Michael Bhaskar recently gave a lecture at Oxford Brookes University and raised an interesting point about the digital network giving rise to the disintermediation of publishers, which I wanted to explore.
The growth and penetration of the internet and digital technology has provided individuals with the opportunity to publish content freely and easily to a global audience (as I’m doing on this blog), without having to seek assistance from intermediaries, such as publishers [Clark & Phillips, 2014]. In addition to this, global companies such as Apple and Amazon have moved ‘into content production’ and their self-publishing platforms such as Apple Author and Amazon’s highly successful Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), have helped make self-publishing mainstream [Hall, 2013].
The proliferation of self-publishing is causing creative disruption within the publishing industry by enabling disintermediation and leaving publishers struggling to define their role and value ‘in the cycle of production’ [Bhaskar, 2014; Waldman, 2010]. In recent years, self-published authors have been capturing an increasing share of the growing digital market [Walter, 2014] and whilst many self-published authors don’t find success, digital self-publishing significantly lowers the barrier to entry and means that individuals can publish content with very little investment or risk. Additionally, the rewards can be great, with publishers frequently finding new authors through self-publishing platforms, which is the main aim of many ‘indie’ authors [Giles & Phillips, 2014; Hall, 2013].
Two such examples include Kerry Wilkinson and EL James, whose self-publishing achievements subsequently led to publishing deals, which ‘amplified’ their success, and as seen with EL James, catapulted her to true bestseller status [Bhaskar, 2014; Walter, 2014]. With content still at the core of digital and self-publishing, in this increasingly crowded and unregulated digital marketplace, publishers offer an assurance of quality which legitimises authors and their books [Wilkinson, 2014].
Despite this, self-publishing is still proving an enticing platform for both new and established authors because of the greater control and remuneration it offers. Through services such as KDP authors reportedly receive 70% share of the ebook sales in contrast to a typical 25% royalty one would receive through a publisher [Clark & Phillips, 2014].
In response to this ongoing disruption, many publishers are now launching or expanding digital-only imprints, enabling them to publish a wider range of authors with lower investment and risk, in attempts to expand their publishing operations and compete with self-publishing [Flatt, 2013].
However, there are concerns that many publishers still aren’t doing enough, primarily through a reluctance to offer royalty rates more on par with those offered by Amazon. This is encouraging the practice of ‘hybrid’ publishing, in which authors such as Hugh Howey retain ebook rights and self-publish through platforms such as Amazon, whilst producing print-only editions through publishers [Walter, 2014].
With the growing ebook market becoming an increasingly important revenue stream for publishers they need to ensure that they remain a pivotal intermediary in the digital publishing process. I believe digital-only imprints with attractive author contracts are necessary to ensure publishers can compete with self-publishing platforms and continue producing new and original digital content. Ultimately, this diverse manner of publishing, whether it includes publishers or not could lead to polarisation of the industry, with print publishing reserved for expensive artisan titles and editions of bestselling ebooks and digital publishing reserved for low-priced, mass-market content.
Word count: 547
References:
Bhaskar, M. (2014). Becoming the new publisher: What do digital publishers do? [podcast] 22/10/14. Available at: http://publishing.brookes.ac.uk/podcasts/item/becoming_the_new_publisher/. [accessed: 29/10/14].
Clarke, G & Phillips, A. (2014) Inside Book Publishing. 5th ed. (London: Routledge)
Flatt, M. (2013). Digital-only imprints in the ebook era: inclusive or exploitative?. The Guardian. [online]. 21/06/2014. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/jun/21/digital-imprints-publishing-ebook [accessed: 15/11/14].
Hall, F. (2013). The Business of Digital Publishing: An introduction to the digital book and journal industries. (Abingdon: Routledge). Ch. 13.
Waldman, S. (2010). Creative Disruption: What you need to do to shake up your business in a digital world. (Harlow: Pearson Education). Ch. 9.
Walter, D. (2014). Self-publishing: is it killing the mainstream?. The Guardian. [online]. 14/02/2014. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/feb/14/self-publishing-mainstream-genre-fiction [accessed: 15/11/14].
Wilkinson, K. (2014). Self-publishing changed my life, but my publisher grew my sales. The Bookseller. [online]. 25/02/2014. http://www.thebookseller.com/futurebook/self-publishing-changed-my-life-my-publisher-grew-my-sales [accessed: 15/11/14].
