Is self-publishing on the decline?

[Everly]

This subject has gotten a lot of attention lately because e-book sales were down for 2011. I think there might be another reason, so I wrote about it. I'm a writer; That's what we do right?
http://ellelapraim.com/is-self-publis...

What do you think?

[Phillip]

I do not think it is on the fade but growing; the inexorible move away from brick and mortar to eCommerce and Amazon are turning paper distribution into the niche market that ebooks used to be. With the freedom to win or lose, succeed or fail now solely up to the author and their content and not an Agent or Big 6 publisher this will only increase the viability of Indie publishing. As long as eReaders are a growing market share the need for a Big 6 publisher to distribute your content will continue to slide. With KDP Select, the numbers might be skewed as everyone was offering free eBooks around the same time, so unless those are counted as sales, the numbers might not add up compared to last year.

[Susan]

I agree Phillip. The problem with that growth is the CRAP that's being published. Anybody who THINKS they can write is publishing illiterate, poorly edited shorts or they're JUST depraved sex acts or dull.

I self-published because of the cost savings etc. etc. (starving artist? ha) I'm still learning but I think of myself as an author, not a hack like some of those others out there.

OK * off the soap-box *

[Tony]

It is not a fade. It is the future.

I'm a publisher who has an author who has previously published his books with GroupMVP. Each of his books have had a 5000 print run and been sold out (he currently has over 50,000 books sold via GroupMVP). This week they called him and ask if he had another book to publish. Even with being GroupMVP most like author (GroupMVP only has to do the cover and layout for the books) he only receive a royalties of $0.03/book.

With me doing reissues of his books he is currently receiving $0.35/book for E-books (we are getting ready to bump the price up from $0.99 to $1.25.

Other authors are finding they receive a much higher royalties when they are self-published (or published with a publisher like myself). The only reason why they may use a publisher like me, is they don't want to have to master the new skill of publishing and the art of book layout. They only want to write and let me worry about the publishing side.

[Phillip]

That is why many agents are starting to look at where they will be in the next several years and are adjusting from gatekeeper/middleman to content and marketing provider for eBook distribution, still taking their cut in royalties but also offering better digital rates than trad publishers who are protecting their paper investments. What you offer is where most want to be, concentrating on craft over selling, though I don't think an author can totally just hand over manuscripts and no look back on building the fan base themselves.