Self-publishing means that an author publishes his or her work independently. This is done without the involvement of a traditional publishing house. Authors retain full control over the content, design and distribution of their work. They also assume all responsibilities and costs. Self-publishing includes various media such as books, magazines, music albums or digital content - such as web fiction.
History and development
The concept of self-publishing is not a new phenomenon. Its roots go back several centuries. In the 18th century, the British satirist Laurence Sterne self-published the first two volumes of "Tristram Shandy" in 1759. The poet Ezra Pound also self-published his collection "A Lume Spento" in 1908. He sold the copies for sixpence each. These early examples show how authors wanted to distribute their works without traditional publishers. Even Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a self-publisher. His famous work "Götz von Berlichingen" (1773) was initially printed without a publisher. Goethe financed the publication himself and thus took an important step towards artistic independence. The success of the drama helped to establish his career as a writer - he became known in the literary world.
The 20th century showed further remarkable examples. Irma S. Rombauer published "The Joy of Cooking" herself in 1931. She initially printed 3,000 copies. The book later became a cooking classic with over 18 million copies sold. Virginia Woolf published her last novel "Between the Acts" in 1941 through her own Hogarth Press - thus founding her own publishing house. Another more recent example is "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E. L. James. Originally intended as Twilight fan fiction, James first published the novel as an e-book - as well as a print-on-demand title. The book's rapid success eventually led to a contract with a major publisher. The series became internationally known and sold millions of copies.
Digital technology and the internet have changed self-publishing dramatically. The introduction of print-on-demand (POD) in the mid-1990s made it possible for authors to produce physical copies of their works without high upfront costs. This innovation has democratized publishing - along with the rise of e-books and online distribution platforms. Authors can now reach global target groups relatively easily.
Advantages and disadvantages
Self-publishing offers a number of advantages:
- Fast market entry: Authors publish their works quickly and thus avoid the often lengthy processes of traditional publishers.
- Creative control: You retain full rights and make all creative decisions - from content to cover design.
- Higher royalties: Without intermediaries, authors potentially earn a larger share of the profits from their sales.
But self-publishing also poses challenges:
- Financial responsibility: Authors bear all costs - including editing, design, marketing and distribution.
- Market access: It can be harder to become visible in bookstores without the support of a publisher.
- Perception and stigma: Some readers or industry experts consider self-published works to be of lower quality compared to traditional publications. However, this aspect has become much less important in recent years, as more than 80% of all new publications are now self-published and traditional trade publishers will publish anything that makes money, which means they have also given up their gatekeeper function. Ultimately, the publication channel says nothing about the quality of the writing.
Current self-publishing platforms
Today, there are many platforms that facilitate self-publishing - they offer various services for authors:
- Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP): Enables authors to publish e-books and paperbacks. It offers access to Amazon's large customer base, but is also limited to it.
- Apple Books:E-book store, in which titles from classic publishers are always placed more prominently than those from unknown new authors.
- Lulu: Provides tools to create, publish or distribute both printed and digital books.
- Smashwords:Specializes in e-book publishing and distribution - it is aimed at various e-reading platforms.
- Self-Publishing.com (from The Self-Publishing Company) simplifies the self-publishing process. It makes it more accessible for authors worldwide. It is also "multi-platform": Authors can publish their book/e-book via major distribution channels such as Amazon, Apple, but also traditional bookstores worldwide - without having to deal with each individual distributor and invest time in different systems.
Misleading demarcations within the publishing landscape
Publishers who publish a book on behalf of the author (self-publishing with publishing know-how, so to speak) are often described as dubious ("subsidized publishers"), but they simply bundle the services that an author would otherwise have to provide themselves or purchase individually at great expense. Although this costs money, it does not have to be more expensive than buying the individual services yourself (editor, book typesetter, graphic designer, print processing, sales, marketing). In addition, you are personally supported by author consultants.
If you don't need this or want to put together your own individual help, you can do this with hybrid publishing: This approach combines elements of traditional and self-publishing. Authors share the production costs with the publisher. In return, they may receive higher royalties. They also benefit from some publishing services such as sales or marketing.
At the end of the day, all models - whether hybrid publishing, subsidized publishing or pure self-publishing, where you do everything yourself - are the same. They simply differ in the amount of help you want to take advantage of (and the associated costs). You can never do it completely without help, because at the latest when it comes to printing and selling the book, you have to rely on third parties.
Conclusion
Self-publishing has evolved from a niche to a mainstream option. It gives authors autonomy - as well as direct access to readers. It offers many advantages, including creative control and higher profit margins. But authors may also have to take on roles traditionally managed by publishers, such as marketing or sales. The publishing landscape is constantly evolving. Self-publishing has become a great opportunity for authors worldwide whose alternative has been to have their manuscript gathering dust in a drawer. And the fact that it is no longer a publisher but the market (i.e. the readers) that decides how well a book is received has already led to many surprising sales successes.