- The publishing revolution will bring about the end of the big seven publishers.
- Soon, nobody will be using publishers -they'll just do it themselves.
- Indie publishing will take over the publishing market.
I don't think so. Things are changing, of that I am sure but often times changes such as these are good for larger corporations if they're able to roll with the technology.
Think about it. Anyone can publish an ebook. ANYONE. It could be the biggest, most uninteresting, spelling error riddled piece of crap on the planet and they could self-publish.
Is this a bad thing for the big name publishers?
No way!
Why?
Because the market (the reader) will do the vetting for them. This saves the publishing company time and money. If they're smart, they will hire people to scour the internet for candidates. Authors who
- 1. are selling (pick an arbitrary number)
- 2. know how to market themselves and
- 3. have a following.
If you're an agent and want to stay in business, it is you who should be scouring cyberspace looking for the same three points.
Some authors self publish because they just want their work out there and don't want to go through the rigors of whoring it to an agent. Some authors self publish because they're control freaks and don't want to lose the rights to their works. Some, because they've tried the traditional method and have been unsuccessful. Does this mean their product sucks? Perhaps BUT, the beauty of self publishing is that it doesn't matter!
Why? Because the market will decide it is a piece of crap and not buy it OR they'll love it and buy it and tell their friends to buy it and it will sell!
