A Wide-Open Future
I've provided a link to a great article at Publisher's Weekly online. While not directly aimed at self-publishers, you only need read between the lines to realize that the publishing industry is about to shift drastically and that self-publishing can be included in the new hierarchy as a workable way to publish. The opportunities will be in place, however hard work still needs to be done. You can't kid yourself to thinking self-publishing will be easier in the future. You will still need strong, independent thinking and determination, but there will be room at the publishing table for self-publishing once the smoke clears.....Enjoy the article.
Link: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6685324.html
Link: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6685324.html
Comments
I think readers are the real winners. More choice, especially for niche genres like lesbian fiction.
I do hope to see more offerings of POD technologies for authors to make use of. And of course, let's wipe away the elitist attitudes of mainline bookstores etc. against POD published books. At the current rate, bookstores don't seem to be doing very well using current publishing and book selling models. This is one of the major changes I'd like to see. That one won't be easy but well worth fighting for. But then again, the future of book selling may all be online.
And I agree that more variety and author choices are perfect additions to the lesfic niche.
Thanks Sarah, and much success on your self-publishing adventure. Keep us updated.
Great article. Coming from a banking and finance background that included a lot of M&A involvement, I understand about
servicing debt more rapidly than they accrue it and garnering more investment capital.
Yes, they need to demonstrate growth. But as Peter Drucker once said, M&As are for people who run out of good ideas. Its the organic growth that will sustain a business in the long term.
That being said, its time to begin collecting names of these start up independent publishing houses. I need to make the jump from self-publishing (iUniverse) to a better publisher, and maybe this is the direction I need to look.
Stephen Tremp
http://www.stephentremp.blogspot.com/
As far as brick and mortar bookstores go, I'd like to see them survive and flourish, but I think a shift in thinking will have to take place for them to do so. I don't think accepting all self-published books is the answer. I don't know what the answer is and apparently neither does anyone else, otherwise independent stores wouldn't be closing and the big chains wouldn't be struggling. Something to watch.
I'll keep you posted on my first self-publishing attempt. You can also follow how it's going at my blog.
My own novel was published through a small house, Bywater Books.
If you can't afford a good, professional, freelance editor, then small niche publishing companies are the way to go, because the biggest thing in favor of traditional publishing vs self-publishing right now is the free editing. I don't know any writer anywhere who doesn't benefit from good editing. And copy editing and typesetting.
That being said, the only way to really check on the quality of the editing you'll get with a small house is to read their books and talk to their authors, if you can. There are small companies that do little more in the way of editing your work then self-publishing companies offer, which is none.
I know how to write. There are many things I do not know about editing and typesetting (if that's the correct term) and I don't want to learn these things. I love working in conjunction with an editor to improve my work. I have to have respect for that editor's skill and vision, and the editor has to have respect for the vision in my work. If you can find that, it's worth everything.
If you can't, self-publishing is great. It's easy, it's doable even by someone like me, with very little computer skill.
I believe more and more small presses will turn to POD, rather than stockpiling copies that cost trees, money, space. In the past, they have said that POD is more expensive. I think that is changing.