Gatekeepers and Creativity
By Yuvi Zalkow | May 14, 2022 |
I signed my book deal with Red Hen Press over two years ago, before COVID times if you can even remember those days! It comes out on June 7th and I’m in the freak-out-and-get-ready phase right now. The process of working with this indie press has been very positive and I’d be happy to chat about it sometime. (Do I recommend Red Hen Press for other authors? Yes!)
But the funny thing is that, while having this good experience with a small press, I’ve also been thinking a lot about the gatekeepers involved in getting a thing out there into the world. I’m using the term “gatekeepers” loosely because in some cases these gatekeepers are more in my head than in real life. But there are quite a few folks involved in the process of getting my book out the door. There is my agent, there is my publisher, there’s a publicity person, a media person, and the list goes on. I’m honored to work with these people, but it’s a lot of voices (on top of the voices in my head). There’s another element of the process around anticipating reviews from the big reviewers like Kirkus Reviews or Publisher’s Weekly. What if they love it? What if they hate it? (So far the news is good, but…) There are just a lot of steps and a lot of rules between finishing the book and sharing the book with the world.
All this to say that it takes a lot of mental space for me to manage this process and I continually re-assess whether I’m going through each step because I believe in it, or because others want me to do it. I think I’m going down a road that I believe in, but some days it feels… complicated. I have a tendency to want to please people and I have to keep that people-pleaser voice in check.
And that’s why I’m particularly giddy about how many avenues we creative people have at our disposal to get stuff out there on our own terms without any gatekeepers stopping us or assessing us. We can self-publish stories and essays and books, we can pump out YouTube videos, we can make a podcast, or TikTok our way to fame, or blog about all the bloggy things we’ve ever dreamed of blogging about.
There are many difficult aspects about what we’re facing right now as I sit here in the middle of 2022, worrying about the many things to worry about. But one amazing aspect about right now is how many ways we can share our cool creations with an audience.
ANYWAY, this little video is just me savoring this opportunity we have to get our creative stuff out in the world on our own schedule and on our own terms, even if we also embrace (and even celebrate) some traditional methods at the same time.
How do y’all think about traditional publishing vs. self-publishing? Big press vs. small press? New platforms vs. old platforms? Where do you see yourself most happy along this landscape?
Yuvi Zalkow is the author of the novel I Only Cry with Emoticons (Red Hen, 2022) as well as A Brilliant Novel in the Works. His stories and essays have been published in Catapult, Narrative Magazine, Carve Magazine, Rosebud, The Los Angeles Review, and others. Yuvi received an MFA from Antioch University. He uses his poor drawing skills to make YouTube videos and mobile apps that ooze with his worries and anxiety.
After three traditionally published books, mind-numbing struggles and opening a vein to create novels that took years to write–it’s simple. I’m no longer interested in making less than a buck a book. I’m not interested in waiting by the phone for calls from the industry. I’ve had agents send me form rejection emails TWO years after my query. I’m not interested, in the least, in acquiring the ever allusive agent or writing contact. I wore out two cars early in this century, driving to every writing conference east of the Mississippi. Since then, options have exploded for writers. After you’ve given it your all to perfect your craft, don’t give away the rights to your hard work. Do it yourself. Learn what it takes to get your book into a reader’s lap. It CAN be done. No more gatekeepers. They need YOU more than you need them!
Wow, your specific anecdotes are painfully familiar. 😜 Thanks so much for sharing, Pamela.
After my debut sold to a big house, I blogged about the experience of meeting my, uh, gatekeepers for the first time in NYC. I was told, on the heels of hitting ‘publish post,’ that it crossed some lines that I didn’t know existed. I had to edit the post down, dial it back, remove some specifics — none of which were negative, mind you, just…specific. There were many things I would have loved to blog about — I had, up until that point, been so transparent about my process that you might have seen my literary veins. But I couldn’t. I had to guard against revealing too much, all the way through; the opposite of unboxed, really. I also did not like the sense that my every word might be monitored, that I might need an assist in representing myself. Transparency is so much more natural for me, for better and for worse.
Wow, yeah, I’m sorry to hear that you had to censor yourself in that situation. And I’m so thankful that you created such a transparent community of writers here at Writer Unboxed. ❤️
Great video! And congrats on your book! I cannot imagine any writer not relating to this 100 percent. The older I get (56 now) the more I chafe at the idea of gatekeepers, in any arena. I have 2 works I plan to self publish…no idea WTH I am doing, but I have resources and some friends to help me. I hope its enough. Wishing you success with all your artistic endeavors!
Thanks so much, Ellen! “no idea WTH I am doing but I have resources and some friends to help me” actually sounds like a wonderful situation, especially in comparison to being a cog in a big machine or something like that. Wish you the best in all that you’re up to!… (I notice as I get older, I’m less into the bullshit myself… 😜)
Pamela, you’ve voiced what many refuse to acknowledge…( why, idk) with the explosion in self and indie pub, the GK really do need us more than vice versa.
Lighting: The Actual Sun. Hahaha … I am not going to get over that for the rest of the day. Thank you. This is a good time to tell you these videos are great. Informative. Thoughtful. They also, in the midst of being entertaining, make me examine topics anew. Yes, it also helps to pay attention because you slip in extras worth noting. Like, you know, the actual sun. I’m guessing that saves on production costs, even if it only works on sunny days.
