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I do think the net result is less gate keeping. You can have more cases like Andy Weir, that proves himself publishing digitally in his own site before being t

by soneca 3y ago

I do think the net result is less gate keeping. You can have more cases like Andy Weir, that proves himself publishing digitally in his own site before being traditionally published. He didn’t need to impress or be friends with an editor. He had, to use a startup world, “traction” to prove he would sell books. Similar with “50 shades of gray”, which started digitally as fanfic. There is still some gate keeping and there are still benefits of being traditionally published, but it feels very safe to answer ”definitely yes” to que question ”did digital publishing led to less gate keeping?”.

ghaff 3y ago
Taken literally, you're correct. There are channels to getting a book published that mostly didn't exist before. Previously, you mostly needed to get an agent and work through them to get a publisher on board or you were probably wasting your time. What's less clear is whether you have better odds of getting someone to read your book than was the case previously. I'm guessing the answer is probably no but the path to getting that reader is often going to be different today.
- soneca 3y ago
  > ” whether you have better odds of getting someone to read your book than was the case previously.” For me the answer for this is an even more strong “yes”. Before, you could give your manuscript to a few, less than 10, friends. Then you would have zero readers until getting traditionally published. Now, I still can have those <10 beta readers, but then publish on Amazon have more readers, with multiple channels that I can tap to have anything from dozens to thousands of readers before being traditionally published. I did self-publish a science fiction book. I posted on LinkedIn (the only social media where my friends are connected to me) on launch and left it for free on Amazon. About 200 people downloaded it. I would guess 50% of those read it. Already a win over the old days. Then I could, without anyone approval, pay a small amount to a book influencer to advertise my book. I got something close to 1,000 more readers on Kindle Unlimited. There are people that do not know me personally writing reviews about my book. Another big win against the old days. Then, there are those more successful than me (like Andy Weir) that can reach thousands of readers before being published. And then there is still some niches, like romance and hot, that reach millions of readers through Amazon without ever being traditionally published (they earn more money remaining self published).

by soneca 3y ago

ghaff 3y ago

Taken literally, you're correct. There are channels to getting a book published that mostly didn't exist before. Previously, you mostly needed to get an agent and work through them to get a publisher on board or you were probably wasting your time. What's less clear is whether you have better odds of getting someone to read your book than was the case previously. I'm guessing the answer is probably no but the path to getting that reader is often going to be different today.

soneca 3y ago
> ” whether you have better odds of getting someone to read your book than was the case previously.” For me the answer for this is an even more strong “yes”. Before, you could give your manuscript to a few, less than 10, friends. Then you would have zero readers until getting traditionally published. Now, I still can have those <10 beta readers, but then publish on Amazon have more readers, with multiple channels that I can tap to have anything from dozens to thousands of readers before being traditionally published. I did self-publish a science fiction book. I posted on LinkedIn (the only social media where my friends are connected to me) on launch and left it for free on Amazon. About 200 people downloaded it. I would guess 50% of those read it. Already a win over the old days. Then I could, without anyone approval, pay a small amount to a book influencer to advertise my book. I got something close to 1,000 more readers on Kindle Unlimited. There are people that do not know me personally writing reviews about my book. Another big win against the old days. Then, there are those more successful than me (like Andy Weir) that can reach thousands of readers before being published. And then there is still some niches, like romance and hot, that reach millions of readers through Amazon without ever being traditionally published (they earn more money remaining self published).