Self-publishing meets traditional in the new publishing ecosystem

Originally published in Bound Vol. 1

Self-publishing is a process changing the nature of the publishing ecosystem. The world of publishing is not immune to the transformative effects of technology and, since the turn of the twenty-first century, there has been ongoing negotiation between the more established traditional methods of publishing and the increasingly popular self-publishing models and platforms.¹ Once regarded as a non-prestigious and niche pursuit—and therefore frowned upon by industry professionals²—self-publishing is making its way into the publishing ecosystem and as a result ‘accounts of a starkly divided industry are beginning to lose some of their explanatory power.’³ The emergence of technology has essentially made it possible for those with access to a computer and the internet to easily and inexpensively publish their own work.⁴ Self-publishing platforms such as Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing have not only changed the way books are sold, but they are also changing the way books are produced and distributed.⁵ As Timothy Laquintano suggests in his book Mass authorship and the rise of self-publishing, self-publishing ‘has moved from the fringe of the publishing industry to become a small fluid part of its core’.⁶

Today a large percentage of new releases originate from self-publishing or small presses, a figure that continues to increase.⁷ This phenomenon not only impacts the way authors produce and distribute their work, but it also affects the industry as a whole. While any change or major disruption to an inherently traditional business model is set to be scrutinised, the rise of self-publishing is an opportunity to examine how traditional publishers can co-exist with self-publishers.⁸ As Dallas J Baker points out the ‘cultural and economic significance of the self-publishing phenomena means that it should, finally, be taken seriously by scholars’.⁹ In addressing the rise of self-publishing, and the change experienced across the larger publishing ecosystem, I will explore the following: self-publishing in the twenty-first century; the self-published author via a case study; opportunities and models for the future and, finally, the challenges and limitations of self-publishing.

Self-publishing in the twenty-first century

At the turn of the twenty-first century the digital era began to really take hold and disrupt the publishing industry.¹⁰ Over the past nineteen years, technology has forcibly made its way into the publishing industry changing the way things operate: the formation of few large publishing corporations; the decrease in small independent booksellers; the rise in tech giants such as Amazon; the increase in self-publishing platforms such as Kindle Direct Publishing, CreateSpace and Smashwords.¹¹ Technology has, in essence, lowered the barrier for entry into the publishing market and self-publishing has reaped the benefits of this. Today there are more resources than ever for providing authors with an opportunity to not only publish their work, but to also design, market and have their work edited in the process.¹²

Before online retail became a means through which products were bought and sold, self-publishing authors struggled to get their work stocked within brick and mortar stores.¹³ However, today there are a variety of online platforms through which books can be sold—Amazon, Apple and the Book Depository to name a few. Technology has reduced the cost involved in the production and distribution of books (both print and digital) for all sectors of publishing, however, technology’s impact has been particularly influential on smaller players and self-publishers¹⁴ giving them greater reason to self-publish.

Self-publishing has become a complex term and one that presents a dichotomy of opinion: those that celebrate the decrease of control of the traditional gatekeepers (those major players that control a large portion of the traditional publishing sphere and thus are considered to suppress a diverse range of voices) and those that lament this fact (deeming the standard to be of poorer quality).¹⁵ While self-publishing is not a one-size-fits-all model, it does provide opportunities for authors, particularly those whose work falls within genre fiction or those whose work does not fit the traditional models of larger publishing houses.¹⁶

The self-published author: a case study

In 2019 there are a number of self-published authors who have found success through publishing their own work including John Locke, Amanda Hocking and Mike Omer. Self-publishing offers a low cost and low risk opportunity for authors to publish and today, compared to the barriers of the traditional publishing environment, provides a user-friendly platform to publish their work.¹⁷

While self-publishing offers greater control over the publishing process for authors, and the opportunity to get their work out into the world, it is also a means through which authors can enter more traditional methods of publishing. As Australian romance author Kylie Scott suggests, self-publishing platforms provide a medium through which emerging writers are able to build an audience¹⁸ and garner the attention of traditional publishers, convincing ‘a traditional publisher to take them on’.¹⁹

