Self-publishing

The original Tristram Shandy was self-published by British author Laurence Sterne. Photo: an illustration from the original work by artist George Cruikshank.

Self-publishing is not a new phenomenon. While most novels were distributed by established publishers, there have been authors who chose to self-publish, or even start their own presses, such as John Locke[5], Jane Austen, Emily Dickinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Martin Luther, Marcel Proust, Derek Walcott, and Walt Whitman.[6] In 1759, British satirist Laurence Sterne's self-published the first two volumes of Tristram Shandy.[6] In 1908, Ezra Pound sold A Lume Spento for six pence each.[6] Franklin Hiram King's book Farmers of Forty Centuries was self-published in 1911, and was subsequently published commercially. In 1931 the author of The Joy of Cooking paid a local printing company to print 3000 copies; the Bobbs-Merrill Company acquired the rights, and since then the book has sold over 18 million copies.[7] In 1941, writer Virginia Woolf chose to self-publish her final novel Between the Acts on her Hogarth Press, in effect starting her own press.[6]

Five years ago, self-publishing was a scar. Now it's a tattoo.

— Greg White, in Bloomberg News, 2016[8]

Until the advent of ebooks and POD technology, most self-published books were published through a vanity press,[9] so called because such authors were assumed to be egotistical writers, unable to accept their work was not good enough to be accepted by traditional publishers.[9] James D. Macdonald claimed that vanity publishing violated Yog's Law which states that "Money should flow toward the author."[10] Vanity publishing usually required a one-time payment of $5,000 to $10,000 to do a print run of 1000 books; these books usually ended up in boxes in a garage.[4]

This modern printing press takes digital files and prints books.

Photographer-turned-publisher Max Bondi said that "investing in a project shows that you believe in it".[11] Nevertheless, part of the reason for the negative stigma is that many self-published books are of dubious quality, because they are written by authors who are still learning their craft, and have never been edited or even proof-read. For example, in 1995, a retired TV repairman self-published his autobiography in which he described how he had been stepped on by a horse when he was a boy, how he had been almost murdered by his stepfather when he was a young man in Mexico, and how his ex-wife had clawed his face with her fingernails. The repairman spent $10,000 to have his 150-page masterpiece printed up, and, for promotion purposes, he sent copies to a local library, to the White House, and to everybody with the repairman's same last name. These efforts did not lead anywhere; today, the book is largely forgotten.[12]

Self-publishing is still seen as a "mark of failure" by many.[13] The image of self-publishing has been improving and some feel the stigma is gone entirely,[14] while others feel it still has a way to go to cultivate respectability.[15] Book critic Ron Charles in the Washington Post complained that "No, I don't want to read your self-published book", citing concerns that self-published books lacked quality and were published by authors with little understanding of the audience or the market.[15] However rare breakaway bestsellers such as Fifty Shades of Grey[7] and The Martian were first self-published, helping to lend respectability to self-publishing in general.[16] Further, with new avenues of self-publishing, there are more opportunities for authors to break through directly to audiences.[17]

For decades, the literary world dismissed self-published authors as amateurs and hacks who lacked the talent to land a book deal. But that attitude gradually began to change with the rise of e-books and the arrival of Kindle from Amazon, which gave authors direct access to millions of readers.

— Alexandra Alter in the New York Times, 2016[17]

In previous decades, publishing meant going through agents and publishers.

Today, self publishing permits authors to bypass publishers and bookstores and sell directly to the public.

