Trends and Pitfalls of Major Publishing Companies

                   Advice for the Self-Publisher from Jason Foster

     At last month's Frank J. Basloe Library Board meeting, we discussed the changing landscape of publishing.  The library, through it's co-operative MidYork Library System, has witnessed the rising cost of books purchased through the major publishing houses, especially the charges that these major players in the literary world want to charge libraries for the usage of ebooks.

In this growing debate, check out these links:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/26/living/digital-libraries/index.html

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-03-07/tech/29990288_1_ebooks-electronic-resource-publisher

http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/03/ebooks/librarians-feel-sticker-shock-as-price-for-random-house-ebooks-rise-as-much-as-300-percent/


     On the flip side, the internet provides opportunities for authors that were not available previously.  At one time, would-be authors could only become published by going through a major publisher, but now the internet provides thousands of options to self-publish.  Amazon, iUniverse, Lulu and Infinity Publishing are just a few choices for authors to choose from. The services of these internet self-publishing companies range from the bare minimum publishing to extensive marketing and distribution.

     Jason Foster chose Book Surge to publish 42 Unanswered Points.  I asked him why he chose to self-publish versus going through a publishing house.

     "I invested some time via the traditional route in trying to secure a literary agent and all that.  I got impatient with the process . . . I simply wanted to get it out there so I went the Book Surge route . . .
Sure I would have liked to have had the luxury of having an agent to show me the ropes and provide the support that would be helpful for a first-time author."

     Jason also share that Book Surge provides some marketing resources, but he has had to be creative in his marketing tactics in order to sell his book on his own.  In offering advice to writers dreaming of publishing their own books he says that they need to search for their own reasons in wanting to become published.

     "What is it that is important to you?  Are you trying to see your names on the shelves of Waldenbooks and on the NY Times Bestseller's list?  Are you simply wanting the satisfaction of having a book out there with your name on it?  As you walk through libraries and bookstores, and see the millions of titles that are out there, it is amazing to think that each book had (an author with) decisions to make.  Some agent or publisher was most likely involved."

     In his own experience, he offers the following advice. "I learned a lot with this process of getting my book out there.  I made a lot of mistakes and my impatience was probably my greatest weakness.  Still, I am very content knowing that even though I won't be on the bestseller list, people have taken the time to read 42 Unanswered Points, and have expressed positive commentary.  That has made it all worth it to me."

     With his usual witty tone, Jason adds "I figured that if someone wants to publish a book titled The History of Knives (No, I did not make that title up!), then someone ought to be willing to publish my second book Killer Interview, which is the perfect leader into my next post, which will feature a sneak preview of the first chapter from Jason's new book!