One of the 5000

So the debate rages on about YouWriteOn and its publishing 5000 books by Christmas venture.
Admittedly, I have been concerned that this could lead to 4999 turkeys being available just in time for christmas (or after, if the cynics are correct.) I obviously don’t include my novel in that number because it is high quality writing and has been crafted and edited over several years. Hopefully, the amount of publicity generated by the critics of YouWriteOn will create more interest and lead the curious to test for themselves whether it is statistically possible for 5000 writers all to be bad.
What I don’t like is the often patronising references to the 5000 and their motives. No, we are not all people who simply want to see our names in print. Some of us have been through the process of submitting to publishers and agents works which we believe in and have worked damned hard on. For us the choice to submit to YouWriteOn comes from the blinkered view of a publishing industry which will not consider anything which cannot be pigeonholed.
Whether or not any of the 5000 will gain any level of success will have to be seen. But if there is only one, then doesn’t that make the odds of success rather better than those of an unconventional novel attempting a conventional route?
For a statement of the arguments against the YouWriteOn scheme see http://howpublishingreallyworks.blogspot.com/2008/09/youwriteon-publishes-5000.html



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