A huge impetus to self-publishing has been rapid advances in technology, particularly the exponential growth of the Internet and a general shift from analog to digital technology.[4] The Internet has been described as a "great equalizer" in the publishing world, since it enables an author to put their books out there and "stand naked before the world."[14] Costs for printing and distributing a book have fallen dramatically.[4][18] Advances in e-book readers and tablet computers have improved readability; such devices allow readers to "carry" numerous books in a small portable device.[4] These technologies make it possible to have a book printed or digitally delivered after an order has been placed, so there are no costs for storing inventory. Print-On-Demand (or POD) technology, which became available in the mid-1990s,[18] can produce a high quality product equal to those produced by traditional publishers; in the past, one could easily identify a self-published title by its lack of quality.[18] Print-on-demand was easy, since an author could simply upload a manuscript, choose an interior file format and a cover, and the book could be printed as needed, avoiding warehousing costs, and reducing the risk of being stuck with a huge unsold inventory.[18] Further, the Internet provides access to global distribution channels via online retailers, so a self-published book can be instantly available to book buyers worldwide. A Canada-based firm named Wattpad offers streaming video productions based on the stories of self-published authors as of 2017.[19]

An Espresso Book Machine at a bookstore.

Internet transmission of digital books was combined with print-on-demand publishing with the invention of the Espresso Book Machine which was first demonstrated at the New York Public Library in 2007. This machine prints, collates, covers, and binds a single book. It is in libraries and bookstores throughout the world, and it can make copies of out-of-print editions. Small bookstores sometimes use it to compete with large bookstore chains. It works by taking two Internet-delivered pdf files, one for the text and one for the cover, and then prints an entire paperback book in a matter of minutes, which then drops down a chute.[20]

Amazon's introduction of the Kindle and its self-publishing platform, Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP, in 2007 has been described as a tipping point in self-publishing, which "opened the floodgates".[1] It was an "exclusively electronic self-publishing platform" which was e-book only, free for authors to upload their books, and gave authors control over how their books were priced as well as access to the same distribution channels as major publishers.[18]

In recent times the publishing industry as a whole is in a great deal of flux, in a sort of "Wild Wild West" state.[4] The online retailing giant, Amazon, has had a huge impact on the book-selling industry, driving many brick-and-mortar bookstores out of business and making inroads into publishing as well. Amazon has enticed readers away from bookstores and into an online environment, and its KDP and CreateSpace distribution channels have spawned a huge growth in self-publishing. As a result, the numbers of self-published authors are ever-increasing.[21]

There is an anti-establishment aspect to self-publishing, in that it has been seen historically as a way to defy authority or resist oppression.[22] The self-publishing movement can also be viewed as a part of the Do-it-yourself culture which "flourishes in environments of communitarian support."[22] A writer who is rejected by the usual system can find solace in self-publishing.[4] Some struggling authors complained that the traditional publishing model was too "insular", keeping out different ideas about stories as well as ones with unusual characters or plotlines, or which dealt with minorities, and self-publishing was a way for these formerly outcast writers to connect with readers.[23] Libraries have also become involved with self-publishing; the Library Journal and Biblioboard worked together to create a self-publishing platform called Self-e in which authors submit books online which are made available to readers. These books are reviewed by Library Journal, and the best ones are published nationwide; authors do not make money this way but it serves as a marketing tool.[24]

The dramatic changes have impacted the standard publishing industry as well, which is controlling a smaller share of the overall publishing market, forcing many traditional publishers to consolidate to reduce costs. The squeeze has been applied to such authors, some of whom have complained that traditional publishers have often asked for the author to contribute part of the start-up expenses personally, in effect deviating from the usual model of the publisher providing all upfront expenses.[11]

Self-publishing is still a "difficult and demanding way to go" but is increasingly becoming a respectable, if alternative, choice for a writing career.[18] Self-publishers who are savvy, motivated and hard-working, can build audiences and make money.[18]

A few decades ago, in order for a book to reach the public, it had to pass successfully through various filters or screens, such as agents and publishers and bookstores, and be approved.

Today authors can bypass established agents and publishers (the filters) and bring their creations directly to book buyers.

