A research by FicShelf, an online community for bibliophiles and writers, showed that more female authors have been doing well in self-publishing. FichShelf discovered that 67% of bestselling authors on popular self-publishing platforms are women compared to 61% of top-selling male authors on Amazon’s top 100 traditionally pubbed books. The results were released on International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8.
FichShelf chief executive Monique Duarte believes that self-publishing has leveled the playing field. “More and more female writers are seeing success in self-publishing,” she noted.
Despite the growing influence of female authors in the self-publishing arena, the study has shown an apparent bias against women in traditional publishing as “men are more likely to receive recognition for their work.” Top recommended reads by UK’s leading newspapers, such as the Guardian and Telegraph, are mostly by traditionally published male authors. Self-publishing is devoid of this prejudice, according to self-pubbed author Alison Morton.
“There’s definitely a gender disparity among traditionally-published authors. More women buy, write and read books in numerical terms, but more ‘weight’ and status is given by publishers to books by male authors. With self-publishing, it’s the effort by the individual that counts, irrespective of gender,” Alison stressed.
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