28th July 2016 | for Creatives | novel writing, literary fiction, publishing, Shawn Coyne |
"There are two categories in book publishing, like yin and yang, light and dark, wet and dry. There is 'literary' and 'commercial.' The divide seems ridiculous of course, akin to the old chicken and egg debate. Obviously, what is literary must be commercial too and what is commercial is also literary."
"Literary and commercial: If you are a writer, an editor or a publisher in traditional trade book publishing, you have to decide which of these two cultures you want to align yourself with."
"In our new century, literary fiction is selling the way that commercial novels are supposed to. ... Certain commercial novelists, on the other hand, are celebrated for their literary quality and simultaneously sell far better than most in their category."
"The biggest for me [by self-publishing] is the freedom to write what I want when I want. I can jump genres and write several novels a year. Traditional publishing is much too restrictive. I don't want to pump out the same book over and over. I want to challenge myself and produce the work that I feel is missing from the marketplace."
"One always feels distance from a book, which I think is normal—by the time it's published and people start reading it and talking about it, it's all behind you."
"I do believe that making one's book free remains an effective way to reach new readers who might not otherwise take a chance on your book. I've had a number of positive reviews from readers who said they liked my book but would never have downloaded if it weren't free. I do not agree with the argument that an author who makes his book free is inviting bad reviews from those readers who are trying a novel that is not in their preferred genre and may be less inclined to like it. I believe a good book is a good book, and anything you can do to attract a new reader is worthwhile."
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