In the traditional publishing model, editors and publishers act as a filter or screen, weeding out possibly radical, badly written, or otherwise substandard content. In contrast, self-publishing enables authors to bypass this filter and sell their books directly to the public. The wide-open uncensored nature of self-publishing has caused problems and controversies with pornographic or abuse-themed content. Amazon has a policy against selling content relating to rape and incest and bestiality which states "We don't accept pornographic or offensive depictions of graphic sexual acts", but it is sometimes difficult for book distributors to distinguish what type of content is acceptable and what is not.[5] Some retailers have had to remove problematic content.[5] A survey found that self-published erotica had more extreme themes than mainstream books. Erotica is about 1% of the mainstream market but 29% of the self-published market, according to one informal survey in 2013.[25]

There have been some controversial self-published books, such as that of a man who posted a photo of his dead wife, whom he had murdered.[26] Celebrity Kim Kardashian self-published a 445-page book which consisted entirely of selfies, a book described in Slate magazine as having "no literary ambitions at all – it barely has words."[27]

While editors at a traditional publisher would often insist on fact-checking, and doing due diligence regarding claims made by an author, there are no requirements in the self-publishing model for this to happen. Self-publishing has attracted political provocateurs such as Milo Yiannopoulos who was able to publish his tome Dangerous on Amazon despite being dumped by traditional publisher Simon & Schuster as well as Breitbart after a video surfaced of him condoning pedophilia.[28]

As a check on self-published content, and as part of its overall strategy of empowering consumers by giving more information, Amazon permits reviews of its products, including books that it sells. However, it is possible for self-published authors to game the Amazon review system to make their books appear better than they are, perhaps by encouraging large numbers of five-star reviews by paying anonymous reviewers to write fake laudatory comments.[29] According to one view, the system is at serious risk of fraud and deception.[29] Amazon has responded by emphasizing reviews in which the book purchase is verified, and it has fought back by, in some cases, suing people and service firms who sell fake reviews.[29]

A problem for some successful self-published authors is plagiarism. It is relatively easy for a manuscript to be copied and changed in superficial ways, but changed sufficiently so that it is hard for plagiarism-detecting software to catch the similarities between the real book and the plagiarized copy; then the copy can be uploaded online under a new title and different author name, which can earn royalties for the plagiarist.[30] For example, author Rachel Ann Nunes, who wrote A Bid for Love in 1998, found that her manuscript had been plagiarized, with a nearly identical book entitled The Auction Deal. Nunes hired a lawyer to track down the plagiarists.[30] In the previous publisher-dominated system, a publisher would have been liable for selling a plagiarized book, but in the world of self-publishing, there are no liabilities involved if Amazon removes the plagiarized titles. It is often difficult to catch and prosecute the plagiarists, who can masquerade using false identities.[30]

The publishing industry, including self-publishing, is changing so rapidly that it is hard to make accurate predictions about where it is headed. It is likely that self-publishing will continue to grow, and that authors will demand more and more data about their readers as well as how well their books are selling.[19][32] Self-publishing is growing in marketing sophistication and ambition, according to one view.[17]

Regarding the e-book market, there are predictions that independent authors will be grabbing an increasing slice of this market. Traditional publishers are losing ground in the e-book market, according to several sources. E-books published by traditional publishers declined by 11% from 2015 to 2016.[17] The drop in e-book sales was really more of a phenomenon in which established publishers were raising the prices of their e-books, and saw a relative decline in sales compared to their print offerings.[33] In contrast, sales of self-published e-books have been increasing.[33] An increasing number of e-books are being read on tablets as opposed to dedicated E-book readers.[34] One forecast was that digital sales would continue to increase over time, and paper-based publishing would become a "niche market" like with newspapers and magazines.[33]

A report in 2017 suggested that Amazon was working on a system to transform foreign language fiction into English with its AmazonCrossing service.[35] Amazon accounted for 10% of all translated foreign fiction books, according to one report.[35]

Publishing guru Jane Friedman breaks out the publishing routes for authors into basic categories:

