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Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using print on demand technology. It may also apply to albums, pamphlets, brochures, games, video content, artwork, and zines. Web fiction is also a major medium for self-publishing.
Although self-publishing is not a new phenomenon, dating back to the 18th century, it has transformed during the internet age with new technologies and services providing increasing alternatives to traditional publishing, becoming a $1 billion market. [1] However, with the increased ease of publishing and the range of services available, confusion has arisen as to what constitutes self-publishing. In 2022, the Society of Authors and the Writers Guild of Great Britain produced a free downloadable guide to the various distinct types of publishing currently available. [2]
In self publishing, authors publish their own book. It is possible for an author to single-handedly carry out the whole process. However increasingly, authors are recognizing that to compete effectively, they need to produce a high quality product, and they are engaging professionals for specific services as needed (such as editors or cover designers). [3] A growing number of companies offer a one-stop shop where an author can source a whole range of services required to self-publish a book (sometimes called "Assisted Self-publishing Providers" or "Self-publishing Service Providers"). [4]
Not to be confused with:
It has been suggested that the best test for whether a company offers "Assisted Self-publishing Services" or "Hybrid/vanity publishing" is to apply a variant of "Yog's Law", [5] which states the following:
Therefore if a company offers services to the author without claiming any rights, and allows the author to control the entire process, they are assisting the author to self-publish. Whereas if the company takes some rights, and/or takes control of artistic decisions, they are a hybrid publisher or a vanity publisher, depending on the degree of involvement.
Historically, some authors have chosen to self-publish. Successful examples are John Locke, [6] Jane Austen, Emily Dickinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Martin Luther, Marcel Proust, Derek Walcott, and Walt Whitman. In 1759, British satirist Laurence Sterne self-published the first two volumes of Tristram Shandy . In 1908, Ezra Pound sold A Lume Spento for six pence each. Franklin Hiram King's book Farmers of Forty Centuries was self-published in 1911, and was subsequently published commercially. In 1931, Irma S. Rombauer, the author of The Joy of Cooking paid a local printing company to print 3000 copies; the Bobbs-Merrill Company acquired the rights, and since then the book has sold over 18 million copies. In 1941, writer Virginia Woolf chose to self-publish her final novel Between the Acts on her Hogarth Press, in effect starting her own press. [7] Self-publication was also known in music: Joseph Haydn self-published his oratorio The Creation in 1800. [8]
Five years ago, self-publishing was a scar. Now it's a tattoo.
Traditional book publishers are selective in what they publish, and they reject most of the manuscripts submitted to them. [10] After selection, they then assign an editor to polish the work even further, a proof-reader to check for errors, and a book designer to produce the cover. [11] It can be challenging for a self-publishing author to produce a book to traditional professional standards.
Before the advent of the internet and POD (Print on Demand), most self-publishing authors had to resort to a vanity press, which was costly and acted as a barrier to publication. Now, ebooks can be published at virtually no cost and the market has been flooded with poorly produced books. One blogger estimated that as much as 70% of self-published books are so bad, they are unreadable. [12]
However, some self-published authors are now taking a professional approach, using services like critique groups, beta readers, professional editors and designers to polish their work to a professional standard equivalent to traditional publishing. Such authors are achieving success equivalent to traditionally published writers, lending respectability to self-publishing. [13]
Self-publishing is also common among editors of academic journals. The study showed that a quarter of them publish 10% of their own articles in the same journals they edit (which is problematic for ethical reasons). [14]
A huge impetus to self-publishing has been rapid advances in technology. Print-On-Demand (or POD) technology, which became available in the mid-1990s, [15] makes it possible for a book to be printed after an order has been placed, so there are no costs for storing inventory. Further, the Internet provides access to global distribution channels via online retailers, so a self-published book can be instantly available to book buyers worldwide. Advances in e-book readers and tablet computers have improved readability, making ebooks more popular. [16]
Amazon's introduction of the Kindle and its self-publishing platform, Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP, in 2007 has been described as a tipping point in self-publishing, which "opened the floodgates" for self-publishing authors. [1]
The Espresso Book Machine (a POD device) was first demonstrated at the New York Public Library in 2007. This machine prints, collates, covers, and binds a single book. It is in libraries and bookstores throughout the world, and it can make copies of out-of-print editions. Small bookstores sometimes use it to compete with large bookstore chains. It works by taking two pdf files, one for the text and one for the cover, and then prints an entire paperback book in a matter of minutes, which then drops down a chute. [17]
The Library Journal and Biblioboard worked together to create a self-publishing platform called Self-e in which authors submitted books online which were made available to readers. These books are reviewed by Library Journal, and the best ones are published nationwide; authors do not make money this way but it serves as a marketing tool. [18]
In order to be purchased by a customer, the completed book must be hosted on a publishing platform. Amazon's Kindle is the largest of these but there are others.
