And now for the news!
Some highlights from this month in the world of self-publishing!
The news we first covered last week about the continued rise of self-publishing is still making waves around the Internet. This week, the science fiction and fantasy site Locus uploaded their own coverage of Bowker’s exciting report, an exciting development since science fiction and fantasy make up one of the top genres in respect to both publishing and reading. We look forward to seeing what current and future authors of SFF do with this information!
This week, Jonathan Giammaria of the McGill Tribune covered the happenings at Expozine 2019 in Montreal, Canada–an event which drew over 15,000 visitors this year. Writes Giammaria, “Zines have often been associated with fringe issues, speaking for and about marginalized people and providing a platform for countercultural ideas and movements. Since zines have often had small circulations due to their DIY nature, their distribution has generally remained within the communities that produced them.” There, are, understandably, many connections between zine culture and the world of independent and self-publishing industries. And at Expozine, “In contrast to mainstream conventions like the upcoming Salon du livre de Montréal, […] value comes from showcasing a variety of artists whose eclectic niches might otherwise be overlooked.” This is a sentiment most self-published authors know very well indeed, and we’ll be keeping our eye(s) on Expozine in the future as another place to showcase our niche stories.
Are we, or are we not, living in the end times of traditionally published media? Dave Winterlich, chief strategy officer with Dentsu Aegis Ireland, thinks we just might be … at least, we might be if traditional media doesn’t take a long and hard look at its underlying principles. This week, Winterlich wrote for the Irish Times website that the combination of free content and the migration of advertising revenue into a digital space dovetailed with a loss of purpose within the industry itself to create a kind of crisis. (At least, it’s a crisis if you don’t buy into self-publishing.) But it doesn’t have to end there, writes Winterlich: “Traditional publishers can continue to run quality paid newsrooms while still providing a platform extension for self-publishing.” We’ve already seen how fluid the boundary between traditional media and independent publishing can be, with authors creating their own individualized approaches based on services available and their personal needs. Radio and the gaming industry have begun to experiment with self-publishing, and comics have been working in this liminal space for decades. We hope that Winterlich revisits the idea in future articles, and delves a bit deeper into what this new both/and modality might look like.
As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry.This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog each month to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.
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