What Advantages Do Traditional Publishers Offer Authors?

Weinberg, Dana Beth and Greenfield, Jeremy (2013) What Advantages Do Traditional Publishers Offer Authors? : A Comparison of Traditional and Indie Publishing from the Authors’ Perspective. University of Groningen, New York.

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Abstract

The author community is abuzz with news of self-published authors who are making very good money by going indie. With the stigma of self-publishing diminishing, this alternative mode of reaching readers has become increasingly attractive to both new and seasoned authors. However, the 2013 Digital Book World and Writer’s Digest Author Survey found that despite the excitement about self-publishing and complaints about traditional publishing, authors held a strong preference to publish with traditional publishers. Among many other things, this report seeks to understand why. What advantages do traditional publishers offer authors? The 2014 Digital Book World and Writer’s Digest Author Survey was designed specifically to compare the perceptions, experiences, and economic returns to authors associated with traditional publishing and self-publishing respectively. In this report, we take a close look at the case to be made to the author community in favor of traditional publishing as well as the areas where traditional publishers might enhance what they offer their current and prospective authors. More than 9,210 authors responded to the 2014 survey and included aspiring authors who had not yet completed or in some cases even started manuscripts as well as seasoned authors with multiple traditionally published and/or self- published books. Authors were characterized as aspiring (not yet published), self-published (indie-only), traditionally published (traditional- only), and hybrid (both self-published and traditionally published). This report examines their perceptions of self-publishing and traditional publishing and, for published authors, their experiences and outcomes with each mode of publishing.

Item Type:	Book
Series Name:	0
Language:	English
Publisher:	University of Groningen
Place of Publication:	New York
Status:	Published
Date Deposited:	02 Jun 2020 10:42
Last Modified:	02 Jun 2020 10:42
URI:	https://ebooks.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/37

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