SELF-PUBLISHING
PERCEPTIONS
G'day guys,
Have public perceptions changed in relation to self-published authors? From my readings, I certainly think they have. Here is an article courtesy of Susan Lulgjuraj from Teleread.com.
" Self-publishing a book can come with pre-conceived notions from
readers, other writers and even publishers. People used to think
self-publishing a book meant it wasn’t good enough to get picked up by
traditional houses. However, the stigma of self-publishing is changing.
Success stories have become more and more abundant, and the shock those
successes caused even five to 10 years ago is slowly beginning to
dissipate.
Those in the industry have watched the development closely.
Smashwords founder Mark Coker began his site five years ago as an outlet for self-published authors. It started small and has grown into a site where nearly 100,000 books are published each year.
“You know, five years ago when we started Smashwords, self-publishing was seen as the option of last resort,” Coker said, in a recent interview with NPR’s All Things Considered. ”It was seen as the option for failed writers. And the publishing industry held that view, and even writers held that view.”
“But that’s changing now,” Coker continued. “Self-publishing is now becoming the option of first choice for many writers. And even traditional publishers now have newfound respect for self-publishing. They’re using the self-publishing bestseller lists to troll for new authors to acquire.”
Coker hits on an important notion in the self-publishing world—are self-published bestseller lists ripe for agents and publishing houses?
In truth, many authors are happy being self-published; many authors went that route after years of being published the traditional way.
While the bestseller lists remain a great resource for agents, literary agent Rachelle Gardner, in a recent post on her blog, argues that self-published books are not the new slush pile.
“My conclusion is that self-published books are just one source of good authors and books, but they’re not ‘the new slush pile,’” Gardner wrote. “Over time, things may move in that direction, but I would never want that to be the only place we look for new authors to publish.”
Penny C. Sansevieri recently tackled the issue on The Huffington Post. She’s been part of the business for years and witnessed the transformation. Self-publishing a book doesn’t have to mean the end of a budding career. In fact, it could be the start of something great.
“Put out a good product, then do a lot of pretty obvious stuff to promote it.”"
I network with people every day in many countries. The authors I connect with all say the same as me, 'Marketing is a pain, but it is necessary.' Sadly, it takes me away from my real love - writing. But, as I said to a musician many years ago who was scared of rejection, 'Fine, do your tracks and DVD and hide them in a shoebox under your bed. However, you forget one thing: it might be a sensational piece that goes viral .... and you'll never know because you never shared it.'
Bring on the revolution!
Happy Easter!
I'm ...
Great post. The perception of self-publishing is changing daily, almost hourly, and all the rules are being redefined. There's a great article in the WSJ about Hugh Howey's "Wool" and how he sold the p-back and h-back rights but kept the digital rights, creating a new "hybrid" classification. This is a great time for innovation and for being an indie writer.
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