Thoughts On Publishing: Emerging Writers v Emerging Bands
Last week I was complaining on Facebook about my life-sentence that is full-time work and how I’d love to get out of it. It prompted a discussion about my writing career where a friend, who’s in a band that just released their debut album via an Indie Music label, asked “Is there something like the equivalent of an Indie Music label for publishing?”
It’s gotten me thinking about comparing emerging writers and their paths to publication and emerging bands. Is it easier for emerging bands to gain exposure as opposed to emerging writers?
If you’re an emerging band, you can get yourself a gig at a small pub or bar in Melbourne and your friends can come along and support you. Though, I’m not sure how easy or hard this is to achieve.
But I suppose the equivalent would be to have your short story published in an ezine or print magazine, just for exposure, and having your friends read it. The main envy I have with getting your friends to check out your gig is that it seems like a much more physical show of support.
It would be slightly weird if you watched each and every friend or family member read your short story.
Or is the problem just that the avenues for writers are less advertised? Do we have to hunt for them through things like the Emerging Writers’ Festival? Is the emerging music scene just more mainstream? It’s easier to accidentally discover a band playing at a pub than it is to find a small zine with an emerging writer’s fiction.
I’m curious to hear other people’s thoughts on gaining your first glimpses of exposure for a writer, as compared to a band or musical act.
And I plan to extend this into other posts, with thoughts on self-publishing, online markets and small press.
Technorati Tags: writing, publishing, self-publishing, Indie Publishing, Indie Music, Emerging Writers, publishing
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Very interesting topic and comparisons, Ben.
Personally, i think it’s much easier for an emerging band to gain exposure than it is for an emerging writer. For instance, a few contacts within the music industry can lead a long way for a band, whereas contacts within the publishing industry don’t really mean anything for a journeyman writer.
I think there are similarities with both industries, but i think the music industry is far more actively looking for something new and different than the publishing industry. Even a band that’s not especially good can still do well (attractive band members — or else outlandish band members, theatrics, creating a niche movement, etc) whereas a writer only has their stories to market.
Of course, i’m looking at this from the viewpoint of someone in NZ trying to break into the worldwide market, but from what i’ve seen and observed (both with the music industry and the publishing industry), writing is really a solitary art based around a solitary thing — the story — whereas music has a whole lot of other factors that can contribute to success.
Isaac´s last blog ..Right, then
Check out Scott Marlowe’s recent posting on his blog, http://scottmarlowe.com. He mentions putting a novel he wrote up for sale on Amazon’s Kindle store. Fascinating.
Isaac, when you said, “but i think the music industry is far more actively looking for something new and different than the publishing industry” I was thinking we were on the same track.
Part of my next post will discuss how I think self publishing is available in both music and literature, but self publishing as a way to get noticed by the big companies is far more accepted as a practice in the music industry whereas it’s more frowned upon in literature circles.
Thanks for the link Adrian, I’ll be sure to check that blog out.
Without giving away too much Benjamin – there is hopefully something coming for emerging writers … and you’ll be the first to know I promise when it happens.
I think Indie Music to date has been more successful than Indie Publishing because (and I may border on stereotying here) writers are generally a different kettle of fish to musos. Writers generally tend to keep to themselves and feel weird and awkward about self promotion – whereas bands (and having spent my years as a groupie!!) and musicians by virtue of having to step up on stage are more comfortable with self promotion and what it takes to get published.
I look forward to further discussions on the topic and I’m so glad to see there was no reference or comparison of Indie Publishing to Punk Music which seems to be something a lot of bloggers have recently fallen into.
Jodi Cleghorn´s last blog ..Chinese Whisperings Questions
I think that’s part of it too. My muso friends are certainly a certain personality type. But I have an urge to do that too, print out a few hundred copies of a short story collection by me and sell them at readings or on the street, on the net etc. – but the thing that holds me back is more of a stigma in the writing world against that method.
People say, you’re only doing that because you’re not good enough to be published.
But in music, it’s like the norm. These bands haven’t even approached big labels and are just doing there thing.
I wasn’t going to compare it to the Punk scene as a lot of the ideas that people claim Punk to be are false and far more nuanced than people like to make out. Punk can be mainstream corporate as well as underground and grass roots.
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