• Traditional publishing. Authors don't pay any publishing-related expenses.[36] Large well-established publishing firms include the so-called 'Big Five': Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan, including their dozens of imprints. These large publishers prefer authors with mainstream appeal, particularly celebrity or "brand-name" authors, and they bear most of the risk associated with publishing. They typically offer an advance payment, and sometimes authors can get a slice of the book profits. Publishers own the rights and control most aspects of publication, especially the design of the cover and the choice of a title.[36] They can get books into brick-and-mortar bookstores and get reviews in mainstream media. Mid-size traditional publishers are smaller than the Big Five but often offer the same arrangements. Small and independent presses are harder to categorize but vary from well-established boutique presses to "mom-and-pop" start-ups with little experience. They accept more first-time authors and often don't require authors to hire agents in order to approach them. Authors may not receive advances but may get larger shares of the profits. It is harder for smaller presses to get books into bookstores.[36]
• Hybrid publishers. There are intermediate arrangements between traditional and self-publishing in which both author and publisher bear some of the costs of development, sometimes called "cooperative publishing".[37] In some of these models, a hybrid publisher may offer selected services to help an author get a book published, such as story editing, copy editing, proofreading, and marketing and public relations such as promotion through social media and search engine optimization strategies.[4] Many such firms have their own online bookstores.[4] It is important for authors considering a hybrid approach to fully understand what services will be included, and at what cost, and to fully understand the terms of any contract. Some intermediary firms offer less-than-ideal contracts, which make it hard for an author to get out of the deal at a later time, and can take a disproportionate share of profits; one adviser suggests it's "buyer beware" when hiring such firms.[4] With this model, the author funds the publication of the book, sometimes spending thousands of dollars, to get the know-how and editing skills of the publisher.[36] Quality of services and the terms of contracts vary widely. Some professionals who used to work in the traditional publishing industry work in hybrid firms. As a general rule, royalties are less than true self-publishing but more than traditional publishing. Books rarely get into bookstores. Authors should try to keep as many rights with as much flexibility as possible. Some firms are nothing more than funky assisted-publishing services which are overcharging.[36]
• Assisted self-publishing. These firms charge fees for various publishing-related services such as formatting and cover design and copyediting, and make their money from these services alone, but authors earn all of the royalties and retain control over editing and cover design and title. Firms that offer help with publicity and marketing are generally not a good deal, and firms that have pushy sales tactics such as AuthorSolutions should be avoided.[36] There are books, such as The Fine Print of Self-Publishing by Mark Levine, which can guide would-be authors.[4] For authors who are serious about making money through self-publishing, it is vital to have quality artwork, particularly on the cover, as well as interior formatting, and professionals doing publicity work, so hiring competent freelancers is critical.[18]
• True self-publishing. The author controls the entire publishing process from start to finish, and can hire freelancers to help with wherever the author requires, such as cover designers, copy editors, and story editors. It is necessary for the author to think like an entrepreneur and take charge of all variables, and as much as possible, get the finished book to look like a quality product. All profits and rights stay with the author but it is nearly impossible to get the book into bookstores unless it becomes a breakout bestseller, which is highly unlikely. Authors can sell their e-books through online platforms, and can distribute them through e-book distributors or print-on-demand firms.[36]

The author as a self-publisher also takes on many of the creative tasks to complete the finished works, which include creative writing as well as selecting the writing software, editing, marketing, and cover design. While self-publishing means that the author is in control of the entire process of production, from writing and editing, to layout to distribution, and to choosing publishing platforms and selecting marketing variables such as the price, many of these tasks can be outsourced to professionals. Professionals can be located through search engines, freelancing websites such as Reedsy,[38] word of mouth, identifying and contacting creative assistants who have worked on already-published books, and searching relevant forums. Authors can spend up to $5000 for a variety of services to assist with publishing.[4]

There is strong agreement that self-published authors fare better if they are able to employ a skilled editor, preferably one with a financial interest in the success of the book, and who can bring a savvy understanding of the market as well as a strong sense of story development.[39] Self-published author James Altucher describes working with an editor:

Nils and I went back and forth on more than 15 different rewrites for my book. The difference between the original version and the final version is like the difference between chicken shit and chicken salad.

