With changing time and trending of a lot many things, life is no more like just living in the clover. Humans have explored newer dimensions. Everything has gone ‘self’ under the sun, right from self- service, self- study, self- help to selfies. Even the publishing industry has revolutionized and is encouraging self-publishing. Not only is self-publishing a convenient option for the authors, but the latest technology and changing outlook, is also catering to the taste buds of the book lovers.
Self-publishing is the publication done by the author without the involvement of any publishing house. The book is privately printed and the author takes care of the entire process. All the aspects like the cover design, the interior, typesetting, editing, proofreading, formats, distribution, price, PR or marketing, are dealt by the author.
Self-publishing is not only limited to hardbound or paperback books, but e-books, pamphlets, brochures of sales, etc can also be self-published. Self-publishing can be categorized into three major heads:
Electronic or e-book printing : It utilizes a variety of tools and formats to create an e-book. This type of publishing is most common as the up-front cost or the cost per book, amounts to zero.
Print on demand : POD means printing the high-quality book as and when required. Self-publishing calls for POD because this saves money and is convenient too.
Vanity publishing : This is quite different from self-publishing in a way that the author is not in sole control of the print run and the marketing or promotion of the book.
With click business gaining more popularity as compared to the brick and mortar operations, the Indian authors are also opting for self-publishing. With so much talent being kept hidden due to lack of exposure and funds, self-publishing is trending among Indians. E-books are becoming the new favorites. Digital media is being preferred. And with this there is the emergence of new trends in this field. For instance:
- The recent launch of the Ingram content group has made the e-book distribution easier for the authors.
- The new ‘do-it-yourself’ book design templates have made self-publishing more cost effective and independent
- Scribd’s e-book subscription service enables every reader/ author/ writer to read and buy e-books easily.
- Where traditional publishing takes up to 3 to 6 months for publishing a book, self-publishing allows printing the book within a span of few days to weeks.
- Self-publishing offers transparency, royalty, and freedom to control the sales
However, even though the authors are concentrating on carving out the niche, they ignore the most important aspect of any book and that is the quality. The majority of the young people are already sitting on manuscripts but without any outlet for it. With self-publishing, the door to get published, earn name, fame, and money, has opened and this has invited some unwanted people too. The trend of self-publishing is exploding, but the quality of work is getting below standard.
Owing to the huge market of approximately 10,000 crores, India ranks third after US and UK, in the publishing of Literature. Since traditional publishing comes with a lot of hurdles, self-publishing is being adopted as a more common choice for the authors as well as the publishers. The market is expanding with so many books being released per year by the Indian authors and that day is not far when self publishing companies will rule the publishing domain.
Image Courtesy : talentedladiesclub