Apple sells books via its App Store which is a digital distribution platform for its mobile apps on its iOS operating system. Apps can be downloaded to its devices such as the iPhone, the iPod Touch handheld computer, and the iPad. Apple pays authors 70 percent of its proceeds at its Apple iBookstore where it sells iBooks. [16]
Barnes & Noble pays 65 percent of the list price of e-books purchased through its online store called Pubit.
Books on Demand GmbH [25] BoD (2001; since 1997 as Libri [26] GmbH), [27] is the "original" in self-publishing. [28] [29] [30] [31]
IngramSpark lets authors publish digital, hardback and paperback editions of their books. It distributes books to most online bookstores. Bricks-and-mortar stores can also order books from IngramSpark at wholesale prices for sale in their own venues. It is run by Ingram Content Group.
Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP is Amazon's e-book publishing unit (see main article)
Kobo is a Canadian company which sells e-books, audiobooks, e-readers and tablet computers which originated as a cloud e-reading service.
Lulu is an online print-on-demand, self-publishing and distribution platform.
Scribd is an open publishing platform which features a digital library, an e-book and audiobook subscription service.
Smashwords is a California-based company founded by Mark Coker which allows authors and independent publishers to upload their manuscripts electronically to the Smashwords service, which then converts them into multiple e-book formats which can be read on various devices.
A major development in this century has been the growth of web fiction. A common type is the web serial. Unlike most modern novels, web fiction novels are frequently published in parts over time. Web fiction is especially popular in China, with revenues topping US$2.5 billion, [32] as well as in South Korea. Online literature in China plays a much more important role than in the United States and the rest of the world. [33] Most books are available online, where the most popular novels find millions of readers. They cost an average of 2 CNY, or roughly a tenth of the average price of a printed book. [34] [35] Shanda Literature Ltd. is an online publishing company that claims to publish 8,000 Chinese literary works daily. Joara is S. Korea's largest web novel platform with 1.1 million members, 140,000 writers, an average of 2,400 serials per day and 420,000 works. [36] Joara's users have almost the same gender ratio, and both fantasy and romance genres are popular.
While most self-published books do not make much money, [37] there are self-published authors who have achieved success, particularly in the early years of online self-publishing. [38] The number of authors who had sold more than one million e-books on Amazon from 2011 to 2016 was 40, according to one estimate. [39]
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software, and other content available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, comic books, newspapers, and magazines. With the advent of digital information systems, the scope has expanded to include digital publishing such as e-books, digital magazines, websites, social media, music, and video game publishing.
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. The New York Times Book Review has published the list weekly since October 12, 1931. In the 21st century, it has evolved into multiple lists, grouped by genre and format, including fiction and nonfiction, hardcover, paperback and electronic.
Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology and business process in which book copies are not printed until the company receives an order, allowing prints in single or small quantities. While other industries established the build-to-order business model, POD could only develop after the beginning of digital printing because it was not economical to print single copies using traditional printing technologies such as letterpress and offset printing.
A vanity press or vanity publisher, sometimes also subsidy publisher, is a publishing house where the author pays to have the book published. It is not to be confused with hybrid publishing, where the publisher and author collaborate and share costs and risks, or with assisted self-publishing, where the author pays publishing services to assist with self-publishing their own book, and retains all rights.
IndieBound is a marketing movement for independent bookstores launched in 2008 by the American Booksellers Association. With resources designed to encourage readers to shop at independent bookstores, it promotes fiscal localism.
Publishers Weekly (PW) is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of Book Publishing and Bookselling". With 51 issues a year, the emphasis today is on book reviews.
A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties. An author may also be referred to as a bestseller if their work often appears in a list. Well-known bestseller lists in the U.S. are published by Publishers Weekly, USA Today, The New York Times, and IndieBound. The New York Times tracks book sales from national and independent bookstores, as well as sales from major internet retailers such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
An author mill is a publisher that relies on producing large numbers of small-run books by different authors, as opposed to a smaller number of works published in larger numbers. The term was coined by Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware, as a parallel formation from diploma mill, an unaccredited college or university that offers degrees without regard to academic achievement, and puppy mill, a breeding operation that produces large numbers of puppies for sale with little regard for breed purity, puppy placement, health, or socialization.
