I think I was a bit harsh on author and editor in my last blog. When I said 'vanity', what I meant to say is that books can become personal. Especially if you have written it. Which makes you become very subjective about it. Any criticism of the book can feel like a criticism of oneself.
And once an editor takes it on, then it becomes personal to the editor and they can become equally defensive of it. I know, I've been there, I've done it!
Because books can be as different as people on the planet, it is inevitable that in nurturing one through the publication process, it can become your 'baby'. Which is why publishing is such an appealing profession. If it were just a type of toothpaste or shampoo, how likely are you to get so attached and sensitive about the product?
The 'vanity' bit is wanting it to become public, to be on show in a bookshop. To prove to others that what you wrote, discovered, marketed, published is something 'wonderful', a reflection on all the people involved in the process. Ideally it will be on show in the house of the person who bought and read it. Or in the library. Conventionally, for this to happen it has to be published.
But as with many of the 200,000 books published each year, it might hardly be seen, then is it worth going down this route? Or should the author continue to champion it in the ether as a pdf? I read a great blog on how to bind a book using a few bits of wood and glue.
Maybe browsing in a bookshop may become replaced by browsing the ether. Who knows what the future holds. Whatever it is, we should try and eliminate unnecessary waste.
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