We have been extremely thrilled to watch the progress of many “untraditionally” published authors. Many of these authors have been on our Author Watch – Best Sellers List; some of them have made the list for the past 12 weeks. It’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to promote those that are overcoming the odds and proving the publishing industry “watchdogs” wrong.
The Write Agenda does not object to authors being critical of certain publishing entities or issues. In fact, we encourage it. We even have a page dedicated to our critics here. However, we have discovered that it is the degree to which an author engages in these practices that negatively reflects on their sales, marketing successes and public perception. For the most part, authors on the Author Watch – Best Sellers List are engaged in high level book marketing activities and low level industry blogging. Wonder why they are successful?
The authors that are on our Propaganda Watch List typically have low Amazon Sales Rankings. Arguably, this would tend to suggest that participating in publishing industry propaganda leads to low Amazon Sales Rankings. Victoria Strauss, the matriarch of Writer Beware, has Amazon Sales Rankings that currently range from 322,437 – 7,654,845. Teresa Nielsen Hayden, has a current ranking of 1,872,620. In fact, many “vanity press” authors outperform Ann “A.C.” Crispin, James D. Macdonald, and Victoria Strauss on a consistent basis (click here). In other words, if a 100,000 Amazon Sales Ranking equates to 3 copies sold every 500 days and a 2,000,000 Amazon Sales Ranking equates to 1 copy every 1000 days . . . you can get an idea of where they are at. Is this the kind of publishing industry role model you want?
Of course, these are just a few of examples . . . we have many. There are numerous examples of self-proclaimed publishing experts and self-persecuted authors that want to lead you down this path. Many of these individuals spend their time bashing/trashing on Writer Beware, threatening The Write Agenda, writing bogus book reviews and not engaging in effective marketing practices. Moreover, their books truly are epic failures and they tend to cast aspersions instead of taking responsibility for their own failures (i.e. they wrote a crappy book and no one is purchasing it). This is the cult-like following of Writer Beware, Making Light, Preditors & Editors and other like-kind spin-offs . . . this is the kind of minions they attract. Solace for losers?
You’ll rarely see an author from our Author Watch – Best Sellers List participating in this kind of negative activity. Moreover, you will never see J.K Rowling, Dan Brown, John Grisham, Danielle Steel or Patricia Cornwell (or their contemporaries) participating (or endorsing) with these kinds of sites and their nefarious activities. Why? Because they are engaged in the quest to become a better writer and book marketer. Karma is certainly a characteristic for those on the Propaganda Watch List: “ . . . for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” There is one author that did not take it well when she discovered that she was on our Propaganda Watch List. However, she’s devoted hours and volumes of words to trashing The Write Agenda. Her audience? Ten (10) followers on her blog . . . hardly a good use of time when her book is failing and has little market appeal.
We love to quote James D. Macdonald, especially when his words ring true: “Every legitimate commercial press will readily publish a first-time or unknown author, and do it for free. There are literally thousands of legitimate commercial presses. The only caveat is this: Your book has to be really well-written.” The kicker here is: “Your book has to be really well-written.” This is, in part, what separates the successful authors from those on our Propaganda Watch List. Based on the Amazon Sales Rankings, regardless of who published the books, there are many poorly-written books and participating in propaganda will never fix that. Authors, take a step back, question what you read and follow the footsteps of other successful authors. Is there really any merit in receiving advice from the author of a poorly-written (unmarketable book worth) your investment of time?
The Price of Loyalty to Crispin, Macdonald & Strauss: Participating in Propaganda Leads to Low Amazon Sales Rankings . . . the numbers and statistics don’t lie; but they do!
[Coming Soon: The Writer Beware Impact; Has the Thumbs Down List Been Commercially Affected by Crispin & Strauss? The Write Agenda is currently researching the impact, if any, that Writer Beware has made on the publishers listed on its “Thumbs Down” list. Preliminary research suggests that many of the publishers on the “Thumbs Down” list have continued to grow and flourish. Since the inception of Writer Beware in 2005, many of the targeted publishers have added 1000’s of new authors and books to their collections.]
Reference
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6490677
The Write Agenda by The Write Agenda is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on all work at thewriteagenda.wordpress.com. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://thewriteagenda.wordpress.com.
© The Write Agenda, 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from The Write Agenda is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to The Write Agenda with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by The Write Agenda (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Please contact The Write Agenda for sample attributions.
The Write Agenda™ 