Self-Publishing: The Easy Way Out?

It's no secret that in today's publishing world there are many aspiring authors rising from the crevices and cracks of fan-fiction, hobby writing, poetry jams and simple writers who just want to make their presence known through autobiographies or showing their knowledge on recent discoveries. Authors, back in the day, used to see a publishing company acceptance letter as the ultimate goal. 'We would like to take a closer look at your work.' 'Is there any way we could meet for coffee and make future plans on your publishing career?' These lines were sought by most authors during the early point of the 19th century to the 21st. Now, not even halfway into the 21st century, writers of all ages have discovered that publishers are not the only means of getting their work out to the real world.

With the rise of Amazon.com also came the rise of self-published authors. Amateur writers milled in by the thousands and began submitting writings considered non-publishable by companies who make it their business to decide what the public decides will be interesting and what won't. The gatekeepers of good writing were overlooked by Amazon and writers were given free reign to publish whatever they wished. Good or bad writing, it didn't and still doesn't matter. Authors found that no more constraints existed for their beloved stories. There was no need to erase chapters or 'edit' the work heavily until the body of the story completely changed. For the first time Authors found the power they have always wanted: to have a say in what their stories have and don't have.

The question is...is this a good thing for the future of writing? Or will this eventually become detrimental to the business of writing stories?

I heard someone say once that a self-published author only seeks the easy way out. He (or she) decided submitting endless manuscripts to different publishers was too difficult and found an easier way to earn money through Amazon or other self-publishing methods like Xlibris. This way there would be no need to excess 'work' on the book that felt unnecessary. In other words the author who seeks self-publishing is nothing if not "Lazy."

Personally, I don't believe publishing companies are the only way to get one's book out there. Sometimes publishing companies won't show interest even if your work is well written or mildly interesting. Especially if the story doesn't coincide with the 'zeitgeist' of the times. This is where many first time authors get stuck. As a first time author myself, I wonder if my book is up to par with what publishers today consider the zeitgeist of current public interest. Sometimes an author has no choice but to self-publish. It doesn't make him or her any lazier than a published counterpart. I can attest for myself, at least, as an author who seeks to self-publish, I've worked heavily on my story for over a year. From someone who edited and erased, and shifted paragraphs and simply dropped chapters, I can safely say self-publishing doesn't feel like the easy way out to me nor does it mean it's a badly written novel. I put my heart and soul into my novel and fear changing the story completely, but I still submit it to beta-readers and wish for it to be the best of its kind.

Is self-publishing the easy way out? Will it mean the end to good writing? I don't think so. Literary works may not show themselves through this generation of writers, but does that make the writing bad? Perhaps not. It's a massive change and change is neither good or bad. Change just is.

Was it Supposed to be a Lifetime?

Here we are, 2013, and we are left wondering what's next with the world of publication and bookstores. For almost three months we have discussed the possible alternate futures in store for reading, books and readers. Personally, I had never pictured a Barnes and Noble going out of business. To me a book store was a permanent symbol for all readers out there. I thought that even twenty years from now Barnes and Noble would stand tall among the book industries and even root itself against Amazon's competitive business.

But is that reality still plausible? Or am I grasping for optimistic outcomes and false hopes?

Today, I can see that Barnes and Noble's time may be nearing an end, one that's not too far in the future. Many publishers and editors we have interviewed and spoken to all say the same thing: the book business is getting rougher. There are less people reading, which means less profit for book sellers. If that wasn't bad enough, Barnes and Noble failed to beat Amazon at the ebook game. The Nook sales never quite matched up to the Kindle and stayed one step behind every year a new update was released. What is Barnes and Noble left with? Scraps.

The estimated life expectancy of Barnes and Noble is now at a 7-8 year range. Borders already left us, what will happen when Barnes and Noble does? Will reading continue plummeting? Or will Amazon rise up to the occasion?

As a reader these questions scare me. I personally don't mind ebooks, but I like being able to enter a store and simply browse and feel the shelved books. It's not encouraging to think that this may all soon become a thing of the past.