January 2015 Your Guide to Self-Publishing 2015: The Year Ahead Book Fairs & Writing Conferences in 2015 78 New Titles Listed Indie Reviews Roundup SELFPUBLISHING PREVIEW A Look Ahead to Self-Publishing in 2015 Industry insiders predict an increase in diversity, serialization, and hybrid publishing B J MC elf-publishing saw another saturation. For this successful year in 2014, year’s preview, we with authors like Deborah talked to a number of Bladon and Jen McLaughlin industry insiders hitting the New York Times about the current Sbestseller lists, fanfic authors like Sophie state of self-publish- Jackson receiving six-figure advances, ing, the trends they’ve and many millions of titles being pub- noticed over the past lished across the industry’s numerous year, and the current platforms. The view of self-publishing as challenges facing in- an outlet of last resort for desperate au- die authors in an in- thors is also changing—the negative creasingly crowded stigma that’s long been associated with market, along with the industry is being discarded for a more some of their predic- progressive outlook, along with the ac- tions for 2015. knowledgement that self-publishing and As an example of traditional publishing can coexist and continued industry Dan Dillon even benefit one another. And self-pub- growth, Ashleigh lishing platforms are increasingly serv- Gardner, head of content at Wattpad, ing kits for kids. ing as a kind of testing ground for tradi- noted that in 2014 the social publishing Across all segments of self-publish- tional publishers, which are snapping up site gained millions of users who shared ing, there were signs of continued successful indie authors and offering 15 million works of fan fiction alone— growth and innovation—from Crayola them, in some cases, million-dollar ad- resulting in breakout publishing stars to fanfic to hybrid publishing to the rise vances. Further, some traditionally like Anna Todd, whose One Direc- of serialization, we break it all down for published authors are tion fanfic, After, got her you here. becoming more open a four-book deal with to exploring self- Gallery Books at Si- The Rise of the publishing as a sup- mon & Schuster. “Authorpreneur” plement to or as a Established self- As more and more authors go it alone, replacement for their publishing sites like they are increasingly treating their self- traditional publishing Lulu also saw growth publishing ventures as businesses. This careers. over the past year, ac- means realizing that their publishing ef- A year ago, we predicted cording to the company’s v-p of market- forts must be part of a broader business that the self-publishing industry would ing, Dan Dillon, as a result of new initia- model that takes into account everything mature in 2014, with writers taking tives like Lulu Jr.—a brand enabling from branding to media outreach to edi- ownership of their role as both authors children to become published authors. In torial collaboration—which is an impor- and business owners. As 2015 begins, we addition to Lulu Jr., the company an- tant development, according to Beat once again anticipate a year of growth, nounced a partnership with Crayola to Barblan, director of identifier services at despite some concerns about market develop a line of co-branded book-mak- Bowker. 36 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ J A N U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 5 SELFPUBLISHING PREVIEW “There has been a realization over the indie authors is echoed by Smashwords stuck to it for years,” ex- last year, I would say, that, in order to founder Mark Coker: “Now more than plains Sally Dedecker, an be successful, self-publishers must ever, indies must focus on their long- industry consultant and see themselves as business owners and term game plan. Avoid the temptation of education director at BEA. “I hear from recognize that writing the content is making short-term decisions that harm traditional authors who are exploring only the first of many steps,” says Bar- your long-term opportunities. Under- the [self-]publishing option, and look- blan. While he notes that “content stand that as an indie author you are an ing for a game plan to shift to hybrid or is still king,” he points out that even essential participant in the publishing leap right into [self-]publishing.” As an good content will have trouble finding community.” example, she notes that at uPublishU at an audience if authors aren’t publishing Many others in the industry also say BEA in 2014, a number of attendees professionally—paying attention to the that indie authors will need to pay were traditional authors who wanted to services a traditional publisher offers increasing attention to professionalism. explore their options and investigate the like editing, marketing, e-book conver- Barblan predicts that readers will benefits of various publishing platforms sion, and cover design. “Authors