Until recently the age old wisdom for writers was not to self-publish, especially fiction writers. One of the major hurdles for a self-published writer (they’re now calling them indie writers) was distribution. And distribution was the exclusive domain of the publishing house. If you wanted to get your book into a store you had to go through traditional means and usually suffer an apprenticeship filled with disappointment and rejection. But once you got a book contract you could focus on the writing and some promotion and let the publishing house do the rest (cover art, editing, distribution).
Within the last couple of years everything has changed. Now with the advent of desirable e-readers like the Amazon Kindle the would be author has the ability to publish their own work, have a cover image created and uploaded, pay for a professional editing service, and reach readers all over the country and even the world with the almost unlimited potential of the Internet.
One downside of digitizing written media is the potential for piracy through file sharing. This is still very widespread with music files despite the ability to buy songs cheaply. Google Books may be stretching the concept of fair use by digitizing and uploading millions of books. But they claim that most of the books they’ve uploaded are already in public domain or long out of print. They have also partnered with some authors, allowing them to turn their book samples into an advertisement where the reader is only a click away from purchasing the book if they like what they’ve read.
So it seems that digitizing books can be a major benefit to starving writers waiting to be published. It also appears that it is much quicker, convenient, and cheaper to self-publish thanks to the Internet and e-Readers. Is this an accurate statement? Do you find it convenient and better to have the ability to self-publish with the support of digitizing or do you find it more respectable to go through the hurdles of writing and waiting on publishing house?
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for sharing because I had no clue that the publishing house is in charge of the cover art, editing and all that jazz. I thought it was the responsibility of the writer and the publishing house would either say yea or nay…and back to the drawing board you went to try again.
It's cheaper but you still have to pay out of pocket for all the things that a publishing house would do for you (editing, cover art, etc.). It's still more respectable to get a book deal with a publisher but that may change. And you still have to put out a quality product. If you burn your readers they won't come back and buy more of your books. This is still in the early stages so it's hard to say which will be better in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, you typically only provide a manuscript and the publishing house does everything else. However, more recently, with editors spread more thinly, sometimes you won't get anything more than a line edit so many writers pay a professional editor to help them before they submit the manuscript. In the "old days" editors would work with and develop new writers.
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteI have to be honest, after I purchased a Nook from Barnes and Noble, I find myself reading more books on the reader than I would by either going to the library and checking out a book or going to the store and purchasing one. I think the investment in the reader has caused me to use it more. Plus, it's also very simple to by the book or newspaper or magazine subscription that I am looking for. I also did not realize that the publishing company was responsible for so much of the process. I can now see why the digital format is more advantageous to the self-published writer. I think that were now seeing what the future of published media will be; we will be able to purchase books, magazines and newspapers from the Internet or an e-reader.
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteI'm using a Kindle from Amazon and I have found the same thing. I read a lot more than when I was just reading print media. Although, since I have two accelerated classes this semester, I'm not reading as much right now as I'd like. : )
I think the kindle is pretty cool but its not for me. Ive had a couple ebooks for my classes and its harder for me to /focus/learn with them. I need the physical book in front of me.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Brian Shaw
http://bshaweti.blogspot.com