My colleague Roger forwarded me this article the other day.
It asks the question: “Is the self-publishing stigma fading?”
The author who wrote it notes that he jumped on the indie bandwagon back in 2010—“when the concept of being an indie author was still relatively new.”
That made my colleague Atilla laugh, since he helped launch Wheatmark back in the year 2000—ten years before that!
Anyway, the author’s point is essentially “yes.” The self-publishing stigma is fading… but it may never go away entirely.
I enjoy articles like this, but I’d take the author’s point even one step further: I think indie authors, or self-publishers (or whatever you want to call them), actually have an advantage in today’s market.
Case in point: check out the article at this link, which tracks e-book sales.
(My thanks to Simple Marketing System client Ginny Lieto for bringing this article to my attention!)
This article talks about the disadvantage that “traditional” authors are facing with regards to their publishers, who’ve demanded higher e-book prices under an “agency” model.
According to the article, these publishers want higher e-book prices in order to protect their existing relationships with other, “more important” (to them) players: physical bookstores like Barnes and Noble.
As you can see in the article’s companion graphics, insisting on the agency model of higher list prices for their e-books has cost these publishers (and thus, their authors) sales.
By contrast, independent and self-published authors have seen their sales rise—perhaps to fill in the gap left by the more traditional publishing outfits.
But back to the original article: that author points out that “The self-publishing boom has produced a lot of low-quality literature, and you only have to trawl the shelves of Amazon and other stores to see that it’s still coming.”
It’s that kind of negative outcome (publishing a bad book) that—above all else—you want to avoid! That’s why for most authors, it’s best not to do every publishing step entirely on your own.
You want to work with the best editors, cover designers, interior-layout people, and distribution and marketing people you can afford. That’s the only way to shift the odds more in your favor in an increasingly-crowded marketplace.
But how do you find a competent, high-quality, professional publishing service to help you—one that won’t rip you off in the process?
Simply register for and watch my presentation “The Author’s Guide to Choosing a Publishing Service” at this link.
I’ll see you there!
Happy Friday,
Grael
Grael Norton
Wheatmark, Inc.
PS: Virtual seating is limited to 75 attendees, so register soon!
