While scrolling on social media, we stumbled upon a comment for a self-published fiction novel, remarking how the book was well written. Cue Wen’s rolling eyes, the obligatory head shake, and a scathing retort: “So, the stigma of self-publishing still breathes in 2024. Why shouldn’t self-published authors write well? What’s with people equating independents with mediocre quality?” The comment prompted a discussion and a revisit to a history of self-publishing I’d looked into long before Wenark Green traversed the indie road.
BookSurge, a South Carolina-based company, founded in 2000 to provide an inventory-free solution to small publishers by eliminating the upfront cost of bulk printing, brought about print-on-demand and, arguably, self-publishing. The concept, both innovative and popular, prompted Amazon five years later to acquire BookSurge, which, in 2009, merged with the big boy’s own CreateSpace. (CreateSpace had originally focused on providing self-publishing tools.) With the acquisition of CreateSpace, not only could writers make their uploaded manuscript print-ready but also submit their finished work for print-on-demand.
Amazon’s new subsidiary was a one-stop-shop for small publishers. Instead of submitting a manuscript to agents and publishers, then waiting an age for a response (if the elite deigned to reply), a writer bypassed traditional gatekeepers, or, if slung on the slush pile and rejected, take a second, easier bite at the cherry. This new way proved a hit, and soon, writers almost everywhere flooded the platform. Those not using the Latin alphabet or left-to-right languages had to wait for Amazon’s implementation. Even today, certain non-Latin languages, eg Arabic and Hebrew, have limitations. For the former, eBook only, paperback for the latter.
Founded in 2007, Amazon allowed writers to publish eBooks (and still does) for Kindle devices via Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). In 2016, KDP began supporting paperback publishing through print-on-demand and CreateSpace discontinued the following year, having helped over 15,000 authors publish 1.4m books. No longer exclusive to Amazon or its subsidiaries, there are various companies or aggregators—eg Draft2Digital, Smashwords, Ingram Spark—that allow writers to upload a manuscript, take advantage of various tools, and distribute eBooks and paperbacks to various online stores, including Amazon. The major development in this industry is audiobooks, Amazon taking the lead with its ACX platform.
So, why do self-published authors have an inferior reputation? Simple. Self-publishing platforms offer minuscule quality control. Writers can commit anything to paper, upload to the self-pub website of choice, et voilà, churn out a book people can buy. Unlike other distributors, Amazon has no upfront costs or, strictly speaking, it’s free upfront, but exorbitant take-offs result in lower royalties than competitor sites. Little or no quality control means authors are under no obligation to edit manuscripts, professionally or otherwise. Not every self-published book is in this vein, but there are too many where editing comprises a quick read through, and removal of typos. Some books don’t even get this. The unfavourable reputation could be down to a combination of:
- a lack of care from the publishing platform in question; and
- the gung-ho approach many writers take. In the CreateSpace days, a writer had to upload their Word document and, if unable to pay a professional cover designer or formatter, use CreateSpace’s cover design feature and formatting tools. This option wasn’t, in fact, still isn’t ideal as books looked/look weak and amateurish.
Many people using self-pub platforms crave the satisfaction they’ll get with publishing a book. Doesn’t matter if the end product only sells a few copies to friends and family. However, if a writer seeks commercial success, which most did and still do, a professional mindset and expenditure are necessary. Sadly, no one will reap huge commercial success without a business approach. A book is a product and, like it or not, people judge a book by its cover. If the outside looks poor, the assumption is the inside will be the same.
And what of interior formatting? KDP allows a writer to upload a Microsoft Word document, despite the preferred format being PDF. Uploading Word is a recipe for disaster and I learned the hard way many years ago. Amazon converts documents to its preferred format, PDF for paperbacks, MOBI files for eBooks. However, the conversion process is error-prone and scattered, disorganised text, paragraphs, and margins were (and still are) common. Combined with clumsy covers and little or no editing, it’s understandable why self-published authors suffer disdain.
The last decade’s seen massive improvements to publishing platforms, not to mention a sizeable shift in the writer’s attitude. However, the stigma still exists. Readers assume self-published authors must’ve suffered rejection at the hands of traditional publishers, but this is only half the story. Many trads prefer celebrities, especially “National Treasures” who have a readymade following. There is a probable guarantee that the celeb will sell for little or no risk to the publisher. That means trads plough all their effort/budget into celebrity promotion/marketing, leaving newbies with only one way to go. Trads expect unknown writers who secure a contract to undertake much of their own marketing. A growing number of authors realise it’s more profitable and sensible to self-publish, do their own marketing, and keep all royalties. Why give it all away?
To avoid proof formatting, Amazon has instructions on how to convert a word document into the correct format prior to uploading. There’s no excuse for disarray, though Amazon has complicated matters by disallowing the uploading of MOBIs for eBooks. A writer must:
- use Amazon’s software, Kindle Create; or
- create an EPUB file that’s converted into MOBI. Why did Amazon change the procedure? Who knows? No doubt, something to do with profit. Good old corporates.
In conclusion, if more writers take a professional approach, ensure book covers and interiors are immaculate, professionally edited and designed (this means spending), then self-published books should garner a better reputation, and, in time, see the stigma disappear. Ever the optimist.
That’s me away.
Ark.
