A Revolution in the Writing World -- Self-Publishing

There is a revolution going on in the writing world today -- and one that you may not be aware of as you browse the shelves of your local bookstore. It is a revolution, not in the way in which books are being written, but in the way in which they are being published -- and if you are a budding writer, hoping to get your book into print, it could have big implications for you.

Although self-publishing has been an option for writers since the very beginning of the invention of the printing press, and although many very famous writers in the past self published some or all of their works, it is still nevertheless true that traditional publishing companies maintained a virtual stranglehold on the book publishing industry. Because of this, traditional book publishers could be very selective in their choice of authors and book titles. But this is all changing now, thanks to the self-publishing phenomenon.

Let me be very clear right from the start: most traditional publishing companies do not want you to learn how to publish a book on your own; they would rather you remain in the dark about all of this, as a way of keeping you dependent on using their book publishing services.

The major force behind the advance in the self-publishing field is technology. Book publishing software is becoming extremely sophisticated, enabling a skilled user to produce a printed book whose quality parallels that of books published in the traditional way -- and the big boys are worried.

Another area of technological advance is print on demand publishing technology. Print on demand publishing technology allows books to be physically printed and bound very quickly after an order has been received for them. The advancement of print on demand publishing technology means that even traditional publishers no longer have to maintain huge inventories of back listed books.

Another area of the self-publishing world which has experienced a lot of changes is children's book publishing. In the past it was difficult for writers to get children's books published because a glut of these books on the market meant that they could be difficult to sell. As a consequence, traditional publishing companies would not take them. The advent of print on demand publishing means that children's books can be printed as they are ordered and paid for, whether 100 or 10,000 copies are needed.

There is not, of course, complete agreement among all the experts that self-publishing is always the best option. For one thing many self published books (most of the ones printed in the past, and far too many printed today) are of very poor quality. The self-publishing field continues to be plagued, for example, by books that have not been properly edited or laid out, as well as by books that just look plain ugly.

For this reason -- and let the budding self-published author take note! -- many bookstores will not place self-published books on their shelves. As a majority of the book buying public still purchase their books in bookstores, this effectively cuts the self-published author out of a major part of the retail book market.

Despite these criticisms, self-publishing has worked -- in some cases remarkably well -- and is not going away anytime soon. Legions of authors, producing books in fields as diverse as religion, politics, human sexuality, books for hobbyists, community histories, children's books -- all of these have found self-publishing to be a remarkably liberating option.

If you are an author who is considering self-publishing as an option, make sure you understand the potential risks as well as any possible benefits before making a final decision.