Inside Publishing: A Hard Truth with Val Tobin

Val Tobin is a Canadian author of speculative and romance fiction with a background in computer programming and technical writing. She transitioned to full-time writing in 2010 and has since published over a dozen novels, including The Experiencers and The Hunted, blending science fiction, horror, psychological, and supernatural themes.

Her character-driven, suspenseful storytelling has drawn comparisons to Dean Koontz. An active member of the Canadian writing community, Val also volunteers with the Writers’ Community of York Region.

Today, Val shares some sophisticated and straight-up insights in our latest Inside Publishing interview. Read on and be sure to visit Val online at her official website. Enjoy!

Val Tobin ‘The Hunted’ book cover

What advice would you give to new authors deciding whether to sign with a major publisher or remain independent?

Val Tobin: “I’d advise any new author debating between signing with a major publisher or remaining independent to consult with a lawyer specializing in publishing contracts about any contract they receive from any publisher. I recently attended a workshop that covered the basics of such agreements, and there’s so much to consider that anyone offered one should turn to a lawyer for help. The risks are too great not to.

“However, if your question refers to someone who has yet to receive an acceptance letter and a contract offer, and they’re simply debating between trade publishing and indie publishing (or even vanity publishing), then here are some things I suggest they consider:

A. Costs: “Traditional publishing would cost the least upfront since the publisher will pay for editing, formatting, and cover design. However, it might take some paid editing to get a manuscript to where a publisher would want to accept it. You also give up a substantial share of revenue when you traditionally publish, so be sure to evaluate if you’re willing to trade revenues for that.

“Vanity publishing would likely be the most expensive, because most vanity presses charge thousands to provide such things as editors and cover designers, and they often charge a lot for author copies after the manuscript is published. They also might specify in the contract that the author will buy a certain number of books when they’re published. Some vanity presses are scammers, churning out low-quality products for huge fees, so you must beware. In fact, a website exists where you can verify if the publisher you’re considering has cheated authors. Go to Writer Beware for more information.

“Indie publishing can also be expensive because the author must source and pay out of their own pocket for editing, formatting, and cover design. If you’re able to do any of the work yourself, that’ll save you money, but only go that route if you can produce a professional product. Otherwise, pay for experts to take care of that for you. Once again, you’ll have to beware of scammers. Get references, review contracts, and agreements carefully, and get everything in writing.

B. Marketing: “Many authors believe that if they sign with a traditional publisher, their marketing worries are over. That’s not the case. Most publishers expect authors to take part in marketing their own books, and some will expect the author to do all the marketing. If you’re considering signing with a traditional publisher, verify how much they will do for you before you sign. Vanity presses will do marketing for their authors for a fee; otherwise, they don’t do any marketing.

C. Creative Control and Copyrights: “An indie author has the most creative control over their own work since they do all the work themselves or choose who they outsource it to, and traditionally published authors have the least. Traditional publishers usually have in-house or contracted designers, formatters, and editors, and since they’re footing the bill for it all, they’ll have the final say. Vanity presses will vary in how much control they allow authors, so you’d have to verify with the company.

“Check with a lawyer about the rights you’re surrendering to the publisher and what rights you retain. You don’t want to surrender future rights to any of your work, and you should also make sure the rights to your work return to you if your contract with the publisher expires or is terminated.

“Indie authors retain all their rights, though if you allow Amazon or another distributor to generate an ISBN for you, they will be considered the publisher. Verify what that implies about your rights to your work and how you may distribute it.

“Also, make sure you understand any terms and conditions distributors set regarding distribution. Amazon expects exclusivity on eBooks if the author enrolls the eBook in Kindle Select to make it available in Kindle Unlimited. Kindle Unlimited allows reader members to borrow a participating author’s eBook, and the author will get paid for pages read. This sounds great, but it also means you can’t use other distributors to sell your eBooks.

D. Revenues: “With traditional publishing, authors get paid last, unless they receive an advance. Advances are getting smaller and often authors don’t receive any money upfront. If you’re counting on an advance, make sure you read the contract carefully to verify you’re even getting one.

“The publisher takes in revenues from book sales, then the agent gets paid, and after that, the author gets paid. What the author receives will depend on how much of an advance they received and if that has paid out. The contract will specify how it’ll work, which is why a lawyer will ensure you don’t end up repaying an advance if your book doesn’t sell well.

“An indie publisher stands to make the largest percentage from the sale of a book because they are the publisher. If they sell through their own website, they won’t have to pay anyone any portion of the revenues collected. Revenues from distributors will vary and can be as much as 65 percent or more.

