This is an impromptu post.
Chuck Wendig just posted another fine piece about… authors that publish their own stuff.
About the name you slap on such individuals.
Something I’m interested in, as I’m one of those that get slapped.
Let’s see.
The most common labels are:
. self-published author
. independent author
. self-produced author
Let’s admit it – they do suck.
At best, they aremisleading.
In my language, the label is usually (autore) Autopubblicato – and it reads as a mark of infamy.
It means, more or less, “you sucker, a real publisher would not touch your rubbish with a ten foot pole”.
And in my case might as well be correct – I’ve this thing which seems to ruffle the feathers of most publishers.
Incidentally – I do prefer author to writer, because it describes more precisely who I am.
A writer could be writing under dictation.
He could be a graffiti artist.
I’m an author.
Or, here’s another definition which is quite fun, content crafter.
Which is fine when I’m authoring stuff that’s not orthodox book- stuff – online articles, blog posts, slide text, infographics, etcetera.
Beats any day of the week the horrid web-writer so many people seem to enjoy (so much so there’s people out there actually selling “professional web-writer” certifications, these days!)
When it comes to publishing my stuff, anyway, the standard labels suck, but there are two other definitions I like much better.
The first is artisanal publisher, coined by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welsh in his excellent APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How to Publish a Book.
I’ve been using that a lot – it removes the stigma of the guy working in his basement with an old HP printer and adds a touch of highly marketable mistique.
The second, which was recently proposed by Chuck Wendig, is author-publisher.
Which, and I have to agree with the man, sounds just like a multi-class character in a role playing game – like wizard-rogue, which I have played once in a while in my long gaming career.
And is mighty fine.
Sounds great.
It’s classy.
So here we go – from this moment on, I am Davide Mana, author-publisher.
I’m into artisanal publishing, actually.
Related articles
- If you are writing a book and considering self-publishing (anexerciseindiscipline.com)
- Why One Self-Published Author Said ‘No’ To Amazon Publishing (mediabistro.com)
- Self-publishing according to Chuck Wendig (karavansara.wordpress.com)
- Punished for Self Publishing? (jadereyner.com)
- The Rise of Individuality—What This Means for Publishing & Authors (thewrittenodyssey.com)
10 September 2013 at 04:06
Thanks for your post. I like all of these names, particularly “artisan publishing.” It is an art, you know?
As more and more writers are beginning to go this route AND because the choices are endless, a friend of mine and I have started a business helping writers get their own work into print, and we’ve also adopted the phrase “author-published” on our site. (sablebooks.org)
Thanks for this post and the pingback to 20 Lines, another project of mine — encouraging writers to write every day.
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10 September 2013 at 09:08
Thanks for your comment, Melissa.
It is indeed an art – and a hard, personal kind of work.
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10 September 2013 at 08:45
…And so you open an really interesting question: what’s about these definition? Author? Writer? Is there a difference? Sure, for me!
From my personal point of view, an author have a specific and original inner universe. A vision of all things mediate through his write. A writer use his ability indipendently messages and vision, like a tool.
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10 September 2013 at 09:09
To me, there are too many writers and not enough authors out there – especially in our little country đŸ˜‰
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10 September 2013 at 09:26
Really. Writing, for too many people is only a technic and not an art. Unluckly…
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