[Scott Nicholson]

Well, we don't need to pay people to "make culture" anymore, because we are all doing that collectively, all the time, on the Internet for free. Get a job, Whiny Writer Elite.

Having been one of those who "jumped the publishing hurdle" and now self-publish, I can share my experience, which certainly isn't universal, but pretty similar to a handful of authors I know.

Six midlist paperbacks in New York=no career, out of print, lose your rights, nobody to back you, you do your own promotion, book signings, marketing, and with luck something weird happens and you catch fire and "somebody up there" decides to really give you a push into stardom (usually your greedy agent). This happens so rarely as to be incredibly remarkable--Jim Butcher is about the only one I can think of at the moment, maybe Charlaine Harris, but I don't get out much.

In publishing, where you start out is almost always where you finish. The advance determines your entire career, determines your print run, because then you have "numbers" that publishers judge you by forever (the reason many writers get dropped after two or three books.) The idea that readers chose the old bestseller list is hilarious--those things were printed weeks ahead of time, based on how many copies the publishers were shipping to stores. Advance determines print run determines how many copies in store determines how many you sell (usually--there are exceptions like Snooki's book, which even a marketing blitz couldn't salvage).

In self-publishing, you can start anywhere, and most of it is up to you, not other people. You get most of the money instead of 6 or 8 or 10 percent. If you're lucky enough to have a lot of books, they are all reaching readers for you at all times, instead of one a year and then vanishing. Your book sales can rise and fall in natural plateaus.

How much does having had a publisher help you find a new audience? Almost zero. Hardly any of the people who buy my ebooks have ever heard of me from my NY days. Same for most digital authors I know. So no one can credit NY for "doing all the work" and that now I'm riding coattails. NY wouldn't even give me my rights back (despite my offering money) and essentially cost me thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars. It could be that getting published was the biggest mistake I ever made, although I did learn to treat my writing professionally from that experience.

And, without exception, every single author I know who published in NY and now is self-publishing is making more money and reaching more readers and is much happier--and most of them are desperately trying to pry their old books away from publishers, not give MORE to them.

Now, that doesn't address the quality issue, and most readers could care less how much the author makes or who published it, they just want a good book--there are certainly some great authors who couldn't get a NY deal, and lousy authors who sold bucketloads in hardcover. And, yes, the flood of new books is overwhelming. I think stratification is coming soon but it will be a turbulent, wild, fun couple of years. You can hardly blame any writer for giving the roulette wheel a spin. In fact, the "worst" writers are often the ones most confident of their abilities, never being self-aware enough to improve. Sort of like the drunk who thinks he's the most qualified to drive everyone home.

All I can say is I am glad I was here when it happened, both as a writer and a reader!