And now for the news!
Some highlights from this month in the world of self-publishing, specifically regarding publishing trends within the publishing industry, and their implications for all authors!
Could changes be in the wind for the literary establishment? In her July 14 article for the Sydney Morning Herald, Jane Sullivan posits a firm “yes!” She begins with the story of Naomi Klein and her latest book, No Is Not Enough. But what, exactly, was not enough?As Sullivan reports, it was “the prospect of going to a big US publisher to put [her book] out” as well as the inevitable delays which accompany traditional publishing. “Instead,” writes Sullivan, “Klein bypassed both her agent and her previous publisher […] and went straight to a small press.” This allowed her to release her book both at home and abroad in a timely fashion, all the more important since Klein’s book comments upon the current political situation in America. She chose Haymarket Books, a small Chicago-based nonprofit publisher, eschewing decades of tradition and her own storied history as a blockbuster success.
The remainder of Sullivan’s article examines the rise of self-publishing, contrasting it with the so-called “vanity” press, and touches on the stories of three independent Australian authors pursuing self-publishing today: fiction author John Birmingham, cartoonist Judy Horacek, and romance novelist Kylie Scott. Each of these “hybrid” authors came to the new publishing paradigm on their own terms, and by their own path–and Sullivan’s article concludes by hinting at why their stories may be important for a new generation of authors. Read the rest of this excellent article at the Sydney Morning Herald!
Well, it’s official: Brits love books, and they love writing them almost as much as they like reading them according to this July 21 article which appeared on Fife Today, the website of the Fife Free Press, providing news from Kircaldy in Fife, Scotland. The article covers the results of a recent poll by self-publishing company Type & Tell, wherein one in eight British residents was found to have “already written or is currently writing a book (13 per cent), while 39 per cent of people are planning to write one.” Interestingly, the study also shows that science fiction, drama, and children’s books, not romance, are the leading genre contenders in this large population of authors–although there was plenty of diversity represented in genre overall, with mystery, crime, short stories, fantasy, and romance all in the mix, as well as nonfiction. That’s a lot of books!
But the most interesting finding of all? According to Fife Today:
Despite the rise of e-readers, the research shows that people are still in love with the feel of flicking through the pages of a physical book. Eight in ten (82 per cent) budding authors want to see their words printed on paper, while just over half (58 per cent) would be happy to be published in e-book format.
This more or less confirms our suspicions here on Self Publishing Advisor–that one should never close a door on printed books, but certainly pursue publishing options which enable a diverse readership with both paper and digital predilections to access your stories! To read the entire article, visit the original article here.
You can find all of these authors’ excellent books for sale online.
