Over the past 30 years or so , there have been several waves of technological change in the library world. First was the replacement of the card-based catalog and circulation system with the integrated library system (ILS). Second was the replacement of paper journals with electronic databases. Third was the adoption of the PC. Fourth was the rise of the World Wide Web. Fifth was a sort of echo of the first, in which automation reached a little deeper into our processes, replacing manual checkin and checkout with RFID-based self-check and automated materials handling.

The sixth is an expansion of the second: the rise of the ebook and the final culmination of the shift to digital publishing for media of all sorts. The focus of this column will be a consequence of this last wave: the game-changing growth of self-publishing and what that means for libraries.

Self-publishing isn’t new. Many great authors have self-published, among them Benjamin Franklin, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour, Ernest Hemingway, and so on. More recent self-published authors include Stephen King, Hugh Howey, and E.L. James.

What is new is that rather suddenly (over the past three or four years) self-publishing has moved from a small staple of the industry to its fastest-growing and perhaps most profitable sector (if James’s “Shades of Grey” books are any indication). Indeed, the number of new self-published titles now rivals, and may exceed, that of the entire mainstream publishing trade.

Why is self-pub taking off?

Traditional publishing has been all about gatekeeping. The aspiring author has to get his or her book picked up by an agent. The agent has to pitch the book to a publisher. The story of even the most successful writers has been persisting through rejection after rejection.

Of course, just because you write, doesn’t mean you write well. On the other hand, getting rejected doesn’t mean the work is bad, either. It is also true that for perhaps most books the editing and review by publishers make the book better.

But self-publishing, whether through print on demand (POD) or as an ebook, bypasses the traditional barriers. The author can move quickly from completed manuscript to immediate availability to readers, skipping over agent and publishing house alike. That speed of publishing also enables authors to capitalize on issues of the day, getting out a book while a topic is hot. Self-publishing offers, potentially, a faster path to success.

It also offers the author greater control. An agent or publisher may want the author to alter the story to reflect more current tastes—tastes that may not be shared by or may compromise the artistic integrity or preferences of an author.

Core shifts

Of great significance is that self-publishing returns a much higher percentage of the sale to the author. Author contracts with publishers vary from eight percent to 15 percent of revenues, generally. But the self-published author makes 70 percent from Amazon, and 85 percent through one of the new breed of digital publishing outfits like Smashwords. That shift in revenue will inevitably push successful writers away from traditional publishing.

And then there is copyright: for quite a while in America authors have had to assign their copyright to their publishers while the book is in print—and digital books and POD have made it easier for publishers to prevent rights from reverting without having to invest much in their backlist titles. Self-publishing lets authors hold onto their rights.

As for ensuring quality, while even the best author still needs editing, one can hire an editor, just as one can hire a book cover designer. Self-publishing shifts some of the marketing burden from the publisher to the author, but the rewards are greater. There are also new tools for the author, such as variable pricing and the ability to track sales more directly.

Who are self-published writers?

At first, many librarians dismissed self-publishing, grouping it with “vanity presses” and the work of amateurs. To be sure, there are a lot of first-time and not very good authors in that mix. But there are also established authors whose works have fallen out of copyright, whose audience is eagerly snapping up their next works, or who seek to experiment with new approaches or edgier topics that traditional publishers tend to avoid. Many of these are best sellers: on some lists, 20 percent of sales are coming from self-published authors. In ebook lists, it’s closer to 50 percent.

I’ll be bold. Self-publishing represents the future of literature. Its willingness to experiment, its greater speed to market, its quicker communication with the audience, its greater rewards and creative control for creators, its increasing popularity all augur for the continued expansion of self-publishing and its place as the likely wellspring for our best new works.

James LaRue writes, speaks, and consults about the future of libraries. He can be reached at jlarue@jlarue.com