Self-publishing in the print world

Despite the rising popularity of electronic readers such as the Amazon Kindle, 74% of college students still prefer to use print text books, according to a study performed by OnCampus Research. 

“The findings of the report are not surprising. Every new innovation takes time before the mainstream population embraces it,” said OnCampus Research Manager Laura Cozart on the organization’s website.

However, for college students interested in pursuing a career in writing after graduation, they may need to begin familiarizing themselves with the world of e-readers and e-books.

Many writers are self-publishing their novels into e-books with the help of publishing systems such as Lulu or Amazon Kindle’s Direct Publishing, according to USA Today.

Publishing an e-book is free and the author will receive 70% of the royalties made off of the sale of a $2.99 e-book, according to Amazon.com. 

This may sound like a discredit to the publishing world and authors in the print industry, but self-publishing has actually deemed itself to be a profitable market.

After being rejected from dozens of publishing companies, Amanda Hocking began self-publishing her fantasy novels about vampires, trolls, and other mystical creatures on e-books. According to USA Today, in just three months she was selling hundreds of copies priced between 99 cents and $2.99. In 2010, she sold a total of 164,000 copies and in just the first month of 2011, she sold 450,000 of her nine titles available on e-readers.

On Thursday, three of her titles will be appearing on USA Today’s Best Selling Book List in the top 50 best sellers. Hocking told USA Today that she is unsure if she would be receiving the same amount of success if she was published through a print publisher but as of right now she said, “This is working really well for me.”

USA Today reports that 20 million people read e-books last year, and the number is rising. Wanna-be authors: take note! Time will tell if e-readers will eventually make it more or less difficult to become a published author.