A Better Way
- William Brust
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
A Better Way
That's not me up there. That's Dennis O'Neil.
Dennis died in 2020. He was 81-years-old. He wrote a lot of comic books before he died. He probably did a lot of other things too, but the thing I know him for is the comics he wrote and the guide to writing comics he wrote in the year 2001.
I'm not sure I read any of Dennis's comics, which is too bad because, like I said, he wrote a LOT of them. But I did read the guide he wrote, and the thing that stood out to me from that guide, the thing he repeated over and over and over in that guide and told people over and over in his series on Bleeding Cool back in the 2010s was this:
There is seldom any one absolutely, inarguable, unimpeachably right way to do anything.
I'll post that again, bigger and bolder for folks who may be skimming.
There is seldom any one absolutely, inarguable, unimpeachably right way to do anything.
It's an easy thing to forget. We're bombarded every day by newsletters and LinkedIn statuses that claim to have the Answer to How to Do It Right. How to get those elusive likes. How to get more customers. Make more money. How to make line go up.
In publishing, it's been common knowledge that there are only two correct ways to make line go up: You either follow the Traditional Path or the Way of the Self-Publisher.
Both ways are terrible.
Traditional Path
Traditional publishing works like this:
You find an agent. The agent finds you a publisher. Assuming all goes well, the publisher does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to the business end of things: The marketing, promotion, production, and distribution of the book in exchange for a percentage of final sales of the book. You make a little money. Maybe you earn out your advance. Maybe you even make the bestseller list. Ooooh.
Nine times out of ten, you do not make enough money to live on. Most writers make their money through teaching other writers how to write better. At the price of sounding cynical, it's almost reads like a cycle of exploitation if you look at it in a certain light.
In any case, the traditional system is ridiculous. Nowadays, publishers expect authors to do more and more of their own marketing. You're expected to have your own established fanbase, your own website, social media presence, etc. The more, the better.
It makes sense, from a business perspective. If a publisher represents three authors: an established bestseller, a mid-tier, and a newbie, who do you think gets the lionshare of the press and attention? Not the newbie!
Ironically, mid-tier authors are feeling the biggest squeeze, but that's a story for another time.
Self-Publishing
Self-publishing works like this:
You handle all the business of writing and publishing the book yourself, like a crazy person. You design the cover or pay someone to do it. You raise the money yourself for everything. You pay for a professional printer to bind and print your book. You pay for the formatting, the binding, everything. You don’t have to print physical books, of course. But then you’re still paying for software for proper design and all that. And you have to have a nice cover.
For the love of Shakespeare, do NOT try to design your own book cover. You are not a cover artist. Neither is your sister Sharon who’s taking design in grad school. Sharon sucks. Hire a professional. Suck it up, buttercup.
And that's it. Those are the choices. The lady or the tiger. The rock or the hard place. Scylla or Charybdis.
I told you both paths were terrible. One leaves you broke, the other breaks you.
Now I don't write all this to discourage would-be authors. I'm not trying to tear down the established system. There are plenty of positives to it. If you choose to embrace it and go down either of those paths, power to you. Go for it and prove me wrong. I still may choose one of them myself.
But I am pointing out the flaws to make a point. Namely, that we deserve better. We have to find a better way.
There has to be a better path. A third way. Maybe even a fourth or a fifth or a sixth way.
Because there is seldom any one absolutely, inarguable, unimpeachably right way to do anything.
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