Is the self-publishing stigma fading?

For a long time, going the DIY route repelled critics, publishers - and readers. But as its successes accumulate, so the shame falls away

“Sorry – no self-published books accepted.” How many authors have been confronted with those words? I certainly have. It’s a prime example of what has been dubbed the self-publishing stigma. But as the sector grows, shrugging aside suspicion and hostility, will this negative image fall away? Has it already begun to do so?

I jumped into the game in late 2010, when the concept of being an indie author was still relatively new. Like most others at that time, I tottered about, toddler-like, trying to find my way through this new and strange landscape.

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