— Self-published author James Altucher in 2013[40]

A liability for self-published authors is that if they can find a skilled editor, he or she is still being paid by the author for upfront editing work, and may not care whether the book is successful or not. A big advantage for working with a traditional publishing arrangement is having an editor and publisher who have a financial interest in making the book a bestseller.

A self-published author is responsible for the technical aspects of self-publishing, which include formatting for printing and digital conversion.[41] Formatting can be complex and time-consuming but patient people can learn how to do it by themselves, but often hire this task out to experienced freelancers.[4]

Unless a book is to be sold directly from the author to the public, an International Standard Book Number or ISBN is required to uniquely identify the title. ISBN is a global standard used for all titles worldwide.[42] Most self-publishing companies either provide their own ISBN to a title or can provide direction about how to get one.[42] A separate ISBN number is needed for each edition of the book.[43] It may be in the best interest of the self-published author to retain ownership of the ISBN and copyright instead of using a number owned by a vanity press.

The direction of the marketing and promotion effort is the responsibility of the author. Self-published authors can negotiate to have audiobooks made.[17]

The dominant self-publishing platform is Amazon which controls the vast share of the market, but there are numerous competitors and platforms in which authors can upload and sell their books.

An Amazon Kindle.

Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP is Amazon's e-book publishing unit which was launched when the company began selling its Amazon Kindle book reading device in 2007.[18] Books can be published in numerous languages.[44] Amazon's KDP has hundreds of thousands of self-published titles.[21] Amazon's KDP program uses ASIN identifiers instead of ISBNs to identify e-books.[45] Amazon does not release sales figures of its authors.[13] Many authors prefer Amazon for its global clout and reach.[9] One analysis suggested that Amazon earned $2.3 billion from e-book revenues in 2016, and 25% of these were from self-published e-books; and Amazon released 4 million e-book titles in 2016, and 40% of them were self-published.[1] Another estimate was that Amazon controls 70% of the e-book market.[46]

Amazon's Kindle Unlimited service lets readers read any books in its catalog, provided that the users pay a monthly fee. Amazon tracks which books are selected and read by subscribers. An author who wants to have their book included in this program enters into Amazon's KDP Select program, and as part of the agreement, the author promises to make their book exclusive to Amazon. The author can opt out of the KDP program every ninety days. An estimate in 2017 was that of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited market, about 60% of the books read and borrowed were self-published.[46] Amazon initially began the program by paying authors whenever their book was chosen, but then it switched to an arrangement in which it pays authors based on pages read. Each month, Amazon establishes a fund from which to pay authors, based on Amazon's accounting of which pages are read. Amazon has been criticized for short-changing authors by paying them out of this monthly fund.[29] As a result of the program, many Amazon authors found that their income decreased substantially when the company switched to the pages-read basis.[29] The collective fund for KDP authors in August 2017 was $19.4 million which was the "largest ever" of the monthly funds, but overall authors received the lowest amount, which was $0.00419 per page for that month.[29][47] Some authors tried to compensate for less income by slightly altering and republishing their work, to try to increase the total of pages read.[29] The change to the pages-read model was criticized as being a "huge pay cut" for authors.[48] None of the big 5 publishers contributed books to Kindle Unlimited as of 2017.[48]

IngramSpark lets authors publish digital and paperback editions of their books. It distributes books to most online bookstores. Brick-and-mortar stores can also order books from IngramSpark at wholesales prices for sale in their own venues. It is run by Ingram Content Group.

