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Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018

publishersweekly.com

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Re: Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018

#21

Post by mdorazio »

m463 wrote: post #3

I have found kindle books that come from a reputable publisher are MUCH higher quality than self-published books. I just don't think many self-published books have the meaningful rejection, editing and proofreading that a publisher provides. That doesn't mean that there aren't good self published books. And things might change over time, if teams form. I think publishing a book requires a team. Meaningful reviews and…

It's the same kind of thing that happened with indie games and Steam. The barriers to entry have become so low that everyone who fancies themself an author can publish a book regardless of how bad it is. The net result is potentially more good books, but realistically finding the good ones has become really difficult because there are so many bad ones.

Re: Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018

#22

Post by m463 »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #11
m463 wrote: post #3

I have found kindle books that come from a reputable publisher are MUCH higher quality than self-published books. I just don't think many self-published books have the meaningful rejection, editing and proofreading that a publisher provides. That doesn't mean that there aren't good self published books. And things might change over time, if teams form. I think publishing a book requires a team. Meaningful reviews and…

The number of typos I see in traditionally published materials indicates that they don't add much value in the proofreading realm.

I saw that at the beginning with kindle books, and I gave lots of bad reviews.

I think as printed sales dropped off publishers would shovel older printed books into OCR and publish the results immediately.

Over time, the situation has got better. Many books I purchased years ago have updated versions available. I suspect it is because most of the valuable pre-digital books have been OCR'd and proofread, possibly by the customers.

Newer books were always digital and didn't suffer OCR problems.

I'm surprised Kindle doesn't have a "popular typos" like "popular highlights".

Re: Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018

#23

Post by Mirioron »

m463 wrote: post #3

I have found kindle books that come from a reputable publisher are MUCH higher quality than self-published books. I just don't think many self-published books have the meaningful rejection, editing and proofreading that a publisher provides. That doesn't mean that there aren't good self published books. And things might change over time, if teams form. I think publishing a book requires a team. Meaningful reviews and…

On the other hand, I like these self-published books, because they can stray from the norm. A lot of published works end up following a similar formula, which is less likely to be the case in self-published works.

Re: Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018

#24

Post by cm2012 »

mrob wrote: post #12
mrfusion wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One counter example is “Harry Potter and the methods of rationality”. Possibly one of the best books I’ve ever read.

Another example is "Worm", which I learned of from the author's notes for Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality: https://parahumans.wordpress.com/

Worm and it's sequel, Ward, are amazing.

Re: Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018

#25

Post by asicsp »

m463 wrote: post #3

I have found kindle books that come from a reputable publisher are MUCH higher quality than self-published books. I just don't think many self-published books have the meaningful rejection, editing and proofreading that a publisher provides. That doesn't mean that there aren't good self published books. And things might change over time, if teams form. I think publishing a book requires a team. Meaningful reviews and…

Having a good community also helps to separate the good books from others. I mostly read fantasy and the community on reddit is so good to get recommendations, participate in polls, interact with authors, etc. There's also a yearly contest where 300 self published books are reviewed by bloggers. Here's a recent poll [1] and here's a somewhat older thread for recommendations [2]

I got a Kindle Unlimited subscription this year and some of my favorite series are:

* Cradle by Will Wight

* Arcane Ascension by Andrew Rowe

* Heartstrikers by Rachel Aaron

* Worm by Wildbow (I'm counting webserials as self published too)

* The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/cwz83u/the_rfantas...

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/7lib3d/what_are_so...

Re: Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018

#26

Post by WalterBright »

kjs3 wrote: post #18
dleslie wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope I don't get roasted for this; but I whole-heartedly agree. There's also a sizeable publisher that I find has remarkably poor editorial control, and so I hesitate to read works published by them: Tor. Which is strange; they've always been a source of pulp science fiction and fantasy, but I enjoy such works and have enjoyed Tor works in the distant past. But recently? Notsomuch.

You aren't wrong. Even if the content if good, even great, with incredibly rare exception, you really, really need a good editor to turn that content into something useful.

It's the same in the record business. See "The Wrecking Crew" about how the studio musicians turned the raw material of the artists into hits. (Often the original bands could neither sing nor play their instruments very well.)

Re: Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018

#27

Post by lalaithion »

asicsp wrote: post #25
m463 wrote: post #3

I have found kindle books that come from a reputable publisher are MUCH higher quality than self-published books. I just don't think many self-published books have the meaningful rejection, editing and proofreading that a publisher provides. That doesn't mean that there aren't good self published books. And things might change over time, if teams form. I think publishing a book requires a team. Meaningful reviews and…

Having a good community also helps to separate the good books from others. I mostly read fantasy and the community on reddit is so good to get recommendations, participate in polls, interact with authors, etc. There's also a yearly contest where 300 self published books are reviewed by bloggers. Here's a recent poll [1] and here's a somewhat older thread for recommendations [2] I got a Kindle Unlimited subscription t…

I'll add Ra by Sam Hughes (qntm.org) https://www.amazon.com/Sam-Hughes/e/B07M92WWT7/ref=dp_byline...

Re: Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018

#28

Post by Gatsky »

cm2012 wrote: post #24
mrob wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another example is "Worm", which I learned of from the author's notes for Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality: https://parahumans.wordpress.com/

Worm and it's sequel, Ward, are amazing.

Worm is 1.6 million words long?? You read the whole thing?

Re: Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018

#29

Post by Phillipharryt »

mrob wrote: post #14
LudwigNagasena wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t pulp fiction by definition low quality?

Pulp fiction just means works published in pulp magazines or similarly disreputable publications. Some was bad, some was great. Many acclaimed authors wrote for the pulps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_magazine#Authors_featured

In your very own link it says the term is used to refer to "run-of-the-mill, low-quality literature".

Re: Number of Self-Published Titles Jumped 40% in 2018

#30

Post by wolco »

systematical wrote: post #16

Do publishers aid in marketing?

Levels vary . If you are a star you'll have in-store signings and ad campaigns. Standard deals wouldn't have much support but that could change if things go well. Generally they can aid but not for the vast majority. They do not have the same reach you do with your niche subgroup so any marketing is more general and not targeted. You end up paying for the marketing anyhow if you are lucky to receive it.
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