
Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018 - unquote
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/81473-number-of-self-published-titles-jumped-40-in-2018.html
======
m463
I have found kindle books that come from a reputable publisher are MUCH higher
quality than self-published books.

I just don't think many self-published books have the meaningful rejection,
editing and proofreading that a publisher provides.

That doesn't mean that there aren't good self published books. And things
might change over time, if teams form. I think publishing a book requires a
team.

Meaningful reviews and awards might also help separate the wheat from the
chaff.

~~~
mrfusion
One counter example is “Harry Potter and the methods of rationality”. Possibly
one of the best books I’ve ever read.

~~~
mrob
Another example is "Worm", which I learned of from the author's notes for
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality:

[https://parahumans.wordpress.com/](https://parahumans.wordpress.com/)

~~~
cm2012
Worm and it's sequel, Ward, are amazing.

~~~
Gatsky
Worm is 1.6 million words long?? You read the whole thing?

~~~
yxhuvud
You read a chapter. Then you read another chapter. Repeat as long as you
manage to keep interest.

Worm is an awesome tale that have mostly destroyed other stories about super
heroes for me.

------
vfc1
No wonder with Amazon taking 70% of the sales price if the e-book goes even
one cent above $9.99. If the e-book is sold below that it's "only" 30% - those
are absolutely exploitative conditions!

I'm glad that more books are being self-published, I don't trust publishers. I
don't know how many times I was aproached on Linkedin and invited to write a
book on a topic, just because I've listed it on my profile.

If that's how a lot of technical authors are chosen, that could explain a lot
about the quality of a lot of books.

I also don't like the page quotas that publishers have, like it has to be at
least 400 pages. Well, what if there is only relevant information for 300? I
would rather spare myself the time of reading 100 useless fluff pages.

Also, a lot of potentially good authors get rejected by publishers or not even
invited, as publishers have no idea who to ask to write a book to.

The publishers take a premium cut and leave the authors with minimal
royalties, meaning that most authors can't make a living from their books,
meaning that less books get written.

Allowing authors to self publish lets more authors have a bigger share of the
sales, allowing them to continue to write and everyone benefits.

I don't think that the odd quality author that writes a crap self-published
book is a good enough of a reason for introducing a middleman, let the market
decide. If the book is crap, no one will buy it and it will show. You can only
fool the internet for so long.

~~~
patio11
One of the wonderful things about the Internet: if you don't want to pay
Amazon 30% there is a universe of people out there you can sell to for 3~5% or
so through your own web presence. You just have to go get them.

~~~
vfc1
The thing is, Amazon in its privileged monopoly position in practice forces
you to choose between publishing exclusively on Amazon or self-publishing, at
least for new authors.

This is because unless you agree to exclusivity, you will be denied access to
essential marketing tools like free promotions (via the KDP program), which
are essential for building initial social proof and give the book at chance to
take off in rankings.

Unless you have a pre-existent audience that you can point to your Amazon non-
exclusive book, there is zero chance that it will take off.

------
AtomicOrbital
As an avid reader + book buyer I see little value add coming from the
publisher other than marketing which should be available separate from the
publisher or lack thereof ... As with other media like music the author/artist
should cut out the middle man and reap the bulk of retail costs using print on
demand

ditto for academic publishing

~~~
csande17
Publishers can help with a lot of book-related things--typesetting, printing,
cover design, and so on--that authors don't necessarily know how to do
themselves. Automated print-on-demand services get you most of the way there,
but professionals can still do a better job a lot of the time.

~~~
shantly
The real problem is the money to pay for it all. Most authors can’t afford to
gamble four or five figures editing, proofreading, promoting, and distributing
a book that may show nearly zero return. Think of publishers as VC for books.

~~~
ghaff
Publishers don't necessarily do a lot of structural editing. Copyediting
(proofreading), yes. But that's more like three figures to pay someone to do
(which you really do need to do). Non-fiction editors will often also pay for
someone to do a technical edit.

Promotion. For the average book, not much. The main promotion/benefit for,
say, technical non-fiction is that you're in their catalog and will be on
display in venues like trade shows.

Generally speaking, publishers aren't paying for book signing tours,
publicists, etc.

Distribution these days isn't a big deal. Everyone can be on Amazon.

------
kjs3
Only 40%? Considering the bar for entry, and the vast amount of spew that
comes out under the guise of "self-published", that seems wildly low.

------
Merrill
1.68 million in 2018 with a 40% growth rate. That's an incredible number, soon
growing to reach one self-published title per hundred literate adults.

~~~
HenryKissinger
I'd be interested to see the distribution of the sales in the 24 months
following a book's self publication. How many are sold 0 times? Exactly 1
time? 10 times or fewer? 100 times or fewer? 1000 times or fewer? How many
books are sold over 1000 times? ...

------
dmitripopov
I added LeanPub (a self-publishing platform) support to my technical writing
tool Helpinator a while ago, but did not see any significant interest in this
feature. May be I am experiencing a kind ob bias in this case, authors of
technical books are exceptional people at most :)

------
ausbah
Less gatekeeping, but lower average quality?

------
systematical
Do publishers aid in marketing?

~~~
wolco
Levels vary . If you are a star you'll have in-store signings and ad
campaigns. Standard deals wouldn't have much support but that could change if
things go well. Generally they can aid but not for the vast majority. They do
not have the same reach you do with your niche subgroup so any marketing is
more general and not targeted. You end up paying for the marketing anyhow if
you are lucky to receive it.