Amanda Hocking, author of the popular Trylle series and a number of successful self-published novels, is a product of this notion. In 2010 she chose to go down the self-publishing road after multiple rejections from publishers. With a number of completed novels behind her and a multitude of rejections from publishing houses, Amanda made her work available to readers via Amazon’s Kindle.²⁰ Over a two year period, Amanda’s novels grew in popularity (within six months Hocking had sold over 150,000 books) so much so that by November 2011 she reached the Kindle Million Club with more than one million copies sold.²¹

Hocking’s decision to self-publish eventually led to a US$2.1 million contract with St Martin's Press (SMP) in the US and Pan Macmillan in the UK²² merging the world of self-publishing with that of publishing. After striking a four-book deal with Hocking, SMP reported strong sales: between January and April 2012 Hocking’s US publisher went to press four times on ‘Switched’, Hocking’s first book in the Trylle trilogy, due its popularity. SMP had over 200,000 copies of ‘Switched’ printed.²³

As Pan Macmillan’s (UK) former fiction editor Jeremy Trevathan notes, self-publishing is an ‘opportunity for writers and publishers to find each other’.²⁴ Rather than consider self-publishing as a threat to publishing, there is an opportunity for self-publishing and publishing to co-exist. In many respects, self-publishing is the new ‘slush pile’ for publishers who have the ability to identify trends and popularity across the self-publishing domain.²⁵

The success of self-published authors such as Hocking should not necessarily be considered the normal result of self-publishing. The majority of self-published authors are lucky to generate a regular profit and are among thousands of others trying to do the same thing. In the US alone, over one million titles were self-published in 2017 and this number only continues to increase.²⁶

As M. Bjørn von Rimscha and Sarah Putzig suggest in their 2013 article, there is often more responsibility involved in the self-publishing process that is not matched by the amount of income generated by this method.²⁷ This is often a major barrier for those trying to generate success from self-publishing their own titles. Authors can work hard to write, edit, market and promote their book, however, given the volume of self-published titles available, they may still fall short.²⁸ Author Fiona Veitch Smith is a prime example of this. Across a four-year time-frame Smith self-published seven books with only one producing a profit of £100.²⁹ Following the 90:10 rule, Smith spent 90% of her time marketing and only 10% writing. Despite the work and effort put into her pursuit, self-publishing did not produce returns.³⁰ For Smith, traditional publishing became a more viable option and since signing with a publisher, Smith has tracked better than what self-publishing afforded her, even selling translation rights to her children’s books.³¹

What the contrasting experiences of these authors indicate is that not everyone is going to find major success through self-publishing, nevertheless the success of some self-published authors demonstrates that there are opportunities to be found within self-publishing, for both author and publisher: the formation of partnerships, a hybrid industry—where self-publishing and traditional publishing work alongside one another—could be the by-product of self-publishing’s expansion. It could create an industry where authors and publishing houses traverse the boundaries between traditional publishing and self-publishing.

Opportunities: models for the future

Today’s publishing environment—a combination of traditional and self-publishing, digital and print—is encouraging readers to interact with works across different platforms. The amount of reading undertaken by individuals is on the increase as the world’s literacy levels grow.³² The new publishing ecosystem can benefit from this. Self-publishing has provided a platform for different voices and with it, the multiplication of readership.³³ Self-published titles are often inexpensive, particularly those published digitally, meaning readers are more willing to take a risk on an author they do not know.³⁴ The access to content via digital platforms is also encouraging digital readers to purchase books from bookstores as well as access content from libraries.³⁵

Self-published titles are often inexpensive, particularly those published digitally, meaning readers are more willing to take a risk on an author they do not know

As opportunities arise for publishers—both self and traditional—to capture new readership and support the increase in literacy levels, there is also opportunity for self-publishers and traditional publishers to work together to trial new business models and identify new opportunities through partnership:

1) Genre fiction: a self-publishing success

Over the past decade, the number of titles that have been self-published has increased.³⁶ According to Bowker Identifier Services director Beat Barblan, ‘Since 2012, the number of ISBNs assigned to self-published titles has grown by 156% due in large part to the increasing number of online self-publishing products and services’.³⁷

Over the last few years the increasing publication of self-published titles, heavily reliant on digital technology, has been strongly linked to genre fiction.³⁸ It is at ‘the leading edge of industry change, operating at high volume, across multiple market niches, and with global reach’.³⁹ This is in part due to ‘the logics that have long governed genre fiction, such as seriality and fan involvement’.⁴⁰ In addition, the likes of romance fiction has an ‘historically distinctive industrial profile, including the rapid production and consumption cycle of category romance, positioned it strongly for a prompt, widespread uptake of digital-first publishing’.⁴¹

In Australia the growth of self-published titles has been particularly prominent in the areas of fantasy and romance.⁴² In their study ‘The publishing ecosystem of contemporary Australian genre fiction’, Driscoll et al. found that the self-publishing of romance and fantasy titles really began to gain traction in Australia in between 2010–11 and 2015–2016 (overall increases of 230% for crime, 290% for fantasy and 1000% for romance).⁴³ In 2009 Amazon’s Kindle was introduced to the Australian public⁴⁴ while in 2016 Amazon launched its Kindle Unlimited in Australia.⁴⁵ What these spikes reflect is ‘the degree to which digital technologies inspire expansion’⁴⁶ and in what areas of the publishing world. Mark Coker, CEO and founder of ebook distributor Smashwords, has also seen similar results across the Smashwords platform where the bestselling self-published titles are those that fall into the genre fiction category.⁴⁷

According to Mary Rasenberger, Executive Director of the Authors Guild, self-publishing often ‘benefits authors in some genres—including romance and mystery, where readers tear through books and writing them might not take a long time’⁴⁸ . What this indicates is that while self-publishing may not work for everyone, it is a popular model among genre fiction authors and one that is received well by its readership.

2) Affirm Press and Tablo

For some publishing houses, the growth of self-publishing has not gone unnoticed and, as Jemma Birrell, Creative Director of self-publishing platform Tablo, notes: ‘Self-publishing is now a major part of contemporary publishing’.⁴⁹ In 2018 Australian publisher Affirm Press partnered with online publishing platform Tablo to discover Australia’s best undiscovered crime writers.⁵⁰ Reviewing crime writing submissions published through Tablo, Affirm offered the winner an editorial and publishing mentorship, one that could lead to the publication of the work through Affirm. For both Affirm and Tablo, the goal of this partnership is to create a publishing model for the future⁵¹—the intersection of self-publishing and traditional publishing. For publishing houses, partnerships like this could allow them to track promising authors and identify trends within writing and readership.

3) The hybrid author

Stemming from the growth of self-publishing is the idea of the hybrid author: authors who are both traditionally published and self-published.⁵² This concept of a hybrid career ‘is now widely accepted in both the romance and fantasy genre worlds’⁵³ and presents opportunities for authors and publishers.

Like Hocking, and her shift between self-publishing and traditional methods, other authors are exploring this terrain. Author Kylie Chan, who has been traditionally published through HarperCollins Voyager, chose to experiment with self-publishing in 2010–2011 with Heaven to Wudang and Hell to Heaven and, in 2015–2016, the digital self-published title Black Jade.⁵⁴ Her motivations for doing so included: having greater control over the publishing process (namely pricing and marketing); scope for greater experimentation and to build a greater following.⁵⁵ For authors like Chan, self-publishing allows them to move away from what they have traditionally done.