Apple sells books via its App Store which is a digital distribution platform for its mobile apps on its iOS operating system. Apps can be downloaded to its devices such as the iPhone, the iPod Touch handheld computer, and the iPad. Apple pays authors 70% of its proceeds at its Apple iBookstore where it sells iBooks.[4]

Smashwords is a California-based company founded by Mark Coker which allows authors and independent publishers to upload their manuscripts electronically to the Smashwords service, which then converts them into multiple e-book formats which can be read on various devices. Authors control what price is set.[44]

Barnes & Noble pays 65% of the list price of e-books purchased through its online store called Pubit.[4][44]

Kobo is a Canadian company which sells e-books, audiobooks, e-readers and tablet computers which originated as a cloud e-reading service.[4]

Scribd is an open publishing platform which features a digital library, an e-book and audiobook subscription service.[4] It began as an online sharing site for books, and evolved into a store; books published there entitle an author to 80% of the sales price.[4]

Lulu is an online print-on-demand, self-publishing and distribution platform.[44]

Print-on-demand (or POD) publishing refers to the ability to print high-quality books as needed. This is usually the most economical option for self-publishers who expect sales to be sporadic over time. An alternative is to hire a printing press to do a print run in which a large number of books are printed at one time, such as a hundred or a thousand copies, which can result in a slightly lower per-book printing cost, but risks holding onto unsold inventory for an extended period of time. Print-on-demand means that a book is printed only after it is purchased, lessening the risk, which eliminates the need for expensive warehouse space.[4] Many companies allow single books to be printed at per-book costs which are not much higher than those paid by publishing companies for large print runs.[49][18] Ingram is the largest book distributor, and it can help self-published authors get access to 39,000 bookstores, according to one report.[1] The physical quality of print-on-demand self-published books is generally the same as that from an established publisher, although quality can in some instances vary.[18]

The online retailer Amazon is transforming the publishing industry.

Generally self-publishing works best with e-books because, unlike print-on-demand self-publishing, it solves the twin problems of price and distribution.[18] There are a variety of e-book formats and tools that can be used to create them. Because it is possible to create e-books with no up-front or per-book costs, this is a popular option for self-publishers.[50][9] When a person buys an E-book, the buyer does not own the book, but owns a license only to read the book.[34] Formatting standards for e-books continue to evolve; at present, there have been compatibility problems with some digital e-book readers. For example, a recent EPUB 3.1 e-book format is not compatible with earlier e-book readers such as the Kindle.[34] E-book formats include EPUB, MOBI and PDF, among others. In 2017, there was a report in the Chicago Tribune that e-books sales are continuing to increase.[34] Epublishing distributors allow an author to sell on multiple platforms, often providing conversion and formatting services, usually charge no fees upfront, and make money by taking a small percentage of each book sold.[18]

Users pay to have their books published. While a commercial publisher's market is the book-buying public at large, the vanity publisher's market is the author himself or herself. Some authors buy substantial copies of their own book which are then used as giveaways or promotional tools. The term vanity press is considered pejorative since it suggests that a person who hires such a service is unqualified or unable to have their book succeed in the market, and that the author is printing the book only out of vanity. In this business model, there can be elements of fraud, such that some vanity presses masquerade as legitimate publishers, and pretend to be selective and choosy in their book selections, and prey upon a would-be author's desire to be published. If a vanity press charges a higher amount to print a run of books than a regular printer, it can be an indication of deception and fraud.

CreateSpace was Amazon's print-on-demand book publishing service. Authors could sign up for an account, and the online software guided an author through the steps of publication, such as uploading a cover, selecting distribution channels and setting prices.[4] Books uploaded to CreateSpace became part of Amazon's online catalog and were made available to book buyers around the world. Amazon collected revenues from book sales on behalf of authors, and then deposited royalty monies directly into an author's account, usually after a few months or so after the sale.[9] CreateSpace offered additional services to help authors, such as cover design and copyediting ($120+) as well as converting the manuscript file to a Kindle-compatible e-book file ($70).[4] CreateSpace offered authors free book identifying numbers or ISBNs without extra charge, or authors could buy their own ISBN numbers. In August 2018 CreateSpace was absorbed into Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

Smashwords publishes and distributes e-books.[9] Smashwords authors keep 60% of the sale price, and Smashwords keeps 10%, and the retailer keeps 30%; if a sale is made directly through Smashwords, the author keeps 85% of the sales price.[4] Smashwords provides a list of freelance assistance services.[4] In 2017, it distributed 250,000 titles for 60,000 authors to most of the world's e-book stores in exchange for a cut of the author's profits.[21] Smashwords books can go on sale a few minutes after they're uploaded.[48]

I believe every writer is great and wonderful and has something to share with the world. Readers will decide if what they're sharing is worth reading.