“Vanity publishers typically make money by charging authors for services and selling them author copies. It’s important to understand how much of your rights to your work you’d surrender to a vanity press before signing with them. Typically, the author retains all rights but be wary. As with a traditional publisher, reviewing contracts with a lawyer will protect you.”

What’s one hard truth about the publishing industry that newcomers often aren’t prepared for?

“A hard truth about the publishing industry most newcomers often aren’t prepared for is how difficult it is to sell books and how much work marketing is. They also don’t realize that no book will suit everyone. No matter what route you take to publishing, selling your work is a tough slog.

“A lot of new authors believe that if you publish your book and it’s out there on Amazon, readers will flock to it. They assume their target market is every reader when often readers prefer one genre or type of book to another. Some readers will only read a certain genre with certain tropes and reject novels in the same genre with other tropes. For example, some romance readers love the enemies-to-lovers trope, while others avoid it. Some refuse to read certain genres and will react negatively if a blurb or cover misleads them.

“Unfortunately, publishing isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it enterprise. Unless you’re a celebrity or have a huge social media following, you need to work extra hard to get your book in front of readers, and they have to be the right readers. You want to find readers who’ll love your book, and that’s a difficult puzzle to solve if you know nothing about sales and marketing and your target audience.

“Hundreds of thousands of books are published every year, and somehow, yours needs to capture the attention of the right readers.”

The publishing industry is known for its fast pace. How do you deal with burnout, and what advice would you give to newer authors struggling with it?

“Some authors believe they must publish a novel a month, known as rapid release, to stay in front of readers. According to them, if you don’t release something on Amazon every month, you’ll fall off the Amazon algorithm cliff and into obscurity. Readers won’t see you, so they can’t buy your book.

“Even if I were to stockpile books, saving them up and then releasing them once a month for however many months I’ve stockpiled the books for, I still couldn’t keep up that pace. I personally can’t rapid-release books.

“The pace required to release books that close together for months? Years? Forever? It would lead me to burnout before I release the second book. I can’t put myself under that kind of pressure. Writing has always been my escape. I don’t want it to become an unmanageable chore.

“I deal with burnout by avoiding it. That means I set long pre-order dates, and I don’t set the date until I have at least a first draft of a book completed.

“My process takes months, anyway, because I don’t think I could put out my best work otherwise. After I do any pre-planning, I take at least three months to write a first draft and even up to six months. After that, I let it sit for four to six weeks. During that time, I plan the next novel. When I return to the manuscript, it’s with fresh eyes. After I read through it and make my notes, I do my revisions, get it to beta readers, do more revisions, get it to my developmental editor, do more revisions, send it out for line editing and proofreading, and then go through it all at least one more time myself before getting it formatted and uploaded for publication.

“I have readers who don’t forget me even if I’m not publishing twelve books a year. They buy my books no matter how much time stretches between releases. I’d love to have the personal resources and the time freedom to do nothing but write and publish, but since I can’t, I don’t even try.

“Avoiding burnout is the reward.”

Val Tobin in 2021, photo by Moses Leal

How do you envision the author-reader relationship evolving in the coming years as direct-to-reader models become more common?

“I envision it becoming more personal. People are more accessible because of social media, and many readers love to support their favourite authors. If an author’s work is available to purchase directly, they’re more than happy to skip the middleman and give all the revenues to the author.

“Brandon Sanderson’s famous Kickstarter campaign is a perfect example of readers supporting their favourite authors. He raised a record-breaking amount of money—41 million dollars, according to USA Today. Not everyone is a Brandon Sanderson, but I have my local readers who wait for me to get copies of my books in stock so they can buy from me directly.

“I love hearing from readers. When readers live local to me, they come to my house to pick up the next book (when I know the person) and we’ll have tea, or I’ll meet them at a coffee shop or drop it off at their house. I have a reader who’s also a friend, and when she reads one of my books, she messages me as she’s reading it. It’s fun to follow her progress through the story and get her reactions to what happens. I had one reader message me as she read book two in my Valiant Chronicles series, saying, ‘OMG, Val, what have you done?’ I knew exactly where she was in the book and just chuckled to myself.

“Of course, there’s a negative side to this too. Some readers who dislike a book will post a scathing review on a site and then tag the author, which stings. Or a reader will find out an author they’ve loved is mired in controversy and lose respect for that author. The controversy around the late Marion Zimmer Bradley comes to mind, and more recently, the allegations against Neil Gaiman. It’s shocking and disappointing when a respected author lets you down, and it raises the question about whether you, as a reader, can separate the author from their work. Many readers don’t want to support an author who goes against that reader’s values, no matter how brilliant a writer they are.