The birth of the hybrid author indicates that self-publishing is a multi-purpose sector built on different career models—traditionally published to self-published and self-published to traditionally published.⁵⁶ There are a variety of motivations behind an author’s decision to self-publish; whether they are already an established, traditionally published author (Chan), or those who are hoping to make their mark or simply generate secondary income (Hocking). In some cases, the hybrid career offers authors an ‘alternative route to publication, with more creative control and a greater share of royalties’.⁵⁷ Given the accessibility and affordability of self-publishing, the risks involved can often be minimal and therefore some authors a willing to take a chance on this model.⁵⁸

While these partnerships and trends give rise to opportunities within a new publishing ecosystem, there are some aspects to self-publishing that need to be considered.

Challenges and limitations: quality control

Self-publishing may provide authors greater control and freedom over the publishing process, but it removes the ‘gatekeepers’ involved in the traditional publishing process. A team of people—editors, designers, marketers—are often involved in readying a book for publication. What these gatekeepers offer is a publisher’s stamp of approval and a degree of credibility allowing readers to identify works of quality.⁵⁹ At present, there are no real quality controls in place within self-publishing that allow readers to better navigate the thousands of texts produced via this means.⁶⁰

The editing process is a crucial step in the creation of a piece of published work and the lack of editorial work is major obstacle in the self-publishing sphere

Editing is one of those gatekeepers through which books are filtered. This process is not as prominent within the self-publishing domain where authors can simply write and upload their work to self-publishing platforms.⁶¹ Books published via traditional means often go through a rigorous process of selection and editing. It is the editor that guides an author through a large portion of the writing process,⁶² a process that cannot be substituted with technology, for editing encompasses not only an eye for grammatic detail, but also that of imagination and a strong use of artful language.⁶³ As Carolan and Evain point out, the majority of self-published authors often ‘do not dispose of sufficient funds for the professional editing of their work’.⁶⁴ The editing process is a crucial step in the creation of a piece of published work and the lack of editorial work is major obstacle in the self-publishing sphere.⁶⁵ While self-publishing opens up doors for freelance editors,⁶⁶ it becomes a matter of self-publishing authors seeking out the expert advice of an editor as well as having the resources available to invest in this service.⁶⁷ Without a degree of quality control in place, self-publishing makes it hard for the reader to identify quality texts.⁶⁸

In addition, Amazon is the behemoth dominating the self-publishing market with its Kindle Direct Publishing. It has been argued that Amazon’s publishing model, while democratising the publishing business through its self-publishing platform, can be likened to that of Spotify: dominance in the market could mean lower revenue for writers and even greater control over the cost of books in the future.⁶⁹

Moving forward

Self-publishing may gravitate away from how things have been traditionally done but its rise in the publishing world indicates that it is here to stay. With more resources than ever available to authors, self-publishing will continue to function as long as technology is around to support it. Traditional publishing and self-publishing both present risks, especially in learning how publishing operates within new hybrid models stemming from a co-existence between traditional and self-publishing business models. The partnership between traditional publishing and self-publishing is still relatively new in the scheme of things, and only time will tell how this continued relationship evolves. There is always room to experiment and look at new ways to conduct business across the publishing industry. Upward trends in genre fiction within the self-publishing market, as well as the notion of the hybrid author, present the opportunity to further explore partnerships between traditional publishers and self-publishing platforms (as was the case with Affirm Press and Tablo). The lack of quality controls across self-publishing is also something that should be considered, especially given the number of people now turning to self-publishing. As Simon Carolan and Christine Evain note: ‘Whilst the future of publishing is unclear, there are some certainties; readers will continue to read, writers will continue to write, and publishers will continue to publish. What is uncertain is the form that it will take on’.⁷⁰ The future of the publishing ecosystem will revolve around innovation, the ability to adapt and the ability to identify opportunities.

Notes

1 Laquintano, T 2016, Mass authorship and the rise of self-publishing, University of Iowa Press.

2 Baverstock, A & Steinitz, J 2013, ‘Who are the self‐publishers?’, Learned Publishing, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 211–223.

3 Driscoll, B, Fletcher, L, Wilkins, K & Carter, D 2018, ‘The publishing ecosystems of contemporary Australian genre fiction’, Creative Industries Journal, vol. 11 (2), pp. 203–221.