— Mark Coker of Smashwords, 2013 [2]

Lulu publishes print and e-books and offers publishing-related services such as website design, cover design, editing packages, and strategies for social media promotions.[9] It was founded in 2002.[9] Lulu charges nothing upfront, and each time a book is sold, it keeps 20% of the profit and pays 80% to the author.[4] Lulu offers additional services such as editing ($450) and cover design ($130) and other services such as design and formatting which can cost from $700 to $5000.[4] Lulu enables authors to print books not only in paperback form, but in hardcover and comic book forms as well.

Author Solutions sells services such as editing, e-book production and marketing services. According to one report, it served 170,000 authors who wrote 200,000 titles as of 2017.[21][51] Penguin Random House, a mainstream publisher, once bought, then sold, Author Solutions.[52]

FastPencil sells editing services, as well as consulting services related to publishing and distribution, for a fee.[21]

Reedsy is a British online author services firm which connects authors and freelance professionals.[53][54][55] It has a network of vetted editors, cover designers, illustrators and book marketers and takes a 10% cut of each contract between author and freelancer.[1] In addition, it offers online software tools to help authors convert files for publication in print and in e-book form, and offers training courses by email to help authors navigate the self-publishing process.[56] The firm checks the credentials of publishing freelancers such as story editors, cover designers, marketers and others, by verifying their previous work experience for mainstream publishers as well as their overall track record in the publishing industry.[57] Reedsy checks the credentials of writing contests as well to help writers avoid wasting time with fake contests and prizes.[58] In addition, it offers online software tools to help authors convert their manuscript files to files suitable for publishing e-books, such as EPUB and PDF formats,[57] as well as learning programs to help authors navigate the self-publishing process.[59] In 2016, the Reedsy community included 20,000 authors and 500 freelancers, and had helped them publish 3,000 books.[60] Reedsy began in 2014 after being funded by Seedcamp,[61] founded by Emmanuel Nataf, Richard Fayet, Matthew Cobb and Vincent Durand.[61] While the start-up firm is headquartered in London,[61] it is a "completely officeless business" such that its staff is physically distributed in different locations, and conducts business via cloud computing.[62]

Matador is the self-publishing imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd, a traditional publishing company based in Leicester, United Kingdom.[63] In the last 19 years Matador has published over 5000 titles in book and ebook formats, approximately 500 titles a year. The company not only has print 'on demand' distribution, but sales representation by Star Book Sales and distribution to retailers via Orca Distribution. It published Louise Walters second novel, A Life Between Us, in 2017,[63] as well as Polly Courtney's Golden Handcuffs and Ben Hunt-Davis' Will It Make the Boat Go Faster,[64] which sold over 40,000 copies.

There are a variety of freelance professionals available through the Internet who can assist with a wide variety of publishing-related tasks.

Benefits include:

• Speed. An author finds out right away whether a book is a hit with readers; there is not a six-month or longer delay typical with an established publisher since the usual back-and-forth steps with a publisher are bypassed. It is possible to release a book within a few weeks after it is finished.[39] Further, it is possible to avoid the lengthy process of trying to find a literary agent to secure a publishing contract.[71]
• No start-up costs. Manuscripts uploaded to KDP or Smashwords typically do not incur any fees.
• Control on pricing. In self publishing mode author decides the price and can change at any point of time,[96] but it is not possible in case of traditional publishing.
• Freedom to begin the next book. An author can self-publish and then begin work on the next project, potentially being more prolific, although this presumes that the first book won't need any marketing effort.
• A greater share of royalties. Self-published authors earn four to five times more per unit than if an author works with a traditional publisher,[2] sometimes 70% of the sale price.
• Pitch books straight to the readers. There is no intermediary censoring what might be shown to the public. The route to readers is more direct.

