Anyone who says that self-published authors are scraping the bottom of the barrel and considered “losers” that no “real” publishing house will accept should reconsider their opinions after reading the following.
Not only is self-publishing passing traditional publishing in modern-day sales (especially those with books available in ebook formats), but also lets authors have more control over their own work and earnings.
Gone are the days of if the manuscript was rejected, the author left it to collect dust in a hiddent drawer to avoid the now-outdated stigma of self-publishing. Writers paid a “vanity publisher” to print their books, but drawbacks were very few stores carried such books and were rarely subjected to professional reviews.
Thanks to the arrivals of the Internet, ereaders, iPads, smartphones, and other technological devices, self-publishing and small publishing houses have taken on a whole new meaning and past stigmas are gradually fading. Most important, self-publishing eliminates the middleman; therefore, cutting down on printing and production costs.
The Association of American Publishers’ most recent figures showed that e-books grew from 0.6% of the total trade market share in 2008 to 6.4% in 2010, with the net revenue f$878 million with 114 million e-books sold in 2010. 13.6% of the ebook market is dominated by adult fiction.
One self-publishing success story is that of thriller author Michael Prescott. His story appeared in an edition of USA Today.
Prescott went the digital self-publishing route after being turned down by 25 publishers, earning more than $300,000 in 2011before taxes, with his books selling more than 800,000 copies. Five of those books logged a total of 42 weeks on USA Today’s best-seller list.
Not a bad feat for a self-published author. So much for “loser at the bottom of the barrel.”
Some self-published writers have even gone on to sign with traditional publishers, so not all hope is lost. It all begins with someone with a great story to tell.
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