“Mostly, though, I think those who love to read will follow authors whose works they love rather than hate. They’ll connect with authors they admire and respect and want to spend time around. While I’ve heard of readers ‘hate reading’ entire series, I don’t think most readers want to waste time and energy on books they dislike. That’s toxic. Most readers read to escape or relax. It’s so much more uplifting and inspiring to read a good book than one that doesn’t suit you.”

What do you think will be the most significant shift in book consumption over the next decade?

“I think more people will gravitate to audiobooks. Audiobooks are drawing in people who don’t have the time or patience to sit and read a physical or eBook. Some are becoming avid readers for the first time because they can listen to a book and do menial tasks at the same time. Audiobooks are also a boon for readers who have vision problems. I’ve had requests to turn my books into audiobooks, but I haven’t been able to do it because it’s so expensive. In time, though, I can see it getting more reasonable as AI technology improves and they work out the copyright issues around it. As the technology gets more accessible and affordable, authors can record and produce the books themselves.”

What’s your perspective on how literary festivals have changed the dynamics of author promotion and discovery?

“Literary festivals are a necessary part of an author’s promotion and discovery efforts. They allow authors to reach more readers in a brief time span. Many festivals will allow authors to take part in a panel or speak to a group or do readings from their books for a crowd of attendees. This provides authors a chance to connect in person with new readers or reconnect with existing readers. It helps readers find a new favourite author from a large group of authors. It’s a win-win situation for authors and readers.

“I enjoy talking to potential readers when I have a booth at a festival. I love to read, so I love talking to other readaholics. Finding a new reader for my work or reconnecting with an existing reader feels fantastic. Even just talking about books we’ve read in common is wonderful.”

Val Tobin ‘Injury’ book cover

How do you feel about the trend of authors using crowdfunding platforms to finance their books or tours?

“I love the idea of using crowdfunding platforms to finance book publishing or book tours, but I think it works best for those with a huge following. Brandon Sanderson once again comes to mind.

“I haven’t tried it myself, but it would be fabulous to raise money to cover publishing and marketing costs, including for tours and book signings, for my next book. Unfortunately, I likely wouldn’t raise enough at this point to make the time and effort involved worthwhile.”

Do you think authors today need a deeper understanding of data analytics to succeed, or can they still rely on pure storytelling?

“I wish I could say that pure storytelling wins out, but I don’t think it does. Data analytics matter, and it’s difficult for indie authors to get all they need to succeed. Some of this data you can buy, such as the reports on the various genres from K-Lytics, but it’s expensive and time-sensitive. Industry trends change so quickly that one report won’t be relevant for very long.

“It’s like what happens with cover trends and titles and what genres are hot. When Fifty Shades of Grey went viral, the market became glutted with erotica, particularly BDSM stories similar to that book. Then that faded and something else took its place. Guessing what the next big thing will be is impossible, but it would help to know what’s rising and what’s falling so that if you write in those genres, you can adjust accordingly.

“Cover trends also come and go (such as those cartoonish romance covers that suddenly became popular), as do trends in titles (such as having ‘girl’ in the title as in Gone Girl or structuring the title as A [noun] of [noun] and [noun] as in A Court of Thorns and Roses). After a while, the market is so bloated with these copycat titles readers tire of seeing them and dismiss them as gimmicky. Then they move on to the next fad.”

How do you feel about the emergence of virtual authors or AI-generated content? Could this disrupt the literary industry?

“I find the idea of virtual authors horrifying. Yes, it’ll disrupt the literary industry, and the more the general population cooperates, the more disruptive it’ll be. I don’t have a problem with using AI as a tool—that’s the point of having technology. It’s supposed to improve our lives. It should take over drudge work, work we detest.

“The problem with it is when it takes over our lives and replaces us in areas we love and enjoy. As with anything automated, if it gets to where publishers can sell AI-generated work and it becomes a bestseller, they’ll do more of the same. It provides positive reinforcement for them.

“Currently, you can tell when you read an AI-generated article, but slowly the technology will evolve, and you won’t know the difference. Then what? More companies will rely on AI rather than writers to create content.

“What if publishers no longer have to give enormous advances to A-list authors? They still might keep those authors, but even if they don’t, those who’ve made a name for themselves can indie publish, and their readers will still buy them. Advances are already less than what they once were, and some publishers don’t even offer advances. That’s already the norm.

