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The 2000s in America

Self-publishing

by John Pritchard

Definition: Book printing and promotion process utilized by authors to publish their work independent of the traditional commercial publishing industry

The publishing industry was one of several major media sectors to undergo a significant transformation in the 2000s. Rapid advances in print technology made it possible for small printing houses to print books of a quality similar to that of major publishing firms. Additionally, the rise of Internet-based promotional tools also made book marketing easier for authors who lacked the large budgets and marketing campaigns of major book publishing houses.

Genesis

The concept of authors printing, promoting, and selling their own books has existed as long as publishing itself. Self-publishing has been utilized for centuries by hobbyists as well as fringe, niche, and insurrectionary authors whose works were considered unfit, too controversial, or untraditional for mainstream publishers and their readers.

In the 2000s, authors across all genres began to utilize self-publishing as a primary method with which to usurp the exclusory world of major publishing companies. Many writers had become increasingly frustrated with the limited amount of publishing options presented to them, as well as with repeated rejections of their work by established publishing firms due to reasons such as inexperience, controversial content, editorial guidelines, creative differences, or a perceived lack of potential popularity and profitability.

Benefits

The proliferation of self-published books was largely spurred by fiction authors fed up with repeated rejections from major publishing companies eager for titles with widespread commercial viability. Many authors felt shut out by the traditional editorial models at large publishing houses that frowned on works many in the industry considered imitative, unconventional, and incapable of mass commercial appeal. Writers wanted to bypass these editorial and commercial standards. Self-publishing in the 2000s also provided an easily accessible venue for publication for independent and first-time authors more interested in sharing their work than in financial gain.

Many authors also opted to utilize the self-publishing model in the 2000s as a means to maintain the intellectual and artistic rights to their work without being beholden by lengthy contracts to major publishing companies. Such contracts customarily placed time constraints on book release windows and author output.

In the 2000s self-publishing gave authors full control over the marketing and promotional aspects of their work. Unfettered from traditional annals of promotion, authors could tailor their marketing campaigns to target audiences with which they were intimately familiar. This proved to be particularly effective for authors working in niche fiction genres. Many self-published authors were able to cultivate new audiences through such niche marketing methods.

One of the biggest advantages of self-publishing for unknown authors in the 2000s was the newfound credibility that can be fostered by having a published work. A reader is more likely to pick up a book by an established author—one whose books have received a number of positive reviews—than someone who has not yet published. As with the traditional publishing market, the more positive reviews a book receives, the more popular it becomes, and the more copies it sells. One way for self-published authors to help this process along is by selling the book at a much cheaper price than a traditional publisher would offer. A reader will be more likely to try a new author if he or she does not have to invest much in that author. Some authors of best-selling self-published books have even been picked up by traditional publishing houses, which further increased their popularity.

Drawbacks

The decade’s self-publishing renaissance was not without drawbacks. Authors choosing this method of publication are responsible for the numerous preliminary costs associated with book publication, including proofreading, fact and reference checking, and press and image coordination. While technological advances throughout the 2000s made such processes more accessible than they had previously been, they remained costly. Self-promotion on a large scale proved to be expensive and time consuming as well, especially without the experience of a publishing house’s marketing team to rely upon.

Online and traditional brick-and-mortar booksellers also remained skeptical of abandoning the long established distribution avenues set in place by major publishers, often leaving self-published authors off their shelves and websites. In addition, booksellers and even many readers were wary about the quality of self-published books. The lack of a traditional, professional publisher to fact check, edit, and format a book could lead to inaccuracies, as well as typos and other errors that would make the work difficult to read.

The ambivalence of major booksellers toward self-published authors in the 2000s was further propelled by an increase in the proliferation of biased reviews. Many self-published authors in the 2000s were found to have paid reviewers to create positive reviews of their work to generate interest and boost sales. Such incidences caused further rifts between writers and retailers who championed the self-publishing process and the established publishing industry that remained wary of its increased popularity.

Impact

The self-publishing renaissance was one of many sea changes in the publishing world in the 2000s. The proliferation of digital books and disintegration of conventional publishing markets into a multitude of niche realms dictated by individual readers led to a sharp decline in the sale of printed books and to the closure of several independent booksellers and national bookselling chains alike.

While self-publishing became a viable avenue for fledgling authors to establish experience in the publishing world, the stigma attached to books created through this process remained at decade’s end.

Further Reading

1 

Denn, Rebekah. “A Cautionary Tale for Self-Published Authors.” Christian Science Monitor. Christian Science Monitor, 7 Feb. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. Focuses on best-selling science fiction author Diane Duane. Duane had initially achieved success through traditional publishing; her “experiment” in self-publishing online did not succeed.

2 

Motoko, Rich. “Self-Publishers Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab.” New York Times. New York Times Co., 27 Jan. 2009. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. A discussion of how self-publishing companies have flourished, particularly by making money off their authors.

3 

Steinberg, Scott. “What the Publishing Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know.” Huffington Post Business. TheHuffingtonPost.com Inc., 15 Aug. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. Details the various steps an author should take in order to become successful at self-publishing.

4 

Streitfield, David. “The Best Book Reviews Money Can Buy.” New York Times. New York Times Co., 25 Aug. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. Discusses the practice of authors paying for positive reviews of their self-published books. Focuses in particular on Todd Rutherford, a marketing specialist who became a paid reviewer.

5 

Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. “Secret of Self-Publishing: Success.” Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Co., 31 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. Provides examples of self-published authors who have achieved success through e-publishing and low sale prices.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Pritchard, John. "Self-publishing." The 2000s in America, edited by Craig Belanger, Salem Press, 2013. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=2000_0337.
APA 7th
Pritchard, J. (2013). Self-publishing. In C. Belanger (Ed.), The 2000s in America. Salem Press.
CMOS 17th
Pritchard, John. "Self-publishing." Edited by Craig Belanger. The 2000s in America. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2013. Accessed September 18, 2025. online.salempress.com.