Kevin Weiss on Indie Publishing

Kevin Weiss, CEO of Author Solutions, addresses the state of the publishing industry and the benefits of indie publishing. For more information, visit www.authorsolutions.com.

Category:

Howto & Style

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• weiss
• author
• solutions
• asi
• self
• indie
• publish
• publisher
• publishing
• book
• books
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• writer
• writers
• independent
• diy
• ceo

[studioyokai]

Hate that he's trying to act as if "indie" publishing & "self-published" mean the same thing; they don't.Indie implies small,independent,but still trad -you still have to go through vetting,through an editor,etc. Author Solutions is NOT "indie"; as they admit, it's self-publishing,& they need to stop using the terms as if they're interchangeable.

Also: SFWA's "Author Beware" blog was NOT claiming what he says they did. Google it for yourself, as he's misleading you.

[AuthorSolutions]

Studioyokai,

Indie and independent publishing are two different things. Independent publishers are small, more traditional operations. Indies are a term we coined for the indie movement in publishing -- commonly known as self publishing or POD self publishing.

[AmySterlingCasil]

The argument leveled was not that "no self-respecting author would pay to publish their book." The argument is that the business deal presented is deceptive, and takes advantage of the "self-published" author. The self-published author may do all that you present to them for high fees, for a very low cost on their own.

[AuthorSolutions]

@AmySterlingCasil

Amy,

An author could choose to do all of this on their own certainly, We make available the service for those that don't have the time, patience or expertise to carry out the process themselves.

It would be cheaper to me to build my own deck, but I'll pay za professional more to save myself time and a headache; and make sure the job is done correctly.

[shilohwalker01]

Perhaps if ASI was honestly marketed as VANITY PUBLISHING instead of 'assisted self publishing', there wouldn't have been such an outcry from the writing community.

This isn't about fewer traditional opportunities, Mr. Weiss. This is about making money. You're in business to make money, I get that.

But be honest-the vast majority of those who take your 'opportunity' will likely sell less than 100 copies.

Yes, writers, by all mean... RESEARCH. You can find better options than ASI

[AuthorSolutions]

@shilohwalker01: We are, like all publishers, a business. So yes, like other publishers we are tying to make money.

Fact: Nielsen BookScan reports that only eight percent of ALL U.S. TITLES released in 2008 sold more than 1,000 copies. The market is very fragmented. Good books with solid marketing flourish.

As well, each author's goals are different as are their definitions of success. A great many authors publish for very personal reasons

[Lawless33]

Saying a book has to be traditionally published to be done "the right way" is like saying that if you and I went to school to become doctors, but you got scholarships to a med school and I had to pay my way, that our certifications would make you a better doctor than me.

[Lawless33]

Well said. It was near impossible to get a book picked up traditionally BEFORE the economy took a hit. Now that traditional houses are cutting back on acquisitions, how else is an author supposed to get published without forking out thousands for a print run with no distribution and selling books out of the trunk of their car?

[711shamonkey]

well said!

[fmpsociety]

Bummer.