Thanks, Christina, for noticing my favorite gag in the whole video! (Sometimes I wonder if I’m pretending to have a larger message in a video all in service of one dumb hidden joke that I want to make… 😜) Anyway, thanks for the kind words, and wish you the best with your creative work!
Yuvi, as always, I enjoy your writing and videos. And congratulations on the new book! I meander the entire landscape as far as publishing goes from blogging to Big5. I don’t do videos or podcasts or tweets because I’m most comfortable expressing ideas through writing (even though I’m very visual and write picture books). I love being published by a Big5 because sales are strong, but I love equally being published by mid- and smaller- publishers because they get the books in the hands of the kids. And I’ve dipped my toes into publishing myself and discovered how freeing it is to write and publish the books that I want to. I enjoy the entire process (huge learning curve though). However, I’m terrible at marketing (I try and fail on a regular basis) so self-publishing has been disappointing in that aspect. But I love that there are so many avenues to get our stories out. It’s a great time to a be a writer. I agree with Pamela above that the gatekeepers need us because we’re the ones who make the stories!
Thanks for the feedback, Vijaya! Wow, yeah, that’s interesting to hear your experience across the whole publishing gamut! (Unnecessary sidenote: I had a friend who routinely mixed up “gambit” and “gamut” and now I hesitate to use either word… 😜) And that’s a great point that I didn’t really talk about in my video –> marketing and self-promotion. I know that you’re expected to market on all levels these days, but you’re right that it is very different with each method, and self-publishing requires you to tackle (or delegate) all aspects of it. I definitely struggle with marketing and promotion myself… probably the hardest and least natural part for me. Wish you the best in your writing!
Okay, nothing but love coming this way – for your thoughts, for your openness, for your video, sense of humor, and all the rest. (I too liked the credit to the sun, but got a bigger giggle out of the question mark after “gaffer” – what/who is that, anyway?) My debut also published with a small press and I had lots of collaboration, hardly any gatekeeping, but you’ve given me pause about my next book and whether I should actually think of going with the Big Five or not. You’re right in thinking this is a golden age of freedom for writers to try out however they’d like to be published – and yes, you can put most of your work out there yourself if you don’t care about being paid. But many writers are looking to sustain a life through their writing and that sometimes means gatekeepers are involved. I do think you’ve given readers here at Unboxed food for thought and that’s a great thing – thanks!
Thanks for the feedback, Maggie! (Yeah, someday I’m going to look up what a gaffer does, but for now I like to imagine that it is the person mumbling bad jokes on the set while they’re trying to film… at least that how I like to think that job goes… a gaffer 😂😜) And yes!, I think you’re raising another important element of this decision that I didn’t talk about — and that is how to sustain a life through writing (something that I’ve never honestly figured out via creative writing!)… Money aside, I suspect I’m happier with a small press than with a big press (though never had first hand experience with a big press)… And I feel like my small press writer friends enjoy the process more than my big press writer friends. Anyway, wish you the best regardless of which path you end up taking next!…
Maggie, I believe you have far more control over your income when self publishing. You make far more per book than having to share your income with agents, editors, punishers, etc. And let’s not forget the control a writer maintains over things like book covers, titles, deadlines, etc. Sure, it’s all on you and I agree, a real learning curve. But some of us feel it’s worth it. Anyway, it’s worth investigating. Authors who care about getting paid, sustaining a financial life without gatekeepers, they’re out there. And doing well. But whatever you choose, I wish you all the best.
Yuri, I’ve sent my resume to you at least five times to become your gaffer (I will supply my own gaffs), but I never hear back. Thanks for the usual diverting and informative stuff—and congrats on the book! I’ve heard only good things about Red Hen Press.
I’m going to self-pub a memoir later this year, and it’s been a slog (with writing/rewriting/getting some edits/beta readers/cover design/anxiety that I should be a gaffer instead), but I’m closer.
I am my own gatekeeper, but I have a trellis over the gate that has roses, so the pain has some nice scents.
Oh! Probably the reason that I didn’t respond to you those 5 times is because I hadn’t gotten around to looking up what a gaffer does. And thanks for the kind words about my book. Wish you the best publishing your memoir! And I love your trellis metaphor, that comes along with beauty and thorns, which seems about right… 😜 Take care!
I love your thought process, Yuvi. I agree it’s always a good thing to have options. As a professional editor, I walk my authors through all the publishing options, from traditional agents and publishers to hybrid publishers, indie publishing, and more. There is no one-size-fits-all. The key is to do your homework to understand the nuances of the road you pick. And to know you can always veer from that road in the future. For example, an author can explore traditional publishing, and if the results are fruitless, a change in direction can lead to self-publishing or another form of traditional publishing, like small presses. Or, an author who has self-published one or several books can always query an agent to traditionally publish a new manuscript. Gone are the days when an author is locked into a path.
Enjoy the freedom, writers! There are gates–for sure. But those gates have doors. :)
Thanks for sharing, Yuvi.
Yours,
Dee