The Changing Face of Self-Publishing – A Guest Post

(Guest post by Mary Emma Allen, author and co-blogger with Yvonne Russell at Home Biz Notes)

Will self-publishing, which has become a popular way to see one’s book in print and a more acceptable method than in the past, see a decline due to Amazon’s apparent new policy? It appears that Amazon will only accept books published by their acquisition, Book Surge, a Print on Demand (POD) entity.

Many writers and small publishers, who depended on Amazon as a prominent way to sell their books, are discouraged, even angry. However, it depends on what your goal is with your book.

I’ve had a book published by a small publisher, who distributed their books through bookstores and online outlets.

I’ve self-published three books through my home based MEA Publications. None of these books (Tales of Adventure & Discovery, When We Become the Parent to Our Parents, and The Magic of Patchwork) were distributed through Amazon. They were designed for niche markets where I gave talks and workshops or promoted in other ways online and off.

I’m pleased with their sales, although none are best-sellers on the NYTimes list.

However, one of my book projects is in limbo because of this move by Amazon. A small publisher proposed to pick up the self-published book about my mother’s journey through Alzheimer’s and have it printed through the POD she uses that distributed to Amazon. We will see what happens.

I feel self-publishing doesn’t have to come to an end. There are other outlets than Amazon. Let’s see what they do. Let’s see how creative you can be with your publishing and distribution. Also, see what the requirements to have a book published by Book Surge and sold through Amazon.
What are your thoughts on this topic? How is it affecting you?

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen. Related Post by Yvonne Russell at Home Biz Notes: Is The Future Of Self-Publishing In Doubt? (http://www.homebiznotes.com/is-the-future-of-self-publishing-in-doubt/ )