“It’ll be the same with art or music or movies/television, except that AI can’t yet fill a stadium like Taylor Swift. Or maybe they’ll create holograms or CGI bands. I think I see a story in here somewhere. It brings to mind Michael Crichton’s Looker, where they were murdering models after creating their CGI replicas.

“Imagine models and actors and rock stars who never age, never get sick or complain or struggle with addiction. And you don’t have to pay them because they’re virtual.

“Again, technology is supposed to make our lives better, easier, and more pleasurable, not replace everything we do until all we have left is to sit around and wait for death. That would also upend the economy. Who’s going to buy all the stuff the machines make if humans are no longer required as the means of production and most people don’t have an income? The machines? How will people survive if only a small workforce is required to keep things running?

“A lot of it will come down to what the public will accept. If they buy AI-generated products, especially creative works, and show they love them, we’re done. Some humans will compete, but they won’t profit as much because AI will dilute the market. If there’s a glut of books on the market now, wait until AI escalates productivity.

“The tech company Spines is already preparing to disrupt the publishing industry. They want to publish 8,000 books in 2025 using AI. They’re charging authors 5,000 dollars to get their books published using AI for all parts of the publishing process. So, while right now the author is still involved, what happens when they generate the stories in-house as well to create an additional revenue stream?

“The AI future stands to absolutely disrupt the future of book publishing. It’s already doing it.”

Do you think the literary industry prioritizes profit over artistic merit, and do you believe it’s stifling creativity in favour of commercial hits?

“The literary industry absolutely prioritizes profit over artistic merit, and it’s stifling creativity in favour of commercial hits.

“Don’t get me wrong, commercial hits have their place. They’re a hit for a reason. They strike a chord with a large percentage of readers, which is why they become so popular.

“Some argue that this isn’t because of anything in the book itself; it’s the result of great marketing by the publisher, whether traditional or indie. But if that were true, artistic books with great marketing would also go viral. Sometimes that happens, but often the books with literary merit attract a smaller market than commercial hits because of their nature.

“The issue isn’t a matter of a publisher taking the high road and refusing to publish anything except books with literary merit. If they did that, they wouldn’t survive, and it would leave indie publishers doing the same with an expensive hobby. But when the pool of literary offerings grows shallower so more profitable but intellectually unstimulating products can flood the market, there’s a problem. It’s like the junk food versus health food issue.

“This isn’t meant to denigrate popular fiction. Genre/commercial fiction can be intellectually stimulating. Much of it is entertaining and enlightening. I’m referring to those works that are badly written but go viral anyway. I won’t point out any specific book. Even those books offer something to readers, and readers who love them shouldn’t have to defend their preferences. I was guilty of literary snobbishness in the past, but I’ve learned since that those books I snubbed meant a lot to someone. Who am I to judge their taste in reading? Reading is subjective. Books I love others might find boring or uninteresting.

“The problem, though, is that too many wonderful books and exceptional writers are sinking into obscurity without readers even knowing they exist. However, the solution doesn’t lie strictly with traditional publishers.

“Indie publishing was originally touted as the solution. When anyone can easily publish what they write, readers, ideally, become the gatekeepers. But if the masses who make commercially viable books popular continue to prefer those books over literary ones, then nothing changes. If algorithms boost the popular but poorer quality books over the literary works or the well-written genre fiction, then readers aren’t the gatekeepers we’d hoped they would be.

“Most writers want to make money from their writing. Many dream of becoming full-time writers, but they can only do that if they have an income to support it. This means they pursue writing to market over creating literary works because they must in order to survive. They chase the viral novel, copycatting trendsetting books to build a sustainable income even though they really want to write the next literary masterpiece.”

Do you believe the resurgence of physical books, like vinyl records, is a passing trend or a permanent shift in consumer behaviour?

“I think it’s a permanent shift. A certain number of people will always prefer the physical book, they’ll just get pickier about which ones they purchase. Readers who prefer physical books collect them. My husband and I have an enormous library of physical books. We also have a vast library of electronic books, but I love my physical library. We own many beautiful books, and no matter how often I tell myself we should switch to strictly eBooks, I can’t do it.

“I prefer reading physical books and I love seeing them on my bookshelf. Bookshelves. We have quite a few.

“A physical book may not provide me with reading stats, but it gives me a lot of pleasure. Besides, if I want reading stats, I can track my books on Goodreads or StoryGraph. Collecting books became an addiction for me when I was a teenager. I didn’t want to just borrow from the library or a friend; I wanted to own the books.

“Over time, though, I’ve become more selective in the books I buy. I’m shifting to larger paperbacks or hardcovers. Some books I insist on buying in hardcover rather than paperback.

