Wednesday 5 October 2011

Alternative publishing 2

My friend and fellow Medieval Murderer, Mike Jecks, has recently had some strong opinions to express about publishers.  He thinks they are on a self-destruct course as they are pushed into ever bigger discounts by the likes of Amazon.  All well and good, you might think, as more books are sold.  But as the publisher's margin per copy decreases, so does the author's, and increases in sales do not compensate.  Mike believes as authors we would be fools to continue using a middle man, like a publisher, when direct internet selling is possible.  Of course, we are all aware that places the onus on us writers to market our own books, as there is a huge slush pile of titles on Amazon, some good, some indifferent, most awful.  Most authors just want to write, and marketing is an uphill struggle.  I don't know what the solution is, but I am going to give it a try, so watch this space.
Oh, and go read Mike's blog - "writerlywitterings".