Self-Publishing

[rowyn]

J. A. Konrath: "You Should Self-Publish"

In the last few years, I've read a lot about self-publishing. I've watched some very hard-working friends enjoy a modest degree of success self-publishing. I definitely believe that there are situations where self-publishing makes sense.

Even so, this essay struck me. Because it's the first time that I've seen someone who

a) Was traditionally published and moderately successful in print
b) Decided to switch to self-publishing
c) Now believes that not only was self-publishing the right decision for him, but that it is the best option for basically all authors, whether they have been traditionally published before or not.

And that last made me go "Whoa". Here is an author contending that traditional publishers are offering authors virtually nothing of value beyond editing and cover-painting services that an author can contract elsewhere. That the whole "cachet of having been vetted by the elite of the industry" is a myth. That e-book readers do not care whether your book is self-published or traditionally published. That traditional publishers are not really doing anything to promote sales beyond placing your book in stores, which you can do yourself in the e-book world.

And that is just ... whoa. A big claim to make.

I do not know if I am convinced; Konraths's numbers, especially the assumption that sales will remain level over any given period of time, struck me as overly simplistic. It also seems to me that publishers at least have the potential to add considerable value to the process, but that doesn't mean they actually are. Still, food for thought.

Comments

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

<.<
>.>

You're just posting this to try to convince Bard, aren't you? n.n

[howardtayler.livejournal.com]

Huge logical flaw: He says that you're losing money when your book is awaiting publication.

He assumes that book sales will always be steady, that there is no life-cycle for ebooks. And he bases his numbers on his own experience, which means the data set is TINY and less than 24 months long.

I've been self-publishing successfully for five years now. Sales of the first book I put out have tapered significantly. It's new books that pay the bills, though the back-list is definitely helpful in normalizing the spikes and troughs of the book release cycle.

I think that electronic publishing is our eventual future, and that traditional publishers will have to change a lot to remain relevant, but I also think Konrath's argument is flawed to the point of being negligently misleading.

[verminiusrex.livejournal.com]

As with many things involving technology and the internet, one success story doesn't mean that business model works for everyone. I think that for big name authors the publishers will remain vital to their success, but for the far greater number of lesser authors the technology of ebooks and self publishing allows them to get their books out like they wouldn't have been able years ago.

Much like the retailers that feared the internet would lead to the downfall of their physical stores or the people who thought that email would lead to the end of snail mail, I think that it won't end the old ways of doing things but will significantly impact how the industry is run. The playing field has been leveled and the publishers are no longer the only means for an author to reach their audience. The publishers can either adapt to the new technology or watch their market share slowly shrink over the next decade.

[mach.livejournal.com]

Hehe, You know me. I'll put it this way.

Provided the page count is good, and there's a sample to read online. I typically buy e-books that are clearly self-published. The reason is most of the big names don't have the stuff I want, and the stuff I do want isn't necessarilly the best written, but tells the best story.

Publishers are great gate-keepers, you know you're getting a level of quality. But like free software is to non-free, there are niches to be filled. And often the quality is very high, due dilligence is requred.

Also, it should be noted, your stuff on Amazon doesn't really show in bright neon that it was self published. So, Amazon becomes a great leveler in my opinion. Very neat times.

Recently I bought 6 e-books. All were in the paranormal/romance/gay sub-genre. *grin* Were-(wolf, cat, lion etc) guy on guy action. Fun stuff. Some was crap, some was amazing. But all of it was *FUN!