have increasingly expect self-published books and learn more about rights and market- realized that when choosing to self-pub- to be indistinguishable from those that ing. lish they are not eliminating the role are traditionally published. “From the Barblan agrees that 2015 will be a of the publisher: rather, they choose to value of the content to the type of paper year of growth for hybrids. “I think we assume the publisher’s responsibilities.” used to print physical books or the care will see an increase in hybrid publishers, This means that indie authors are doing taken in their conversion to e-books, choosing to publish both ways: via more work than their traditionally pub- books should be of equal quality regard- traditional publishers as well as on their lished counterparts, but are perhaps less of how they get published,” says Bar- own depending on type of content and more empowered as a result—taking blan. “The reader wants good, well-pre- market,” he says. As authors learn more ownership of their titles and working to sented content that is readily available at about their publishing options, whether expand their business. a reasonable cost.” via a panel at BEA or from networking Dillon at Lulu agrees. “It’s been very with other writers and readers, and are fulfilling to see the concept of the The Hybrid able to choose exactly how to publish ‘authorpreneur’ take hold in 2014,” he As self-publishing has become more es- individual titles depending on their says. As an example, Dillon points to the tablished, it appears to also have become needs, it seems clear that hybrid pub- portion of Lulu authors who are utilizing a viable option for traditionally pub- lishing will continue to attract new fans the free tools offered by lished authors, who have in the coming year. the site to communicate tended to shy away from it directly with their read- in the past. For instance, Serialization ers, which in turn builds self-publishing allowed and Fan Fiction loyalty and drives sales. New York Times bestselling Authors have also taken note of the op- “The one thing our au- author Eileen Goudge to portunities offered by serialization. By thors did supremely release Bones and Roses in releasing their work a chapter at a time, well in 2014 is they got 2014 after she failed to authors can keep readers hooked while to know their readers, to find a publisher for the incorporating feedback from their fans as understand who they novel. Smashword’s Coker they go—a format that’s been successful are, and to deliver an predicts that we’ll see more for a number of indie authors this year. ever increasing amount traditionally published au- This publishing model also allows for of high quality content Beat Barblan thors going this route—es- increased author revenue—publishing to them,” something pecially midlist authors, 30 chapters priced at 99¢ lets authors Dillon says is the hallmark of a maturing who tend to get less attention from their potentially enjoy 30 times the revenue and thriving marketplace. “As 2015 gets publishers than frontlist authors and may compared to a single title at the same under way, we expect to serve even great- be looking for a change. In addition, the price point. er numbers of authors who consider flexibility offered by hybrid publishing “Serialization is here to stay,” predicts themselves the CEO of their book busi- means that authors with out-of-print Wattpad’s Gardner, pointing to the more ness.” He also notes that, as business backlists can regain the rights and pub- than 14 million stories shared serially on owners, authors are working to develop lish the titles themselves, perhaps open- the site in 2014. “With so many writers customer loyalty in order to “keep their ing up their work to a new generation. sharing stories chapter by chapter, read- customers for life.” “Clearly, [self-]publishing has not ing is becoming episodic. The reality is The need for a long-term outlook by only matured, it has lost the stigma that people still love to read, but prefer to do WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 37 SELFPUBLISHING PREVIEW it in short bursts, often survey from the year before, which saw reach new audiences can put themselves on the go.” (In fact, au- free books downloaded 91 times more in the driver’s seat.” thors are writing on the often. “So many authors are using free go as well—more than 20 billion words promotions and perma-free that free Challenges for 2015 were published on Wattpad’s iOS and books face increased competition,” he While noting the increasing challenge Android mobile platforms in 2014.) says. of discoverability, our industry experts Gardner also notes that fan fiction Nevertheless, Dillon is confident that are mostly in agreement that 2015 will continues to be the fastest growing there is still an appetite for new books, continue to be an exciting year for self- category on Wattpad, covering publishing.