AP or Dual Credit: Which Approach is Best for High Schoolers?
For high school students facing up to the financial toll a college education can take on a family,... Read More
How Will We Read: A Book by You?
C. M. Rubin interviews Kevin Weiss, CEO of Author Solutions, the market leader among self-publishing companies in the US, about the future of books.
"There's never been a better time for an author to publish a book." -- Kevin Weiss
Write, edit, design, publish, market, sell your own book and book rights with highly experienced publishing staff assisting you? The self-publishing opportunity has changed significantly.
Book formats and channels of distribution will continue to evolve, but one thing remains constant in book publishing – it’s a hit or miss business. Even the most experienced editors and publishers agree you often can’t predict where the next hit is going to come from. The high risk of book publishing – the advances, promotion and printing in a market where brick and mortar chains are disappearing and thousands of new products are released every month — explains why fewer new authors and even established authors are simply not getting book deals anymore. But everyone has a story to tell and everyone should have the chance to have his voice heard.
Kevin Weiss, CEO of Author Solutions, is one of the major game changers helping to spur the fastest growing segment in the publishing industry today — the self-published author. I had the pleasure to talk with him about the new technologies and services that are helping more authors achieve their personal publishing goals, as well as helping traditional publishers and passionate readers discover new talent.
How large is the self-publishing business in the US market today? Can you break it into print books and ebooks?
I’ll give you a few numbers, and then I’ll discuss them in more detail. Last year, there were approximately 225,000 ISBNs created for traditionally published books. In addition, there were approximately 2 million ISBNs created for non-traditionally published books (including ebooks) that found their way into the distribution channels. Many of those ISBNs were issued to authors who were bringing books back into print. Because of that, we can’t say for sure what the actual new self-published book numbers were, but it is safe to say that number has likely increased significantly over the past few years. Also, the current industry tracking doesn’t enable you to identify the split between new print and ebooks. However, I estimate the self-published book market is probably around 150,000 titles in total per year. Of those titles, Author Solutions will publish about 30,000 titles this year, and all of our titles will be published as paper and electronic books for all platforms. The other main players are Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes &Noble, and Lulu.
What’s your forecast for ebooks over the next few years?
Ebooks will eclipse print books. Our authors’ revenue from ebooks is up tenfold from last year. I would expect that to go up another fourfold during the next twelve months. I would not be shocked if in the next couple of years we will see ebooks at 40% of the entire market. Look at all of the ereaders and tablets that we are seeing in the market today, plus the fact that the prices are starting to drop on ebooks. In addition, this Christmas, there are going to be millions more devices given as gifts. What’s the first thing you do when you have one? You buy a couple of books.
"We hire editors from traditional publishers, and they are very good at what they do." -- Kevin Weiss
Why should authors choose to publish their print or ebooks with Author Solutions?
There’s never been a better time for an author to publish a book. There are so many options available today, starting at publishing for free, using assisted self-publishing, and even getting picked up by traditional publishers, although that market is shrinking. Where Author Solutions fits in the continuum is we are an assisted self-publishing company.
Have you ever tried to upload Word documents to some of the ebook platforms that are out there? In many cases, it is a back-and-forth process. This can be very frustrating. In addition, some authors need help with cover design or creation of the galley. In other words, they want the added services that we bring to the table.
We also offer every form of editorial service currently on the market, including content and developmental editing. We have twenty people on staff in our editorial group, but we also have an extensive freelance editing group. We hire editors from traditional publishers, and they are very good at what they do. It’s a service that’s there for our authors if they wish.
We also offer marketing services for authors that want to build a platform around their book. Approximately 50% of our authors take advantage of some form of marketing service. One example is Hollywood. We have built an organization out in California that has deep connections in the film industry. We created a forum that we call Pitchfest where we teach people how to pitch their concepts to Hollywood executives. We have helped about 300 of our authors pitch their books. This is one example of a service, but we offer over 200 unique services across the marketing spectrum.
One secret of the industry is that the traditional publishing companies do not extensively market every book they publish. They expect the author to build the platform and bring it with the book. No-one is able to sell a book better than the author. The author is expected to invest in marketing. Self-published authors are no different – they have to invest in marketing.
