The rise of self-publishing is like a sudden flash of brilliant idea as you figure your way out of a writing block. With self-publishing, writers have realized their dreams of becoming published and freed themselves from the possibility of perpetual anonymity to the reading public, let alone spare themselves of disheartening rejection from traditional publishers.
The Xlibris Blog gives you an overview of this alternative publication route to help you decide if you should go traditional or independent, whether you’re a novice or already a published author.
What is self-publishing?
Necessity has once again given birth to invention. As more and more would-be authors want to get heard and break into the circle of bestsellers, self-publishing was born.
Once regarded as vanity publishing, self-publishing launched the career of some early 19th century literary giants. Alexandre Dumas, Edgar Allan Poe, and Mark Twain, among others, once used their own resources in publishing their books. Even contemporary authors, beginners and best-sellers alike, have dug a gold mine along the self-publishing route after walking the long road to traditional publishing littered with rejection slips. American e-book writer J.A. Konrath was rejected over 500 times before he reached his rock star status as a self-published author. The writer of mystery, thriller, and horror genres now holds a spot in the “5 E-book Authors To Watch” by Mediabistro.com.
A Wikipedia entry defines self-publishing as the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of an established third-party publisher. A self-published physical book is said to be privately printed. The author is responsible and in control of entire process including design (cover/interior), formats, price, distribution, marketing & PR. The authors can do it all themselves or outsource all or part of the process to companies that offer these services.
To have a better picture, read this article on the Xlibris Blog reviewing self-publishing by the numbers.
Giving your more reasons to go indie, this Xlibris FAQ titled Why self-publish? further sheds light on this tipping point in the publishing industry.
Discover up-and-coming Xlibris authors here on the Xlibris Blog and the Xlibris Indie Authors Roundup.
Free writing, editing, and book marketing tips are presented on the Xlibris Writer’s Workshop.