7 Nov 2009

Self-publishing or direct publishing?

Now that self-publishing is becoming respectable, maybe it's time for a new name

What is a book? It's a means of conveying ideas, of connecting a writer with a reader. Everything else is surplus.

All of the activity and infrastructure that we associate with publishing - agents, publishers, distributors, retailers, book tours, marketing - none of this has anything to do with the book: it is all mere business.

When disparaging self-publishing, old-media types frequently compare it unfavourably with the traditional book world. They point out the impossibility of getting bookstore distribution. Or they boast of the size of their marketing departments, against which you can't possibly compete.

In other words, they entirely miss the point of what books are about.

Certainly, an individual writer can't possibly compete on level terms with established publishers. Why would they want to try? The whole point of self-publishing is to cut out all that superfluous infrastructure (and the enormous costs and waste that go with it). It's about viewing the publishing process from a writer's perspective, not a business perspective. We're about writing and communicating, not profit and loss: we care about words, not balance sheets.

Self-publishing is a more direct connection between writer and reader.

For the time being, self-publishers still need intermediaries - such as POD services which, alas, remain expensive. But as e-books become more prevalent, even that requirement will diminish.

So perhaps it's time to reflect the true nature of self-publishing by renaming it: direct piublishing?

 

By steve

Comments (2)

Tags: self-publishing publishing books direct-publishing

Please note: comments on this site are moderated - partly to eliminate spamming and partly to avoid wasting space and bandwidth. Any comments deemed offensive, juvenile, stupid or pointless are deleted.

Write a comment

  • Required fields are marked with *.

If you have trouble reading the code, click on the code itself to generate a new random code.
Security Code:
 
Dan Poynter
Posts: 2
Comment
Self v Vanity Publishing
Reply #2 on : Sat November 07, 2009, 02:56:57
GETTING PUBLISHED THROUGH A “SELF-PUBLISHING COMPANY.”
--Dan Poynter, http://ParaPublishing.com

Writers are confused and it’s not their fault. In searching for the best way to break into print, they come across self-described “self-publishing companies”. I get emails asking if I can self-publish for writers. That is impossible!

The problem is that many vanity publishers are calling themselves “self-publishing companies” to make their companies appear legitimate.

We have been building name recognition for self-publishing for more than 35 years; there are more than 85,000 of us in the U.S. Self-publishers, write, publish and promote their own books.

According to Wikipedia, Self-Publishing is the publishing of books and other media by the authors of those works, rather than by established, third-party publishers.The only “self-publishing company” is you—by definition. If you contract with a publisher, your book is not SELF-published.

Now that people know what self-publishing is, we find we have to re-educate the public to the fact that we are the real self-publishers and the other DotCom digital publishers are really just vanity publishers masquerading as us. They are trading on the good reputation we have built.

On the other hand, there are digital printing companies. Most provide excellent prices, service and quality. They should refer to themselves as “book printers.”

For information on the choices for breaking into print, get the f-r-e-e Information Kit #2 on Publishing at
http://parapublishing.com/sites/para/resources/infokit.cfm

Let’s respect historical and common definitions. These publishers are “vanity” or “subsidy” presses.
Let’s demand they stop confusing people new to the book trade.
Jean Wild
Posts: 2
Comment
self publishing
Reply #1 on : Thu January 21, 2010, 12:28:33
I agree entirely that self publishing is valid. Publishers do not filter out the rubbish. They often miss 'best sellers'. Why on earth would a writer want to risk being turned downed over and over. We don't want to paper the walls with rejection slips. Publishers only choose a few titles so that they can flood the market and crete a best seller by advertising.
If someone has written a book no matter how good or bad and they want to pay to publish what is wrong with that. You don't have to buy it.