Amazon has entered the hit or miss business with its Encore imprint. Is a traditional imprint in your plans for the future?
My boss asks me that on a regular basis. I don’t think we are equipped to pick what will be a hit in the marketplace. I don’t think that’s something we will get into. I’ll tell you what we do instead. We have publishing partnerships with six houses: Thomas Nelson, Hay House, Harlequin, B&H Publishing, Writer’s Digest and Guideposts. With these partnerships, we have created self-publishing imprints where authors make the initial investment, but the publishing partner watches the titles for those that may be worthy of being picked up. A number of them have already been picked up.
What about an author who is selling well? What capabilities do you have to further increase sales of those titles?
We have pushed some of our authors with increased marketing from time to time. There are a lot of great self-published books out there. When we see them we do our best to get them in front of the right audiences.
What are the major changes for Author Solutions in the future?
We’re seeing a huge explosion in our international business. The UK is seeing resurgence in growth. We launched in Australia and New Zealand about a year ago, are about to launch in Singapore and are currently doing final stages of due diligence for South Korea and Japan. We’re also seeing a lot of growth in our publishing partnership business. In the future, you will see us get into ebook-only kinds of imprints.
A lot of electronic books that come out today are not properly formatted. We want to come up with a better model for the electronic book that helps authors create better products. We’re also working on things in the audio area. I think there’s potential for DIY audio books. And finally, we want to build tools that help authors get discovered in this new world of eBooks.
I also believe that we are the largest self-publisher of children’s books in the world. We’ve done over 24,000. Children’s books allow you to do fun and interesting things with tablets, including using audio to prerecord parents or grandparents reading the book to a child. We’ve been able to turn pictures into puzzles, which then enables kids to interact further with the product. I think all this transforms the reading experience for young children. What we have also discovered is that kids are more engaged with the book for much longer and even learn new things.
Any special message to authors for the holidays?
There has never been a better time to be an author. You have more opportunity and choice than ever before. If you have been considering writing a book – do it! As Lisa Genova, author of Still Alice, who published with us because she could not get a traditional publisher to pick her up, said, “It just doesn’t do any good to leave that manuscript in the bottom drawer.” Thank goodness she didn’t because nine months after publishing with us she was picked up by Simon & Schuster and debuted at number 5 on the NY Times Bestseller list.
Finally, a message to all of the readers out there, support Indie authors. Encourage them through your purchases and comments. You will find some incredible reads out there.
Kevin Weiss and C. M. Rubin
(Photos courtesy of Author Solutions, Inc.)
How Will We Read? Community Page
C.M. Rubin has more than two decades of professional experience in development, marketing, and art direction for a diverse range of media businesses. She is the author of the widely read on-line series, The Global Search for Education, and is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.
Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld
Wednesday
November 16th, 2011
Filed Under
author solutions C. M. Rubin Future of Books How Will We Read? Kevin Weiss self-publishing
Recent News
New York City High School Admissions Policy Biased, Lawsuit Claims
In a lawsuit filed in federal court, New York City parents and activists are arguing that the high... Read More
Professor Snarks: Should Coursera Offer a Course on Itself?
A massive online open course about one of the biggest providers of massive online open courses?... Read More
Popular News
James Shuls: Why We Need School Choice 26
The Pedagogical Agenda of Common Core Math Standards 23
Movement Against Standardized Testing Gaining Strength 18
More groups are saying that the time and expense dedicated to standardized testing is having... Read More
Career Index
Plan your career as an educator using our free online datacase of useful information.
- Select a City Subject
- BSN Schools in Newtown
- BSN Schools in Philadelphia
- BSN Schools in York
- Business Schools in Bainbridge Island
- Business Schools in Bellevue
- Business Schools in Centralia
- Business Schools in Cheney
- Business Schools in Lakewood
- Business Schools in Moses Lake
- Business Schools in Olympia
- Business Schools in Pasco
- Business Schools in Port Angeles
- Business Schools in Puyallup
- Business Schools in Toppenish
- Business Schools in Vancouver
- Business Schools in Yakima
Comments
Self publishing is a great way to give yourself a chance in the publishing industry. No one will ever know who you are if you don’t give yourself the chance!
