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Originally Posted by Catlady
How potential readers will react should be a big factor in the author's decision.
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It was and is. And it's working for a percentage of authors, usually those who are committed to learning, getting better and continuing despite obstacles. I've found cozy readers VERY, VERY willing to try self-published. Not only mine, but I also run a blog and do reviews. I review a lot of categories and cozies always sell the best/most copies. The readers largely don't seem to mind whether it's self-published or not; it's not really a criteria for them (readers of my blog at any rate.)
I found this part of the above very key:
Quote:
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Particularly for mid-list authors the burden of writing and marketing a book a year without much assistance can be crushing. Some publishing houses have trimmed back even further, limiting editorial assistance to new writers to proofreading and line editing rather than structural editing.
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I'd already been hearing stories of limits on structural and plot editing--at least 5 years before self-publishing took off. I hear even more about it now and know one author who was told by her small publisher they would not copyedit either. She cared enough to hire a copy editor herself before turning in proofs.
I am not putting down trad publishing or its benefits. But the playing field is full of choices--and believing that getting an agent and getting published is always better is ignored other venues that can work and work well--for both the reader and writer.
Every person is different and the landscape is changing quickly. Two years ago I was making more than I am currently. Part of that is because readers didn't even ask if a book was self-published. But part of what has cut into my earnings is the number of freebies out there. These are just the realities of the business. Those freebies are cutting into trad authors as well. It's a marketing strategy that has changed things, but it isn't likely to go on forever either. Any business--no matter how your book is published--is going to change. You can change with it or not, but it never hurts to examine all the options.