Wow, I can't believe people are so closed-minded

I am insulted.

As most of you know, I'm in the process of starting my own proofreading services. I received a friend request along with an interesting message from a writer. The message said: "You had me until lulu.com just so you know. I'm still adding you to see what kind of references you get" or something like that--I can't remember that message exactly and couldn't save it since it came with the friend request.

I was like . . . er, okay? So I sent him a message and said, "Just curious, what's wrong with Lulu?"

Here are the messages that followed:

Him: "Per se, nothing, but it tells me you took the self-print fiction route, and to many of us that is a glowing red flag."


Me: "I might understand that from a reader's POV--people are leery about spending money on a book that's self-published--but that has nothing to do with my ability to proofread another writer's work.
Stephen King self-published some of his work. Yes, it was after he was already famous, but obviously he doesn't feel he's "too good" for it . . . as some of "us" apparently think.
A lot of talented writers are turned away and ignored by publishers. For some, self-publishing is their only option, and it has led to success for many people. That's kind of a closed-minded statement considering that self-published writers are becoming more and more accepted these days."

Him: "Possibly. But the truth of the matter is this: you weren't patient enough to go the traditional route and you took a shortcut, regardless. Now, if you're willing to take shortcuts with your craft and your finished product... There are many small presses out there, local and regional, that are clamoring for quality authors to submit them quality work.
Plus you should also know I OWN a bookstore and literally most of what I see from the horror/science fiction/fantasy self-print crowd is unsaleable -- most is pure godawful dreck, about 15% could be saleable if the author would have just spent that much more time with it (or had it professionally edited), and about 5% or so could make it through traditional means.
And my "attitude" toward self-print fiction isn't unique. Brian Keene shares it. Kay Kenyon shares it. Ray Bradbury shares it. Hell, Harlan Ellison would go and stamp it on every beginning writer's forehead with it if he could.
See, it's like blaming readers that "don't get it." It's the author's job to make it so that they "get it." It's also our job to make publishers/agents "get it," too.
Self-printing is NOT their "only option." Good work sells. Period. It may take awhile, it may not fit with certain publisher's needs at the time, but that's where showing some moxie and personal intestinal fortitude come in, NOT bowing in to instant self-gratification.
And Steve has self-published a few things. But, then, Steve has an audience and Steve really knows what the hell he is doing. As does Piers. As does Harlan. And it's not a question of being "too good," either. They've got experiments, books out of print, what-have-you, a dearth of work/experience to choose from. And if it fails, no big worries. They can afford to do that, on many different levels.
Now, YOU fail, and get some kind of bad publication stigma attached to you (see Shane Moore for more about that one), trust me, you're not going to bounce back as easily as Steve and the others. (Again, see Shane Moore.)
Success for many people? Hardly. A select few, perhaps, and most of them you'll find out already had solid ties within the industry or had some other writing-related career prior.
"Closed-minded?" Hardly.
Now ask yourself this: why are you so defensive about it...?
(P.S.: Self-publishing does have it's uses, but we're now talking cookbooks, memoirs, poetry, that sort of thing, not consumer fiction.)"

Me: "If I'm defensive it's because a total stranger has judged my work ethic, the quality of my writing, and my intelligence based on one simple fact about me: that I publish with Lulu. So, I don't work hard because I self-publish? That's like saying all Wal-Mart employees are trash; they're not. On the contrary, you work even HARDER when you self-publish because you DON'T have anyone to sell it for you and do all the crap-work (advertising). Oh, and just because you self-publish does not mean you skip on having your work professionally edited. We pay professional editors and proofreaders just the same as you do. Well, the ones who know what they're doing anyway. All it takes to find out if a self-published author is worth your time and money is a little research, and if people are too lazy to do that, then it's their own fault if they get crappy writing.
It seems you got a bit defensive yourself, so no need to point fingers at me. Also, I ponder the credibility of someone who gets snarky about self-published authors for being unprofessional when you used "it's" wrong, failed to provide the proper spaces in your ellipses, and can't even "bother to take the time" to learn simple html so your Myspace profile isn't congested--seems like you "took the easy way out" when you were designing your page. Simple html is easy to learn.
Have a great day. There's no need to contact me again; I don't have any use for someone so snobbish."


Yes, I got petty towards the end and pointed out his mistakes (well, the ellipses and "it's" issue--the html thing was a valid point considering he thinks I "took the easy way out" by self-publishing; he did the same thing by not taking fifteen minutes to learn the simple html it takes to add spaces to your profile), but he really annoyed me. I can't believe people actually look down on you for self-publishing without bothering to do any research.

Not only that, but this jerk is using my personal choice to self-publish to NOT hire me for something that has nothing to do with that choice? Even if I was lazy and "took the easy way out," that says NOTHING about my proofreading skills. I just cannot believe people are so closed-minded and judgemental. And the funny thing? This dude is just as much of a "nobody" as I am. I saw nothing on his page to indicate anything more than average success with his writing.

As for self-publishing NOT being some people's only option--that's bullshit because not everyone has the extra money to spend on shipping queries and sample chapters. I know, I've tried. It takes HUNDREDS of dollars sometimes to print and ship--JUST TO BE REJECTED by dozens of agents and publishers who didn't bother to take the time to give them a real chance.

I'm not super famous by any means, but I do have a decent fan base for being someone who self-published. Not to mention, this idiot has NO IDEA how hard I DID try before finding Lulu and having it recommended by a friend. But when you're without a job and low on funds, there comes a point when you have to stop spending the money to send queries to agents and try to do it on your own. I am pissed because this asshole doesn't even know me, has no idea what I've done or how hard I've tried to get traditionally published, and he is judging MY credibility as a writer without even doing any research. He's making blind assumptions about my character and basically calling me lazy and impatient.

To revert to immature teenage years: WHAT. A. DOUCHE ROCKET.