Self-publishing is giving me the chance as a first-time author and business owner to share my vision to millions worldwide.
Kathy Lester
CEO
Bidzinger
http://www.bidzinger.com
Self published authors still get a bad wrap from the traditional side of the business (publishers and agents) but some of the best books I’ve read this year have been from an independently published author: Call of a Coward by Marcia Moston, Lizard in the Laundry by Mitzi Doster, Glass Girl by Laura Anderson Kurk, SweetGum Slough by Claire Karrsiens, The Soul Reader by Gerald Webster and The Love of a Father by Faith Parker.
Take a chance on some of the unknown, independently published authors….there are some amazing stories out there waiting to be noticed!
Great article!
Kevin is absolutely right; there has never been a better time to be an author. My father finished writing his first book about a year ago and got tired of trying to get literary agents and traditional publishers to look at his work. He discovered self-publishing and is really excited about finally getting his book on the market.
Awesome article and interview with Mr. Weiss. I could not agree with him more! This is one of the most exciting times ever to be an author and everyone can fulfill their dream of being published.
With the evolving technology and changes, it sounds like Author Solutions is really keeping up on pace with the trends and offering services to help their authors!
I think the prospects for ebooks are just as Mr. Weiss forecasts. I received a Kindle as a present in February, and I have read dozens of ebooks in the 9 months since, while I have read probably ten print books in that same time period. A huge change for a woman with multiple full bookshelves in the house!
I have no idea why people don’t take a larger chance on indie authors. I’ve read some really great indie books this year! And let’s not forgot the tons of authors who have published with indie publishers that were originally turned down by traditional publishers, but then picked right up after their indie success.
I’ve read amazing indie books. Authors are more prepared than ever to take responsibility for their own projects, making them not only unique but quality products. The market is ready for diverse books and indie publishing offers it.
I’ve found there is an audience for nearly everything. As a reader, I want the opportunity to find content and others like me. Indie publishing allows the reader the option to decide what they want to read and not be provided only the content the big houses deem salable.
Mr. Weiss hits the nail right on the head – it’s the best time to be an author. There are so many options and authors no longer have to choose one path or the other. They can do it all – self pub, assisted self pub, and even trad pub if they want. I’m working on my first novel and have never thought for a second about using a traditional publisher. SP means more control, higher revenues, and faster time to market. There’s no doubt about it – self publishing, especially with ebooks, is the way of the future. It seems the term “Vanity Press” has finally gone out of vogue when referring to this fast growing, legitimate path of indie publishing. But I’m betting it will be back in use soon… because before you know it traditional publishers will be the ‘vanity press’ because the only thing they’ll ever publish is celebrity books from the already famous folks looking for one more revenue stream.
I set the holiday season as my own personal deadline, so the holiday message was very encouraging.
It’s interesting to see how publishing has evolved, and continues to evolve. I’m glad to see that more and more people are realizing that traditional publishing is outdated, and that the way we consume media has changed (already). Thanks for sharing!
I think that as we see e-book publishing increase in frequency we will also see publishing continue to expand. These are changing times as all forms of traditional printing andpublishing wrestle with the move away from print and toward digital. As devices like the iPad and Kindle continue to refine their technology, I believe that will encourage more people to adopt digit more than print. It’s a long transition ahead and the winners will the those who embrace digital sooner than later.
I can’t believe the pace at which ereaders/tablets have grown in the recent years. The market has literally exploded and it is only headed in one direction.
People are at risk of being left behind – the rapidity of it all is astounding.
For those with a message they are passionate about communicating, indie publishing is one means by which your message can be heard.
The real advantage of ebooks as I see it is the convenience to access a vast number of titles from your living room chair. That alone is a huge advantage over getting a paper version so I can believe that ebooks will soon make up 40% of the market.
Convenience plays a huge factor, and the price too is coming down all the time. They’ll be one of the hottest products this Christmas I bet.
I’ll be interested to see how traditional publishers respond to the boom in self publishing. What new are they going to bring to the table to attract new authors?
There is talk of people being left behind – what about the publishers?
Self publishing seems to be the way to get yourself out there – to get yourself known.
What an inspirational and even motivational article – the book industry has never been healthier.
thank you fo your information! http://www.fagbearing.cc/