POD companies have had an adverse effect upon conventional publishers. Many reputable publishers are additionally hit by the unstable economy and declining consumer spending. Random House Inc., Simon & Schuster, and MacMillan have reported layoffs in the past two months.  Just this week, HarperCollins laid off employees and closed an entire division. It has always been difficult to get a book accepted by conventional publishers, but the rise of PODs, the fall of conventional publishers, and the weakened economy only worsens the chances of a new author being accepted by a conventional publisher.

In order to sell books in a declining economy, you must have a great product to offer. Surprise! A book is a product, not an appendage of the author! Some authors think of their books as part of their body. If an editor suggests changes or modifications, it's like asking the author to cut off their arm! I've recently worked with an author who balked at every suggestion I gave and questioned my integrity when I asked for details to help develop her characters and setting. I was trying to help her transform a poorly written book into one that would appeal to the literate people in the world—those who buy and read books.

Avid readers are accustomed to a high standard of quality in the writing, layout, and physical properties of a book. They will not forgive blatant errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar, nor will they be inclined to flip backward to see what they missed when they are confused by what the author has written. A book should be a page-turner—one that keeps the reader turning forward to the next page because he or she can’t wait to read what happens next.

What does this mean to the author seeking publication?

It means your book needs to be professionally edited before going to any publisher. The odds are fully against an unknown author who is querying conventional publishers. With hundreds of thousands of books being submitted each year, a poorly written query letter or proposal is a perfect reason for an acquisitions editor to reject your book and move on to the next.

What does this mean to the literary world?

The entire world is put at a disadvantage when poorly written books are offered as acceptable literature. The illiteracy rate is high enough. Too many students are graduating high school with only a middle school reading/writing ability.[1] Additionally, many students in American schools are learning English as a second language. We owe it to them to make sure the books we have available are mechanically correct. Books are meant to educate, not degrade the English language. Books rife with mechanical errors reinforce illiteracy as a social norm. This failure to educate is appalling to me.

What does this mean to PODs?

POD companies now own a valuable piece of the book market. While I applaud their entrepreneurial endeavors, I also feel they have a responsibility to put literacy before dollars and cents. I propose that they set guidelines to make sure each book they publish meets conventional book publishing standards. I would like to see them require that incoming books be edited and proofread. There are plenty of good editors in the world and many do not charge as much as you might think to help an author polish a book. You would be doing us all a favor by preserving literacy!

To see pricing and the different ways an editor can help an author, please visit http://writersinthesky.com/editing-services.html

Source:

[1] http://www.betterhighschools.org/topics/Literacy.asp