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Even some who self publish consider "self publishing" a stigma to books. Regardless of the quality of the book, unless it was selected and published by a traditional publisher it
As I browse many self publishing blogs and lists it’s clear that there are varying viewpoints on the topic. Most self publishers seem to see it as a business and publish with the intent of profit. That is my motivation for every book I write or simply publish for someone else. As a one person business it’s critical that I handle every step as efficiently as possible and that’s why I use POD (print on demand) printing. I handle all the writing and publicity on my books and use Createspace solely as a POD printer. On the books of others I handle the layout and print file creation but Createspace handles the printing and the fulfillment of all book orders leaving me free to do what I enjoy while still selling books.
The question is, does this process still involve a stigma? It would be great if the answer were no but, in spite of the ever growing popularity of self publishing, it's still a negative to many. A good friend of mine still seems pessimistic about self publishing even after publishing his own book. I helped him publish and the book turned out quite good even though it isn’t selling well. He is appreciative of my publishing help and the quality of his book but.still seems to view self publishing as a stigma.
At dinner recently, after complimenting my wife on her children’s book, which I published in 2007, he said she needed to find a traditional (real) publisher to market it successfully. I know he meant well but, as publisher of the book, it bothered a little. Since it was high praise for the book and a wonderful evening, I avoided starting a discussion about the merits of self publishing.
Obviously, my friend really believes a traditional publisher would do things with my wife’s book that we didn’t do, perhaps not realizing that traditional publishers do little marketing for books by unknown authors. After a few preliminary actions they turn it over to the author to market alone, unless he or she is famous.
I was learning when I published my wife’s book and we both learned fast and worked hard to get her book noticed, including sending out press releases, contacting media, and conducting book signings. Because my wife is a retired educator, we went even further and collaborated with a reading specialist to create a Teacher’s Guide which we made available for download to teachers at no cost. We followed that by contacting every school librarian in the state about the book and the Teacher’s Guide. We did manage to sell quite a few books but it has never been a big seller.
I don't believe her book, “Lottie’s Adventure: Facing The Monster,” (formerly “Lottie’s Adventure: A Kidnapping Unraveled”) suffered because it was self published. Perhaps a professional publicist could have done more with it since I was just starting out at the time and lacked publicity experience, but another publisher was not the answer and still isn’t.
As long as even some who self publish view it negatively, self publishing will face a stigma. Nevertheless, if done professionally, self publishing can equal and even exceed traditional publishing and some, admittedly few, self publishers have already become millionaires and famous, in some cases receiving substantial offers from traditional publishers because of the fame. So, in spite of the stigma, it would seem that the most important thing about a book is still the quality. If it is informative or entertaining and well marketed, who published it isn't important.
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Even famous people have to go on the talkshow circuit to push their books. You're right about traditional publishers' promotion of books––except one paid to do so, they don't.
It always takes a little while for the public to catch on to new technology… Sometimes they never do. My first novel, The Kaleidoscope Effect, sold well in the beginning as an e-book, but fell off when the novelty for e-books waned. When POD paperbacks first came out, my paperbacks sold like hot cakes. With the advent of Kindle and Nook, e-books took off again and are likely to be the way people read books for some time.
We also have to face the fact that most people don't read and are not really interested in reading except short subjects like texting. It's the way of the world and we have to accept it. I'm as guilty as the next person because the only books I've read recently were to either review or edit them. I prefer short stories because I can read them quickly during my busy days.
Ron