4 Laquintano, T 2016.

5 Semuels, A 2018, ‘The authors who love Amazon’, The Atlantic.

6 Laquintano, T 2016.

7 Carolan, S & Evain, C 2013, ‘Self-publishing: opportunities and threats in a new age of mass culture’, Publishing Research Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 285–300.

8 Laquintano, T 2016, Mass authorship and the rise of self-publishing, Project MUSE database.

9 Baker, D J 2015, ‘Self-publishing matters—don’t let anyone tell you otherwise’, The Conversation.

10 Laquintano, T 2016.

11 Simon, J P 2016, ‘User generated content—users, community of users and firms: toward new sources of co-innovation?’ Info: the Journal of Policy, Regulation and Strategy for Telecommunications, Information and Media, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 4–25.

12 ibid.

13 Baverstock, A & Steinitz, J 2013.

14 Driscoll, B, Fletcher, L, Wilkins, K & Carter, D 2018.

15 Laquintano, T 2016.

16 Driscoll, B, Fletcher, L, Wilkins, K & Carter, D 2018.

17 Carolan, S & Evain, C 2013.

18 Binks, D 2018, ‘Up for promotion: digital marketing strategies’, Books+Publishing.

19 Driscoll, B, Fletcher, L, Wilkins, K & Carter, D 2018.

20 Pilkington, E 2012, ‘Amanda Hocking, the writer who made millions by self-publishing online’, The Guardian.

21 ibid.

22 ibid.

23 Deahl, R 2012, ‘Moving beyond self-publishing’, Publishers Weekly, vol. 259, no. 14, pp. 1–3.

24 Pilkington, E 2012.

25 ibid.

26 Books+Publishing 2018, ‘Over one million books self-published in the US in 2017’, Books+Publishing.

27 Von Rimscha, M B & Putzig, S 2013, ‘From book culture to Amazon consumerism: does the digitalization of the book industry lead to commercialization?’, Publishing Research Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 318–335.

28 Barber, R 2016, ‘For me, traditional publishing means poverty. But self-publish? No way’, The Guardian.

29 ibid.

30 ibid.

31 ibid.

32 Carolan, S & Evain, C 2013.

33 ibid.

34 ibid.

35 ibid.

36 Books+Publishing 2018.

37 ibid.

38 Driscoll, B, Fletcher, L, Wilkins, K & Carter, D 2018.

39 ibid.

40 ibid.

41 ibid.

42 ibid.

43 ibid.

44 Books + Publishing 2009, ‘Kindle available to Australia’, Books+Publishing.

45 Books + Publishing 2016, ‘Kindle Unlimited launches in Australia’, Books+Publishing.

46 Driscoll, B, Fletcher, L, Wilkins, K & Carter, D 2018.

47 Rowe, A 2018, ‘How indie genre fiction ebooks are thriving online’, Forbes.

48 Semuels, A 2018.

49 Birrell, J 2018, ‘Come together: Jemma Birrell’s career journey’, Books+Publishing.

50 Books + Publishing 2018b, ‘Affirm partners with Tablo on crime writing project’, Books+Publishing.

51 Affirm Press 2018, Dinuka Mckenzie hatches ‘the perfect crime, Affirm Press.

52 Driscoll, B, Fletcher, L, Wilkins, K & Carter, D 2018.

53 ibid.

54 ibid.

55 ibid.

56 ibid.

57 ibid.

58 Carolan, S & Evain, C 2013.

59 ibid.

60 ibid.

61 ibid.

62 ibid.

63 ibid.

64 ibid.

65 ibid.

66 Baverstock, A, Blackburn, R & Iskandarova, M 2015, ‘How the role of the independent editor is changing in relation to traditional and self-publishing’, Learned Publishing, vol. 28, pp. 123–131.

67 Carolan, S & Evain, C 2013.

68 Semuels, A 2018.

69 ibid.

70 Carolan, S & Evain, C 2013.

Morgan Begg17 November 2021