I don't want to offend anyone. And I don't think my opinion is written on gold tablets and from upon high.
I truly believe, after exhausted investigation of my gradual sales slump
to nothing, and given the fact that I am a relentless and heavy
promoter (for all my books) who belongs to nearly 30 sites and writing
groups, it is my opinion that the readership or fan base has switched in
a huge way from small press to self-publishing.
The self--pubbed author population is incredibly huge now and growing by leaps and bounds every day. They are close-knit--almost
a rebel faction. They loyally support each other. They make many, if
not most, book purchases withing their own group: It would not surprise
me that the majority of them buy from each other exclusively. I'm a
self-published author BTW, and it allowed me to tune in on all
discussions at the most exclusive self-publishing sites. And I'm rather
proud of my tiny self-publishing company!
Back to bidness...
Just one example of their camaraderie: Look no further than the Kindle
Boards to see a massive population of self-published authors who are
making fairly decent wages across the board for dozens of non-fiction
books--shorts, poetry, novellas and novels. Most of their sales numbers
hose the average small press right out of contention because their
royalties are so much higher than what a small press could offer.
They have a vested interest in promotion and marketing because
everything falls on their shoulders. They are damn good at selling their
brands. They discuss various and unique tactics for selling books (ways
you've never heard of before) and gathering more readers than any other
group of authors I've ever seen.
Is it at all possible that self-publishing has affected commercial
publishing? This could be a tie-in factor. Well, the Big Five
juggernauts simple try to buy up the most popular self-published authors
who have best selling status and miraculous breakouts. They watch
Wattpad, Booksie and other display sites for huge page views and
followers. Both of these (share your writing) sites are responsible for
launching some ginormous best sellers that have gone on to hit the wide
screen.
Twilight, The Hunger Games and Fifty Shades really stood out as success
stories. Where are the small press movie contracts? What can we boast
about? Selling 75 to 150 copies in the lifetime of the book? I do
believe all of these movie deals came from self-published authors in
some form or another. I could be wrong, and then I could be leaving many
others out too.
Small press does not have the financial means to pull in a best-selling
self-published author. And many, if not most, self-published authors
view small press contracts as a joke. I'm talking about the diehards
here. BTW, this faction includes hybrid authors who publish in both
venues--they are, for the most part, neutral in their views but very
supportive of self-publishing. However, the big money motivates and
dominates because the self-published sales figures that I've see don't
lie. The line between the best-selling outliers and the medium to heavy
sellers is starting to blur.
I can't say that I blame them at all. Many of them view commercial
publishing as biased and unfair. Many of them have suffered years and
years of writing with no recognition/contracts from agents or
publishers. Zip. I know that feeling. Been there done that with nearly
4,000 rejections spanning 27 years.
I've heard the term "The "O-niners" bandied about in the self publishing
forums. It appears as 09ers as well. In 2009 self publishing really
started to make a huge impact on the industry. It started to come on
really strong, and those that got in on it at that time are sitting very
pretty right now. Really, some astonishing sales numbers! Their worst
writers and tepid sellers smoke my book sales. They've also blown
away to shreds my grand prize winner. And I've been told by dozens of
people that I have one of the most beautiful covers in the industry.
The self-published motto is write one book after another 'til hell won't
have it, and when you're done with that, write more books and stories,
only faster.
When media or publishing professionals say the industry has changed or
is rapidly transitioning, they primarily mean the e-book phenomenon. But
right on its tail is the ravenous self-publishing trend and there are
not too many commercial publishers willing to admit that they have taken
some lumps because of it.
It was less than a year ago when I saw all my books and shorts slump and
go to zero. I had been selling 2--3 books or stories a week for a very
long time. I've also seen this with other small press authors who wrote
fantastic books and wonderful series.
Don't get me wrong, we do have some very successful small presses and
independents out there that have dug in their heels and come out
shinning. Entangled, Bookatour, Poisen Pen, Story Plant and many more
notables. Start up small presses today are nearly obliged to suffer doom
if they don't have pro experience and don't know what they're doing.
Anyway, there might be a number of other factions that have slowed comercial sales in the past few years. And combined
with self-publishing and its popularity, it could account for this
slump that I see. If someone were to tell me that this was a
flash-in-the-pan or a temporary trend, I would ask them where the
upswing was.
I'm not blaming small press for all of this. I just think is has had an
enormous influence. Phuck, I admire the hell out of them. I think they
are going to gain more and more ground and swing additional readership
in their direction.
Now, take this overview with a case of salt. It might help if anyone
were to reveal that their sales have mysteriously slowed or stalled out.
Not holding my breath, because such admittance is rather embarrassing.
But if you have, then investigate and see what you come up with. I would
be glad to hear any other theories. I don't mind trying to answer
further questions on the matter.
Read this report. It's staggering in it's implications about the future of the book industry. I couldn't quite wrap my head around it, and didn't believe it at first.
http://authorearnings.com/report/may-2015-author-earnings-report/
Chris
ETA, Summation: Self-publishing has taken, and will take a huge amount of market share without doing it vindictively. Many of the self-published authors are teenagers or NAs, and they're like kids in a candy store, both in a reading and writing sense.
Ya know, I wish I felt that way.
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