There’s an increasing trend for authors to shun the Big 5 publishing houses, according to a recent article on European CEO.com by Elizabeth Matsangou.
With the advent of less support for fledgling authors, less favourable royalties and extremely restrictive contracts, more and more authors are turning to the option of self-publishing and the freedom it provides.
And there are more and more organisations popping up online to facilitate the process – Comely Bank Publishing being just one of them.
Nigel Lee, the CEO of Lulu, the biggest self-publishing platform after Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing service, is quoted in the piece saying that self-publishing has now hit the mainstream and is a force to be reckoned with.
Self-publishing, he says, doesn’t have the profit-orientated censorship of traditional publishing, allowing for greater freedom and creativity.
The piece also quotes the experiences of Hugh Howey, author of the New York Times best-selling Wool trilogy, part of which was published through Kindle Direct Publishing. KDP allows writers to make about six times as much on every sale, meaning that books can be offered at lower prices to attract readers.
Howey now does have a publishing deal with Simon & Schuster, but he was in the position to specify his conditions which means that he is in charge of his digital rights. He believes the rise of self-publishing will create a vibrant and healthy freelancer market of editors, cover artists and more. Agents, he reckons, will be the “new boutique publishing option"
The piece ends with advice for publishing houses, saying that the co-existence of traditional and independent is possible but that adjustment is needed on the part of traditional publishing – “they must play to their strengths and offer what others simply cannot”.
With the advent of less support for fledgling authors, less favourable royalties and extremely restrictive contracts, more and more authors are turning to the option of self-publishing and the freedom it provides.
And there are more and more organisations popping up online to facilitate the process – Comely Bank Publishing being just one of them.
Nigel Lee, the CEO of Lulu, the biggest self-publishing platform after Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing service, is quoted in the piece saying that self-publishing has now hit the mainstream and is a force to be reckoned with.
Self-publishing, he says, doesn’t have the profit-orientated censorship of traditional publishing, allowing for greater freedom and creativity.
The piece also quotes the experiences of Hugh Howey, author of the New York Times best-selling Wool trilogy, part of which was published through Kindle Direct Publishing. KDP allows writers to make about six times as much on every sale, meaning that books can be offered at lower prices to attract readers.
Howey now does have a publishing deal with Simon & Schuster, but he was in the position to specify his conditions which means that he is in charge of his digital rights. He believes the rise of self-publishing will create a vibrant and healthy freelancer market of editors, cover artists and more. Agents, he reckons, will be the “new boutique publishing option"
The piece ends with advice for publishing houses, saying that the co-existence of traditional and independent is possible but that adjustment is needed on the part of traditional publishing – “they must play to their strengths and offer what others simply cannot”.
