Sunday, July 20, 2014

Self-publishing surging to 31% of ebook market, claims report

Hugh Howey says his study, based on calculation of Amazon sales, shows 'real progress' for authors who have chosen to go it alone

Hugh Howey
'The indie movement is not a blip' … Hugh Howey speaking at Taipei International Book Exhibition in February 2014. Photograph: Mandy Cheng/AFP/Getty Images

A new report claims that self-published authors have surged to 31% of ebook sales on Amazon.com, and are now earning more ebook royalties than writers published by the "Big five" traditional publishers. Despite research published earlier this month finding professional UK authors' incomes plunging below minimum standards, self-publishing champion Hugh Howey says the new results, in his third Author Earnings report, prove DIY authors are "here to stay".




"While it should be a jolt to see that indies are earning nearly 40% of the ebook dollars going to authors," the report concluded, "we are starting to take this reality for granted. That's real progress. As it has proven to be in other fields of entertainment, the indie movement in literature is not a blip and not a gold rush. It appears to be here to stay."
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1 comment:

transpress nz said...

The main component that professional publishing firms have added to books has been high editorial standards (which covers an awful lot more than just spelling and grammar) and it's hard to see that changing.

The other aspect has been big publishing firms' distribution clout; but with ever declining amounts of retail shelf space being provided to printed books and outlets becoming ever more picky about what they will even stock, let alone display, that aspect is rapidly becoming unimportant.