Shaking up the Big Boys: Self-Publishing Is Here to Stay

There's a lot of change occurring in the publishing world -- a lot of change. Perhaps you've heard of it -- all the recent advancements in the self-publishing field? And while it is far too early to predict the precise direction that all of these changes will take us, one thing is certain: self-publishing is shaking up the world of traditional book publishing, and self-publishing is not going to go away.

Via this "sifting" process, very few writers actually saw their manuscript put into print. But things are very different today! And the reason for this sea change? The advent of self-publishing technology, which makes it possible for any author who is willing to learn how to get their book published to do so without the assistance of the old-line publishers.

Let me be very clear right from the start: most traditional publishing companies do not want you to learn how to publish a book on your own; they would rather you remain in the dark about all of this, as a way of keeping you dependent on using their book publishing services.

The major force behind the advance in the self-publishing field is technology. Book publishing software is becoming extremely sophisticated, enabling a skilled user to produce a printed book whose quality parallels that of books published in the traditional way -- and the big boys are worried.

Another area of technological advance is print on demand publishing technology. Print on demand publishing technology allows books to be physically printed and bound very quickly after an order has been received for them. The advancement of print on demand publishing technology means that even traditional publishers no longer have to maintain huge inventories of back listed books.

Another area of the self-publishing world which has experienced a lot of changes is children's book publishing. In the past it was difficult for writers to get children's books published because a glut of these books on the market meant that they could be difficult to sell. As a consequence, traditional publishing companies would not take them. The advent of print on demand publishing means that children's books can be printed as they are ordered and paid for, whether 100 or 10,000 copies are needed.

Self-publishing can be a wonderful option for authors who might have difficulty in getting their books into print using the traditional approach. For example, self-publishing has revolutionized the children's book publishing industry, and technologies such as print on demand mean that no one needs to take a financial risk on printing copies that may not be sold (which frequently happens in the children's book publishing field).

Of course the self-publishing field has its naysayers as well -- and at times their criticisms are well deserved. For example it is still true that far too many self published books are of inferior quality (poorly edited, crappy cover designs, inferior materials, poor page layout). Because of this many retail bookstores refuse to carry self-published works. And this lack of access to bookstores should be taken into careful consideration by any one who is exploring a self-publishing option for their own book.

Still, self-publishing can be a good choice for certain authors: for example, those who have written books on controversial subjects (which commercial publishing houses may not be willing to risk publishing) or on subjects for which there is a limited appeal (specialist hobby books, for example).

So if you are a budding Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King or Erma Bombeck, take heart -- you have new options in the publishing world. Just carefully weigh the risks along with the benefits.