TC and I had interesting conversation over dinner the other night. I've been reading a lot about the pros and cons of self-publishing versus traditional publishing. The future of publishing is being hotly debated at the moment, and the issue of self-publishing is coming to the forefront.
Several years ago, when I was first beginning to write and hoping to land an agent, I would never have considered self-publishing. At the time, that activity consisted of paying several hundred dollars to a small publisher for a print run of a few hundred copies. Digital publishing was in its infancy, as were ereaders. Self-published books were considered to be inferior and their authors lacking the talent to find an agent or publisher.
Things have really changed. For one thing, there's a new nomenclature out there. Now a self-published author is an "indie author." The Romantic Times Convention has a book fair devoted to e-books, indie publishers and graphic novels. Some famous authors (Barry Eisler) are jumping out of traditional publishing to sign deals with Amazon, or to self-publish. Of course, there are a couple of authors going the other way (Amanda Hocking and E.L. James), but this illustrates the fluidity of the industry. What's your view? Has the stigma of self-publishing disappeared?
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