While scrolling on social media, we stumbled upon a comment for a self-published fiction novel, remarking how the book was well written. Cue Wen’s rolling eyes, the obligatory head shake, and a scathing retort: “So, the stigma of self-publishing still breathes in 2024. Why shouldn’t self-published authors write well? What’s with people equating independents with mediocre quality?” The comment prompted a discussion and a revisit to a history of self-publishing I’d looked into long before Wenark Green traversed the indie road.
BookSurge, a South Carolina-based company, founded in 2000 to provide an inventory-free solution to small publishers by eliminating the upfront cost of bulk printing, brought about print-on-demand and, arguably, self-publishing. The concept, both innovative and popular, prompted Amazon five years later to acquire BookSurge, which, in 2009, merged with the big boy’s own CreateSpace. (CreateSpace had originally focused on providing self-publishing tools.) With the acquisition of CreateSpace, not only could writers make their uploaded manuscript print-ready but also submit their finished work for print-on-demand.
Amazon’s new subsidiary was a one-stop-shop for small publishers. Instead of submitting a manuscript to agents and publishers, then waiting an age for a response (if the elite deigned to reply), a writer bypassed traditional gatekeepers, or, if slung on the slush pile and rejected, take a second, easier bite at the cherry. This new way proved a hit, and soon, writers almost everywhere flooded the platform. Those not using the Latin alphabet or left-to-right languages had to wait for Amazon’s implementation. Even today, certain non-Latin languages, eg Arabic and Hebrew, have limitations. For the former, eBook only, paperback for the latter.
Founded in 2007, Amazon allowed writers to publish eBooks (and still does) for Kindle devices via Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). In 2016, KDP began supporting paperback publishing through print-on-demand and CreateSpace discontinued the following year, having helped over 15,000 authors publish 1.4m books. No longer exclusive to Amazon or its subsidiaries, there are various companies or aggregators—eg Draft2Digital, Smashwords, Ingram Spark—that allow writers to upload a manuscript, take advantage of various tools, and distribute eBooks and paperbacks to various online stores, including Amazon. The major development in this industry is audiobooks, Amazon taking the lead with its ACX platform.
So, why do self-published authors have an inferior reputation? Simple. Self-publishing platforms offer minuscule quality control. Writers can commit anything to paper, upload to the self-pub website of choice, et voilà, churn out a book people can buy. Unlike other distributors, Amazon has no upfront costs or, strictly speaking, it’s free upfront, but exorbitant take-offs result in lower royalties than competitor sites. Little or no quality control means authors are under no obligation to edit manuscripts, professionally or otherwise. Not every self-published book is in this vein, but there are too many where editing comprises a quick read through, and removal of typos. Some books don’t even get this. The unfavourable reputation could be down to a combination of:
- a lack of care from the publishing platform in question; and
- the gung-ho approach many writers take. In the CreateSpace days, a writer had to upload their Word document and, if unable to pay a professional cover designer or formatter, use CreateSpace’s cover design feature and formatting tools. This option wasn’t, in fact, still isn’t ideal as books looked/look weak and amateurish.
Many people using self-pub platforms crave the satisfaction they’ll get with publishing a book. Doesn’t matter if the end product only sells a few copies to friends and family. However, if a writer seeks commercial success, which most did and still do, a professional mindset and expenditure are necessary. Sadly, no one will reap huge commercial success without a business approach. A book is a product and, like it or not, people judge a book by its cover. If the outside looks poor, the assumption is the inside will be the same.
And what of interior formatting? KDP allows a writer to upload a Microsoft Word document, despite the preferred format being PDF. Uploading Word is a recipe for disaster and I learned the hard way many years ago. Amazon converts documents to its preferred format, PDF for paperbacks, MOBI files for eBooks. However, the conversion process is error-prone and scattered, disorganised text, paragraphs, and margins were (and still are) common. Combined with clumsy covers and little or no editing, it’s understandable why self-published authors suffer disdain.
The last decade’s seen massive improvements to publishing platforms, not to mention a sizeable shift in the writer’s attitude. However, the stigma still exists. Readers assume self-published authors must’ve suffered rejection at the hands of traditional publishers, but this is only half the story. Many trads prefer celebrities, especially “National Treasures” who have a readymade following. There is a probable guarantee that the celeb will sell for little or no risk to the publisher. That means trads plough all their effort/budget into celebrity promotion/marketing, leaving newbies with only one way to go. Trads expect unknown writers who secure a contract to undertake much of their own marketing. A growing number of authors realise it’s more profitable and sensible to self-publish, do their own marketing, and keep all royalties. Why give it all away?
To avoid proof formatting, Amazon has instructions on how to convert a word document into the correct format prior to uploading. There’s no excuse for disarray, though Amazon has complicated matters by disallowing the uploading of MOBIs for eBooks. A writer must:
- use Amazon’s software, Kindle Create; or
- create an EPUB file that’s converted into MOBI. Why did Amazon change the procedure? Who knows? No doubt, something to do with profit. Good old corporates.
In conclusion, if more writers take a professional approach, ensure book covers and interiors are immaculate, professionally edited and designed (this means spending), then self-published books should garner a better reputation, and, in time, see the stigma disappear. Ever the optimist.
That’s me away.
Ark.