Dorrance Publishing Company, Inc. is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States–based book publishing company. The company publishes both traditional printed books as well as ebooks.
Rakuten Kobo Inc., or simply Kobo, is a Canadian company that sells ebooks, audiobooks, e-readers and formerly tablet computers. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is a subsidiary of the Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakuten. The name Kobo is an anagram of book.
Kindle Direct Publishing is Amazon.com's e-book publishing platform launched in November 2007, concurrently with the first Amazon Kindle device. Originally called Digital Text Platform, the platform allows authors and publishers to publish their books to the Amazon Kindle Store.
Amazon Publishing is Amazon's book publishing unit launched in 2009. It is composed of 15 imprints including AmazonEncore, AmazonCrossing, Montlake Romance, Thomas & Mercer, 47North, and Topple Books.
Catherine Bybee is an American author. She has written thirty-nine books that have collectively sold more than 10 million copies and have been translated into more than twenty languages. Several of the books she authored have been on The New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists.
Rachel Abbott is an English author of psychological thrillers. A self-publisher, her first seven novels have combined to sell over three million copies, and have all been bestsellers on Amazon's Kindle store. In 2015, she was named the 14th bestselling author over the last five years on Amazon's Kindle in the UK.
A hybrid press is a publishing house which can be broadly defined by its source of revenue. The revenue source of a traditional publisher is through the sale of books that they publish, while the revenue of hybrid publishers comes from both book sales and fees charged to the author for the execution of their publishing services.
Bella Andre is an American author of more than 40 contemporary romance novels. As of 2019, Andre is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Sullivans™ series and her books have sold over 8 million copies. She also writes as Lucy Kevin for the Four Weddings and a Fiasco series and the Married in Malibu series.
David Gaughran is an Irish indie publishing advocate and for his workshops, blog, and books: Let’s Get Digital, Let’s Get Visible, Amazon Decoded, Strangers to Superfans, BookBub Ads Expert, and Following. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America President Mary Robinette Kowal said, “David Gaughran has been doing yeoman’s work for years, alerting indie writers about predatory schemes and warning them about changes in independent publishing.”
BookTok is a subcommunity on the app TikTok that focuses on books and literature. Creators make videos reviewing, discussing, and joking about the books they read. These books range in genre, but many creators tend to focus on young adult fiction, young adult fantasy, and romance. The community is cited with impacting the publishing industry and book sales. The creators in this community are also known as BookTokers.
Mark Edwards is an English London-based, best-selling fiction writer. His books have sold over four million copies and been translated into 12 languages. Edwards has written over a dozen thrillers since his 2013 solo debut, The Magpies, and his 2022 novel No Place to Run made it into the top ten Kindle chart. He has co-authored six books with Louise Voss.
...Retailers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the UK's WH Smith, and Canada's Kobo have removed problematic self-published titles after the discovery of a slew of pornographic abuse-themed e-books...
...'The biggest thing you have against you in trying to sell your book is that people don't know about it,' he said
...the Espresso Book Machine by on Demand Books debuted in 2006...
...free self-publishing platform called Self-e, a collaboration between Library Journal and BiblioBoard.... more of a marketing tool
...tried-and-true formatters, cover artists and editors who don't cost a small fortune...
...survey found that the number of self-published books in the U.S. has almost tripled in the past six years...
... some festival organisers still believe I don't have as much to say about writing and selling books as a traditionally published author, regardless of their popularity...
... With Amazon's Kindle and CreateSpace as the major outlets, it continues to put money in the coffers of the company largely responsible for destroying author incomes in the first place...
...Five years ago, printing your own book was stigmatized and was seen as a mark of failure...
...the ones who are very successful at it are making a lot of money, which ... can be hard to match with the traditional publishing royalty structure...
In 1931, Irma Rombauer wrote 'The Joy of Cooking,' with her daughter...
...They used to call it the 'vanity press,' and the phrase itself spoke volumes...
… According to Smashwords … the best-selling 1 % of titles net half the sales….
....In 2010, Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin, a Swedish self-help author and life coach, self-published his first children's book, 'The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep'
...Hugh Howey's postapocalyptic thriller 'Wool' has sold more than half a million copies...