“Now, if mainstream publishers reject their work as too specialized, even the most Beatles-obsessed authors are finding audiences for their books by publishing them themselves. But don’t even think the phrase ‘vanity press.’ Many of these self-published books are lavishly produced and packed with original research that makes them invaluable to Beatles scholars and collectors, … Continue reading “Do-It-Yourself Publishing Leaves Home-made Behind”
“Call it self-publishing, vanity, subsidy, or print-on-demand publishing. It’s all related, in that the author pays the publisher rather than vice versa, and with the advent of digital technology, it’s become big business.”
Publishing on demand has resulted in a flood of self-published books. The three biggest self-publishing companies have produced a combined 47,000 titles since the late 1990s. “There’s an awful lot of people out there that have something to say.”
There are about 4.5 million books in print. And the number of new books each year has been growing at an alarming rate. Why? The proliferation of digital self-published books. There are some downsides to the new publishing – self-published books haven’t been vetted through the usual process of editors and publishers. And print-on-demand publishers … Continue reading “The Trouble With Self Publishing”
It has become a cesspool for scammers and con artists and crackpots of every kind. Worse, it even helps promote racist supremacist views. What can be done? – ProPublica
And some of them are earning $100,000 a month. In the Amazon self-publishing universe where authors earn a share of revenue based on how many people are reading, scammers have so gamed the system that quality legitimate books are being edged out, and money is going to clickbait. – The Guardian
For decades, self-publishing was derided as an embarrassing sign that an author couldn’t cut it in the “real” publishing industry—“the literary world’s version of masturbation,” as Salon once put it. And Amazon, the world’s biggest e-commerce site, with its bookstore-beating prices, was painted as an enemy to authors. But now its self-publishing service, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), has … Continue reading “Amazon Has Made Self-Publishing Lucrative For Authors”
“The offending books often stay up for weeks or even months at a time before they’re detected, usually by an astute reader. For the authors, this intrusion goes beyond threatening their livelihood. Writing a novel is a form of creative expression, and having it stolen by someone else, many say, can feel like a personal … Continue reading “Massive Plagiarism In The Age Of Self-Publishing”
“Just like the old-guard editors and publishing companies that they once defined themselves against, these new imprints promise to anoint fledgling authors with legitimacy and give them an edge in a flooded and cutthroat marketplace.”
“Unfortunately, self-publishing is neither radical nor liberating. And, as revolutions go, it is rather short on revolutionaries. It is actually reactionary, a contracted version of the traditional publishing model in which companies, who produce for a wide range of tastes and preferences, are replaced by individual producers each catering to very narrow range.”