Authors are no longer bound in their storytelling by what the traditional publishers think the market can bear ... Instead, because we can go straight to the reader now, we can write exactly the books that we want to write and exactly the books that our fans want to read. We don't have to worry about whether an agent can sell the book, or if an editor and publisher want to buy the book, or if a retailer wants to stock the book. Personally, I think this new open market can – and does – make for much more interesting storytelling.

— Novelist Bella Andre in the Washington Post, 2015[3]

• Creative freedom.[71]

With self-publishing you don't waste your time trying to get published, which can take years of query letters and agenting, and all this stuff. You go straight to the real gatekeepers, which are the readers. If they respond favorably and you have sales, you can leverage that into a writing career. If they don't, you write the next thing. Either way you're not spending your time trying to get published, you're spending your time writing the next work.

— Hugh Howey, author of Wool[44]

There are significant challenges to self-publishing as well.

• Most self-published books sell few copies. Some estimates are that they sell fewer than 100 to 150 copies;[4] another estimate is that most sell fewer than 250 copies.[18] However, the vast majority of books promoted by traditional publishers fail as well.[48] Still, the overwhelming odds are that any self-published book will be ignored and end up in the "digital slush pile."[12]
• Crowded landscape. There is much competition and it is difficult to get one's book to be noticed in a glutted market.[19] Big publishers have much better prospects for getting attention for a book.[32]
• Lack of prestige. A book from a traditional publisher still has a lot of cachet in that it has been vetted by editors, which gives it a "stamp of approval."[71][14]
• Hard to get into bookstores. Big bookstores rarely take self-published books, often wanting a large percentage of the sales price if they do accept them.[14] Publishers have established distribution channels to make this easy.
• Publishers offer editorial and marketing help. Plus they usually pay an advance to help the author with expenses at the early start of the publishing cycle, an advantage which self-published writers do not have.[14]

You risk looking like an amateur ... Good writers need even better editors. They need brilliant cover designers. They need imaginative marketers and well-connected publicists. All these things are provided by a traditional publisher, and what's more, it doesn't cost you a penny. They pay you! If a self-published author wants to avoid looking like an amateur, they'd better be prepared to shell out some serious cash to get professional help in all the areas where they don't excel. And I mean serious.

— Ros Barber in 2016.[97]

• Difficulty getting reviews in the mainstream press. It is difficult for self-published books to be reviewed in newspapers and magazines. The media favors books from traditional publishers before giving reviews.[14][97]
• Hiring editors, proofreaders and cover designers can be difficult and expensive.
• Authors must spend much time marketing their books. Authors must work hard to market their books, which is a task that many authors are not skilled at or willing to do.[17]
• Having to spend time marketing the book. One self-published author in Britain was working "14-hour days", spending months promoting her book Only the Innocent; while she eventually made it to the UK Kindle bestseller chart, Rachel Abbott still has difficulty getting the publishing world to take her book seriously.[98] Another writer, Ros Barber, thinks self-publishing is a "terrible idea for serious novelists" since the requirements of marketing and promoting a book will prevent one from writing, and he continues to recommend the traditional approach.[97]

You have to forget writing for a living ... Self-publishing can make you behave like a fool ... The vast majority of indie authors have tweetstreams that are 90% adverts, perhaps a reflection of the fact that they must spend 90% of their time marketing ... Good writers become good because they undertake an apprenticeship.

— Ros Barber on the benefits of the traditional approach, 2016.[97]

• Self-published books usually ineligible for prizes. Books are not eligible for major prizes such as the Hay festival, the Booker, the Baileys, the Costa and the Man Booker, and literary novels need these prizes to become a bestseller.[97] However, there are signs that this is changing as more books become self-published.