“So, yes, I think many readers who moved to eBooks or audiobooks will miss physical books and return to collecting them. They’ll just do it more selectively.”

Val Tobin ‘The Fool’ book cover

What’s your view on how artificial intelligence is shaping book production, creation, and marketing?

“It’s making it easier and faster for those who know how to use it properly as a tool. Some people are affronted by the very idea of using AI. But I think what offends them is the potential for AI to destroy lives by replacing them in their jobs or violating copyrights or allowing companies to exploit artists by using their work, voice, or image without permission or compensation. That’s clearly unethical and should be illegal.

“However, AI has its place in a creative’s toolkit.

“For example, I recently started experimenting with AI and asking it to generate keywords for me. Many of the words it spit out didn’t fit, but that might’ve resulted from the prompt I entered. I plan to explore it more. It would be hugely helpful if, when I enter metadata into Amazon or create ads, I get assistance from something that would help me cut to the chase. If it saves hours of trolling for keywords, you can bet I want to use it.

“What about writing ad copy? Or blurbs? I have experimented with using AI to write blurb copy as well. It analyzes my novel and writes a blurb for it. Something that took me hours or days to do before was reduced to minutes. It requires polishing from a human because AI doesn’t do a perfect job, but how many writers enjoy writing blurbs?

“One could argue that this replaces marketing jobs, but I couldn’t afford to pay hundreds of dollars for someone to write my ad copy or blurbs, so in my case, it’s just helping me save time and stress and allows me to get back to what I really want to be doing: working on my novel. As well, a place remains for professional marketers. AI can’t replace their industry experience and intuition. I’ve found a wonderful PA who I can hire to help me launch my novels or do marketing for me.”

How do you think the rise of AI-generated writing will impact the careers of human authors?

“Most authors already make so little from their work that they couldn’t survive on it. The number of authors who can survive on their writing alone is small. I’m always shocked when someone I thought was writing full-time mentions they still have their day job or side gig and dreams of the day they can quit.

“I don’t see an upside to completely AI-generated novels. Machines taking over our creative pursuits diminish society. I don’t want to read an AI-generated novel that mimics Stephen King. I want to read Stephen King.

“But what happens if a late author’s estate sells rights to the author’s future work? Imagine if the Tolkien estate sold the rights to an AI publisher allowing them to continue writing as J. R. R. Tolkien for a cut of the profits. Tolkien once started a sequel to The Lord of the Rings and never finished it. What if AI got to where it could write like Tolkien? What if it completed the LOTR sequel? And what if what it wrote was good?

“This scenario scares me. If AI can do our work and create our art, what are we here for?

“If you’re familiar with Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs,’ you know loafing is ultimately unfulfilling. Unemployed people can’t think about self-actualizing if they’re struggling to survive. Replacing humans with machines doesn’t allow them to jump to the top of the pyramid if their basic needs can’t be met. An economy needs spenders as well as producers to prosper.

“AI even impacts software developers and web application developers’ jobs. I worked in software and web app development for ten years. When I see what AI can do in quickly generating code from a prompt, I envision it taking more jobs in the future than farming them out to third-world countries. CSR jobs also face the same fate. AI handles more customer-service functions as time goes on, and it’ll do it in the customer’s language.

“What happens to society if humans stop innovating and creating because AI has taken over?

“Unfortunately, the genie is already out of the bottle, so anyone trying to squelch or protest the use of AI will fall behind. Anytime in history when a new technology disrupted society, people fought it, but the technology forged ahead anyway because it made life easier. You don’t see any lamplighters around, nor scribes, and the King of England no longer has a Groom of the Stool.

“Sure, you can write a novel without using a computer, but dear god, why would you want to? You can write a novel without using generative AI, but dismissing AI completely puts you at a disadvantage when more than just the early adopters embrace it.

“What is different about AI over any other new technology is that it has the potential to disrupt society to the point where it makes our lives harder and sucks meaning out of our existence. It can kill jobs on a large scale. Rather than rendering one or two jobs obsolete, it stands to make almost all jobs obsolete (or at least trim their numbers), from the forklift driver to the medical professional. It’ll need a minimum number of humans to oversee the AI, so a select few will still work for a living, but what happens to the rest of us? For the first time, it’s not just service-industry or blue-collar workers who have to worry about technology coming for their jobs.

“That’s the worst-case scenario, and it all sounds dystopian, but that’s what you get for asking a writer to consider an AI-created future. I’m not entirely pessimistic about it, though. If we adhere to the ethical use of AI, then it can be a great tool for everyone, especially authors.”