Tips for Writers
Book Publishing is Changing
By Jerry D. Simmons | July 28th, 2009 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Forced by the economic downturn and declining unit sales over the past decade and a half major publishers are scrambling to reinvent themselves. Finding their dire situation mirrors that of General Motors but without the possibility of a large bailiout, these guys are not too big to fail. Lagging sales, increased cover prices, and the unwillingness to publish more first time authors or take chances on new sub-genres, the majors are destined to find themselves trailing the quality self-published titles that are emerging.
The fact that quality writers willing to self-publish now have access to major booksellers means their opportunities have never been greater. Taking the production standards of the large traditional publishers and combining that with the rights, ownership and control of a self-published author, this change in book publishing is a major step towards respectability for the self-published book.
For the first time there were more self-published titles in 2008 than the traditionally published ones. Certainly there are still large quantities of these books that will never find their way onto bookstore shelves because they are poorly written and lack an editor’s hand. There is a publisher that provides a comprehensive editorial screening and publishing philosophy that allows for the finest written manuscripts to be self-published in a manner that provides direct sales and national distribution, just like the traditional New York publishers.
For years the self-publishing industry has profited by creating a volume approach to publishing which welcomed any and all titles. This model is sufficient for most authors with a desire for a published book but is not adequate for those quality writers looking for a new approach. A publisher has emerged that will combine production standards with editorial review to create an imprint acceptable to major booksellers while still allowing authors ownership of their work.
Book publishing is changing and for the self-published author, it’s for the better.
Tags: Book Distribution, Book Publishing, Book Sales, Booksellers, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing
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