Book Expo America was in NYC the last week in May and the temperature was in the 90s. But I was glad I braved the heat to meet Keith Ogorek. His company, Author Solutions, the leader in indie book publishing,has released a whitepaper titled “The Four Paths to Publishing,” written by Ogorek, ASI senior vice president of marketing. Ogorek, an indie publishing thought leader and published author, talked me through the advantages and disadvantages of the four distinct book-publishing opportunities that have emerged from recent historic changes in publishing.
For the full text of the whitepaper and more information about self-publishing with any of ASI’s imprint or partner imprints, please visit http://www.authorsolutions.com.
In the whitepaper, Ogorek states, “The past four years have brought about more upheaval in the publishing industry than the previous 400 years combined. From the time Gutenberg invented the printing press until the introduction of the paperback about 70 years ago, there weren’t many groundbreaking innovations. However, in the last few years, the publishing world has undergone an indie revolution similar to what occurred in the film and music industries.”
The four paths Ogorek identifies are DIY-publishing, which has led to the recent surge in new e-book titles; the general contractor model; package publishing—made popular by companies like AuthorHouse and iUniverse; and finally, traditional publishing—which has seen its share of changes. In reviewing these options, Ogorek draws parallels to the choices available to diners, ranging from making their own dinner to eating a pre-selected meal paid for by someone else. The upshot is that while the choices are many, the current publishing environment excludes no writer, regardless of budget or experience.
Quoting Ogorek’s writing again, “Not that long ago, very few people could get published; but now everyone can get published if they pursue one of the four paths. If you observe the transformation that has already taken place in the film and music industry, you will see content creation in those industries has exploded, which has given consumers more choices than ever before. Most importantly, new careers have been launched, many of which might not have happened had there not been a revolution.”
I have published several books with Author House, which is a subsidiary of Author Solutions, Inc. (ASI) is a member of the Penguin Group and the world leader in indie book publishing. I also like CreateSpace, which is owned by Amazon.com.
ASI’s help you publish imprints—AuthorHouse, AuthorHouse UK, iUniverse, Palibrio, Trafford Publishing and Xlibris—have helped more than 170,000 authors self-publish, promote and bring to market more than 200,000 new titles.
So who out there has had a good indie publishing experience with Author Solutions, CreateSpace or another publishing company?