his statement to ponder.
At first glance, it misses its mark. I have written a good book which has a good cover, and has nearly all of its grammatical and spelling mistakes removed by numerous editors. I have been careful not to burden my twitter followers and facebook friends with excited sales pitches. Furthermore, Ken Kappleman has not read my book. How can he make such a sweeping and condemning statement?
Perhaps one time he picked out a self-published book at Amazon.com, one with five star reviews by twenty people. Perhaps it won the International Book Award (Finalist). Maybe it won the USA Book News, Best Book Award. Maybe it was ranked number seven among all Amazon Christian Humor books. Perhaps the author had thirty-seven thousand twitter followers and three thousand facebook friends. And then, one day Ken is so impressed by an adorned self-published book that he downloads it and reads the first chapter, only to find the first chapter boring and unsuitable for a ninth-grade English class. What broad sweeping statement would he form from this experience? “Self-published authors have spoiled it for themselves.”
Let me count the ways we’ve spoiled it: 1) We trade five star reviews with people who write one star books. 2) We congratulate those who won the International Book Award, of which there are 400 each year, with a purchase price an entry fee of $69. 3) We allow a company, USA Book News, to sell awards that are nothing but stickers on a book. 4) We gather twitter followers made up mostly of people who want twitter followers. 5) We befriend people on facebook who befriend people on facebook who befriend people on facebook.
The difference between Ken’s book and mine is that someone, not Ken or his friends and family, made a bet on his book. They stand to win or lose on their choice. That means they have standards, not favors to be traded. They bet money and reputation on it. It is in their best interest to pick the right one. His publisher is not one of the big six. Nevertheless, they serve as a gatekeeper. Inquiring readers must have some basis for picking one book out of millions.
As I load my books back into my car, a few books shy of a full load, I ask my fellow self-published writers, who serves as our gatekeeper?