The growth and penetration of the internet and digital technology has provided individuals with the opportunity to publish content freely and easily to a global audience (as I’m doing on this blog), without having to seek assistance from intermediaries, such as publishers [Clark & Phillips, 2014]. In addition to this, global companies such as Apple and Amazon have moved ‘into content production’ and their self-publishing platforms such as Apple Author and Amazon’s highly successful Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), have helped make self-publishing mainstream [Hall, 2013].
The proliferation of self-publishing is causing creative disruption within the publishing industry by enabling disintermediation and leaving publishers struggling to define their role and value ‘in the cycle of production’ [Bhaskar, 2014; Waldman, 2010]. In recent years, self-published authors have been capturing an increasing share of the growing digital market [Walter, 2014] and whilst many self-published authors don’t find success, digital self-publishing significantly lowers the barrier to entry and means that individuals can publish content with very little investment or risk. Additionally, the rewards can be great, with publishers frequently finding new authors through self-publishing platforms, which is the main aim of many ‘indie’ authors [Giles & Phillips, 2014; Hall, 2013].
Two such examples include Kerry Wilkinson and EL James, whose self-publishing achievements subsequently led to publishing deals, which ‘amplified’ their success, and as seen with EL James, catapulted her to true bestseller status [Bhaskar, 2014; Walter, 2014]. With content still at the core of digital and self-publishing, in this increasingly crowded and unregulated digital marketplace, publishers offer an assurance of quality which legitimises authors and their books [Wilkinson, 2014].
Despite this, self-publishing is still proving an enticing platform for both new and established authors because of the greater control and remuneration it offers. Through services such as KDP authors reportedly receive 70% share of the ebook sales in contrast to a typical 25% royalty one would receive through a publisher [Clark & Phillips, 2014].
In response to this ongoing disruption, many publishers are now launching or expanding digital-only imprints, enabling them to publish a wider range of authors with lower investment and risk, in attempts to expand their publishing operations and compete with self-publishing [Flatt, 2013].
However, there are concerns that many publishers still aren’t doing enough, primarily through a reluctance to offer royalty rates more on par with those offered by Amazon. This is encouraging the practice of ‘hybrid’ publishing, in which authors such as Hugh Howey retain ebook rights and self-publish through platforms such as Amazon, whilst producing print-only editions through publishers [Walter, 2014].
With the growing ebook market becoming an increasingly important revenue stream for publishers they need to ensure that they remain a pivotal intermediary in the digital publishing process. I believe digital-only imprints with attractive author contracts are necessary to ensure publishers can compete with self-publishing platforms and continue producing new and original digital content. Ultimately, this diverse manner of publishing, whether it includes publishers or not could lead to polarisation of the industry, with print publishing reserved for expensive artisan titles and editions of bestselling ebooks and digital publishing reserved for low-priced, mass-market content.
Word count: 547
References:
Bhaskar, M. (2014). Becoming the new publisher: What do digital publishers do? [podcast] 22/10/14. Available at: http://publishing.brookes.ac.uk/podcasts/item/becoming_the_new_publisher/. [accessed: 29/10/14].
Clarke, G & Phillips, A. (2014) Inside Book Publishing. 5th ed. (London: Routledge)
Flatt, M. (2013). Digital-only imprints in the ebook era: inclusive or exploitative?. The Guardian. [online]. 21/06/2014. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/jun/21/digital-imprints-publishing-ebook [accessed: 15/11/14].
Hall, F. (2013). The Business of Digital Publishing: An introduction to the digital book and journal industries. (Abingdon: Routledge). Ch. 13.
Waldman, S. (2010). Creative Disruption: What you need to do to shake up your business in a digital world. (Harlow: Pearson Education). Ch. 9.
Walter, D. (2014). Self-publishing: is it killing the mainstream?. The Guardian. [online]. 14/02/2014. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/feb/14/self-publishing-mainstream-genre-fiction [accessed: 15/11/14].
Wilkinson, K. (2014). Self-publishing changed my life, but my publisher grew my sales. The Bookseller. [online]. 25/02/2014. http://www.thebookseller.com/futurebook/self-publishing-changed-my-life-my-publisher-grew-my-sales [accessed: 15/11/14].