This week in the world of self-publishing:
“The past few weeks have been a busy period for the publishing industry,” write Publisher’s Weekly correspondents Jim Milliot, Andrew Albanese, and Diane Roback in this April 15th article. Milliot, Albanese, and Roback report from the far afield as they cover the events taking place at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and the London Book Fair as well as the 28th Independent Book Publishers of America (IBPA) Publishing University, held in Salt Lake City. While the book fairs are not themselves specifically focused on indie, hybrid, and self-publishing authors, certain self-publishing-related events proved extremely popular, “with the popular Authors HQ once again facing overflowing audiences for its presentations on best practices and services, how to find an agent, and more. Emerging technology was also prominent, with sessions on virtual reality, and on artificial intelligence,” write Milliot, Albanese, and Roback. The IBPA’s Publishing University, unlike the two book fairs, is all to do with independent publishing–and “approximately 230 independent publishers and self-published authors turned out,” cutting across all demographics and disciplines. Newbery-winner Kwame Alexander delivered a keynote on his own road to success as a self-publishing author running his own small press. For the full report from Publisher’s Weekly on these international book festivals, visit the original article here.
“Everybody has a novel in them, so they say,” begins this April 15th article by Guy Kelly for the Telegraph: “Yet even if the idea for a book comes easily, the challenge of having that dormant masterpiece accepted by iron-clad publishing houses has long seemed a Herculean task, even for the most promising manuscripts.” Kelly goes on to explain how this landscape is slowly but irrevocably shifting under the influence of self-publishing, a process which removes obstacles and allows “anybody to become an entirely self-reliant, published author in a matter of minutes. And if you’re prepared to be shrewd about it, the move could prove extremely lucrative.” He goes on to paint a portrait of Mark Dawson, a 42-year-old self-publishing author whose books have been downloaded over two million times, and whose sales are in excess of six figures–each year. Dawson, writes Kelly, has now launched something called “The Self-Publishing Formula, a range of courses designed to advise others on how best to monetise their writing in the modern, internet-driven world.” His journey to success was a long one, giving him plenty of insight into the traditional publishing model which he left in order to pursue his own course. To follow that entire journey, follow the link.
In this April 15th article for the South China Morning Post, contributor CNBC writes that “The e-book business is thriving, despite the competition between digital, print and audible books, according to the boss of an e-reader company.” The “boss” CNBC mentions is Michael Tamblyn, the CEO of Kobo, “which sells e-reader apps and devices, as well as e-books.” And importantly, the market CNBC mentions is the international e-book market, giving us insight into a world much larger and much more diverse than the standard American publishing outlook. Tamblyn, according to the article, “also discussed the increasing success of self-published books on the market. Last year, 22 per cent of e-books sold in the U.K. were self-published.” 2015 was in many ways a recovery year for the international book market–not just in terms of ebooks, but in terms of overall print and digital sales, traditionally or independently published–after a two-year slump. “Agents and publishers still dominate the market but self-published has become a real, viable channel,” CNBC quotes Tamblyn as saying: “More often than not the customer who’s buying this doesn’t necessarily know they are buying a self-published book. They are so well produced, so well edited, so well designed that they just sit on the shelf with everything else.” The fact is this: self-published books are beginning to lose their stigma, and that’s a very good thing for everyone. Well, everyone who is invested in making sure authors get their due. For more of CNBC’s article, you can find the South China Morning News piece here.
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 every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.
ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.
Self Publishing Advisor 