There are quite a few threads on this subject here. You'll get a lively range of comments that are divided. For me I like both, both have their place. I'm pro self-publishing ebooks as it opens lots of doors, for both the author and the reader. To answer your question, yes I think it is growing at a great rate.
Self-publishing is sure a growing trend but am still waiting to hear about a book that is well written and self-published, probably their is some but i still didnt find any and when it comes to choosing what next to read i pick a published book by a well known house over self-published any day... For a beginner i think its important to be published first by a publishing house as they offer tones of services that the writer would have to do by himself and the experience they offer cant be compared. Self-publishing is'nt just about finishing a book and edited it and go publish it online, their is tones of work more to be done like editing it correctly, formatting, marketing..etc.. But if you just want to put your story out there just to share and not care if it sells or not(or better yet if its free) than self-publishing is the way to go
Let's remember that self-publishing is not the same as e-publishing. But yes, e-publishing is a very successful format, and it has made it easier for people to self-publish. Trade publishers have also embraced this format.
More people? Definitely. People who are, on average, better writers? Much as I love the idea of self-publishing - which I presume is what you mean, people usually do - I'd have to go with hell no. Whether or not it's a good idea for you just depends what you want to get out of it. If you're actually planning on making money and don't have much interest in doing the business side yourself, better to stick to trade. If you just want to see your book on Amazon, that'll happen a lot faster if you self-publish an e-book.
To me, it's a matter of effort vs reward. Self-publishing takes a LOT of effort for the reward you get. If you're willing to hit up the conventions often, promote your book everywhere you can, and continue to self-publish new things you write so that you get that "bump" with each new book, then you might make might as much as you would if you sold that first book to a publisher. However, you might never sell that first book because nobody thinks - right or wrong - it will be a best seller. Alternatively, you could go the small press route, and they'll do all the above effort minus the keep writing part (which you should always do anyway). Their cut is substantial, but about what you'd spend yourself promoting it and going to conventions all the time. Maybe less.
An ebook is the medium. Self-publishing is publishing withoout going through a submission/acceptance process.Teaditional publishers produe both physical books and ebooks, often both for the same book. Putting a book in a distributable form is the easy part. legal services, marketing, and distribution are the hard parts that self-publishing cannot reasonably compete with. Furthermore, the absence of a submission/acceptance cycle means that the self-publishing market is a sea of crud with a few quality works bobbing about like wine corks; for anyone to find them is a small miracle.
I see people have electronic readers...and they can download books. Are these books ebooks? :| I prefer to buy a book in a book store. I Usually like to buy a book published by a local writer, but of course it has to be of interest to me. I am not against the big name writers, but like to support the beginners as one day I hope to publish my book. But it seems that publishing is very expensive and time consuming. What I know so far is that you have to promote your own book, going to malls and setting up a table and get people to buy your book. Don't get me wrong, of course I think it is all worth it, but the cost might be too much and so many do not publish. Perhaps that is the reason people decide to publish ebooks...Just to get one out there in print. I am not for electronically anything...but it is the way things are going it seems.
A couple of points - yes, ebooks are the ones you download, not on paper. Self-publishing can be expensive but doesn't have to be, but it is definitely time-consuming if you're going to do it right.
I'm of two minds on ebooks. On the one hand, I love to read them. I love the convenience of being able to carry an entire library wherever I go. On the other hand, I love books. While I love the tactile sensation, the ritual of turning the pages and even the aroma of a good, old book, one can hardly carry a massive stack of tomes with them wherever they go. When (if) I eventually do publish, I'll probably self-publish the ebook and eventually, down the road, have some physical copies made one way or another. Because as far as I'm concerned, having a hardcopy of a book in my hands that I wrote myself would be a pretty great experience.
The Internet is having profound effects on the production and distribution of art; it may very well be redefining what is meant by art. I read recently a most interesting account of the "Harlem Suffle" YouTube video phenomenon - currently sweeping the net - that seem to bemoan the fact that it is easy for people to post their video creations online. With the plethora of all the stuff uploaded, the writer put forth the idea that projects of truth worth and originality are being buried under junk. I have other thoughts on that, but indeed, our concept of art is currently evolving. I have recently been challenged by reading lots of prose,"creative prose" produced in long un-separated lines on smartphones. I can't stand to read such stuff, my eyes just don't work that way. But who's not to say that in 10 years the cadre of long line readers will have swamped my concern and standardize the assault as well as change the concept of reading matter? Let me not go too far here, but certainly ebooks are the way to go. I am attracted to self-publishing because it offers the real way of loosening the grip of corporate power upon our soft minds.
Thank you all for your comments , it is so inspiring to me to hear other peoples views on different topics. I really appreciate the feedback.
(and then the goblin showed, saying "...molark has noted well the point I've been making all along, that the younger generation, who double up as your future readership here, are turning away from standard publishing both in ebooks and paperbooks, where by now only 3% of americans reads books anyway, no they thumb text today, where naturally you hate thumb texts by looks of things, but that's not going to change the fact that if you don't cater for the youth, your readership then, they will find someone else who will, thus the question is not ebooks or publishing so much as how does one get an increasingly disinterested majority around one to still read that which one writes for them...")
I'm also of two minds on the e-book issue. From what I've learned, royalties are higher per sale then traditional print publishing, but then there's the issue of promoting, getting someone' to buy it, etc etc. The last time I checked, Amazon paid .70 on every dollar to the author, while Itunes pays .40 per dollar. That's substantially higher then you'd get from traditional publishing. However, the big six, or a decent sized independent publisher, won't pay as much but they'll do the marketing, legal, etc etc.
Amazon does pay more on the dollar, except they will do next to nothing to promote your book. A publisher is able to market/promote your book for you, get it hardcopy in bookstores, etc. It's relatively easy for them; they have connections and clout that you do not. Self-publishers often say that marketing and promoting their book often takes up so much time it becomes a day job, consuming crucial hours that could be used to actually write. If you are really serious about making money off of your work, but don't know much about sales and marketing, then your best bet is to go the traditional route.
Trade publishers may not pay as much in royalties, but they generally can get you more money overall, not to mention the upfront (even if getting smaller) advance.
