Self-Publishing

It was only a few years ago that self-publishing came into the light. People started talking about self-publishing like never before. People started actually doing it. Problem was, it was difficult, even impossible in the beginning, to get your books into major stores. And to a great extent, it’s still that way, more so with the mega chain bookstores than the smaller independent bookstores. AuthorHouse and iUniverse, and other self-publishers, were scoffed at and considered the holding tank for book sludge.

Now, self-publishing is becoming more legitimate. Still a difficult route to take, still not easy to get into Barnes & Noble and other big chains, but certainly more acceptable. A big reason for this, I think, is the major turn to the Internet. More and more people use the Internet not just for email and research, but for news updates and weather reports. A lot of people read their newspapers and magazines online. E-readers are becoming more popular as the technology improves, thus making e-books more popular. A whole generation has grown up with the Internet and with instant gratification.

No, I don’t think paper books will disappear, but their sales are flat. Things are changing.

I don’t have an e-reader, so I’ve never bought an e-book. I have bought self-published books. I do read a lot of news online. I publish my own e-newsletter. I do this blog. I spend way too much time online. But I’m a dinosaur compared to people in their twenties and teens. The Internet is not just a tool for them, it’s a life style. It, in fact, can be their life. They will lead the way; they will determine whether e-books and self-published print on demand books become mainstream.