Self Published Authors

The emergence of digital publications has democratised the process of publishing for aspiring authors.  In 2011; 235,000 self published books were released in the US of which 87,000 were eBooks (Digital Book World 2012).   A number of companies, including CreateSpace, Authors Solutions, Smashwords and Lulu provide authors with low cost services which assist with the publication, distribution and marketing of eBooks.   In 2012 a self published work was named on the New York Times Best Books of The Year list. This is the first time a self published work has been included in this prestigious list and alludes to the  quality of works being published independently by authors.  The success of self published authors like Amanda Hocking and E. L. James has demonstrated that non-traditional pathways to publishing can be lucrative.  As the dynamics of publishing shift and the output of self published and independent publishers increase and surpass commercial publishers, libraries will need to reconsider the composition of material purchased for their collections.  This will be dependent upon emerging distribution channels and the ability of libraries to evaluate and integrate this content into their collections.  The director of Douglas County libraries argues that new collection development practices will be required to ensure that quality works continue to be selected (This Week In Libraries podcast).  This will be problematic when the volume of content produced continues to grow at such a rapid rate.  One potential solution is to invert the current collection development practices and use library patrons and social networking tools to crowd-source the selection and acquisition of self published works.