Hating self-published authors, or why announcing yourself as a "published author" can work against you.

Think you want to self-publish? Think again. Or at least give some consideration to your behavior before you make the plunge. Why? Because so many others before you have rutted the road and made it a bumpy, difficult ride. Definitely read Slushpile's WHY PEOPLE HATE SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHORS and the ensuing dialogue. That way you'll save yourself some embarassing and highly negative moments. Is there truth to what they are saying? Oh, yeah. Having worked in a bookstore for a total of five years, I can tell my own self-pub auhor horror stories.

Are there self-pub authors who know how to conduct themselves, produce highly readable material in a good, quality product? Definitely. But I'm sad to say there are way too many self-published authors, and POD-published, and e-published authors who roar through Publisher's Row and mark bookstore owners, booksellers, and other potential readers and leave a wake of destruction for those who try to follow. If you want to self-publish, know what you are up against and do your best to counter the very clear and present bias that definitely exists in the industry.

I found this post thanks to Blog of a Bookslut. In the way of the blogosphere, this came via Powell's, a nice example of a bookstore's blog, and Bookninja, and they got it from SLUSHPILE, the originator of the piece.