The Clear Path Forward for Self-Publishing
Only a couple of years ago, starting to write an article on self-publishing would mean wading through the pages and pages of pieces on self-publishing versus traditional publishing, and dismissing versus accepting self-publishing as the only way forward.
This has quieted down more recently, thankfully, but rather than either sector falling away that is because both self-publishing and traditional publishing have found themselves on a clearer path forward. And the future remains very bright for self-published authors.
With the work of the associations and raft of information available, the sector is now better self-regulated – while there are still services to avoid, many now have a clearer picture through which to make their publishing decisions. With track records emerging, author expectations are now also better set, both in terms of sales and the amount of marketing and sales work required.
The choice is no longer one or the other, with many authors swapping between the two forms of publishing, with traditional publishers still happy to invest heavily in self-published work. While some bookshops and traditional media still take issue with self-published work, Amazon remain supportive and this has diversified to a large number of other retail and media outlets now providing a level playing field, regardless of whether the work is self- or traditionally published.
I don’t have the numbers, but whether the amount of books self-published has increased, stayed the same or decreased over the past two years, all of the authors that take this route will do so better informed and with more opportunity than ever before.
All this provides a fascinating backdrop to New Generation Publishing’s annual Self-Publishing Summit at King’s College London on 12th November. As part of the Legend Tmes Group, I am always delighted to see the mix of industry professionals, successful self-published authors and first-time and experienced writers mix for an informative, positive and fascinating day. For details on the Self-Publishing Summit see: http://www.newgeneration-publishing.com/home/self-publishing-summit-2016/
The Summit will be another day on which to enjoy and celebrate the success of self-publishing but also on which to look forward to many exciting years ahead for writers who take the plunge and decide to publish their own work.
Hybrid publishing is dynamic. While there are clear steps, benefits, and drawbacks to the distinctly separate models of self-publishing, (now liked to be known as ‘Indie-publishing’), and indigenous publishing, (I tend to avoid the word ‘tradition;’ and this smacks of connotations that it is undated or outmoded which it certainly is not).
Hybrid publishing allows authors and publishers to take what they want from each model in order to create a tailored, innovative approach to publishing, which offers mutual benefits to all parties involved.