http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A29FL26OKE7R7B

This is the program you're speaking of. Be sure to read all the fine print. Mainstream publishing will pay you a cash advance depending on perceived success of your work. A literary agent will take 10-15% standard from the advance. This advance potentially includes movie rights and deals should a company like Warner Bros. be interested.

If your work goes over the advance pay, you continue to earn royalties until the book no longer sells. The agent gets none of this payment. These royalties continue even after your death should the book continue to sell. This includes sales in bulk because it is part of a school or university's program like The Kite Runner.

If your work does not meet the advance, you keep the money, pay nothing back, and the publisher eats the cost. I just looked over The New York Times Bestseller list, and I didn't see any independent authors there.

Everything I listed is not true for Amazon's E-Seller's program. If anyone chooses to use this program, be sure go into it with your eyes wide open.

In publishing we have a saying: "Money always flows toward the author, not away." Keep this in mind if you go the e-publishing route. If you have to pay, you're doing it wrong.

I'm not even going to address the dishonesty advised here in using fake accounts to rake in "20 grand" and its pitfalls.

 

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[quote=Ardenwolfe
I'm not even going to address the dishonesty advised here in using fake accounts to rake in "20 grand" and its pitfalls.

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Are you honestly basing your opinion on one "certain very successful indie author"?

No I'm basing it more on a reluctant nature of industries to change especially ones built around markets that had been very stable for a long time. I just don't see publishers running a web site and expecting to scoop 75% + off the top for digital distribution as a viable future, case above in point.

 

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If Amazon hadn't shoved digital book distribution down their throats I might agree with you, but I'm pretty sure the publishers understand where all of this is going.

 

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amazon's goal is to take over publishing. their long term goal is to eliminate print books and control the digital publishing and distribution market. i'm sure they'll never come right out and say that but anyone whose closely watching the industry and whats going on can see it for what it is. they're fine with out of print books as a market as they will profit from them without competition but their overall goal is to see new books removed from print format (this removes publishing competition) and to take complete control of digital publishing so they can control the industry. i figure this will take about 15-20 years but it could happen faster. the real question is will anyone wise up fast enough to compete with them or will the print publishers find a better way to keep print books as a viable format.

i can tell you from both experience and watching whats going on with other stores that bookstores have already hit the point where they are no longer profitable unless they deal in more than books or are part of something like barnes and noble and have an e-book alternative to keep them going. regular print bookstores have no choice at this point but to stop specializing in just books and use other merchandise to supplement their income if they're to manage to stay afloat.

 

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Of course they want to be the big player - never blame the dog for being a dog.

Truth is though I don't see them as competent enough to pull it off - they have some serious IT issues, I know personally they have put some indies threw hell the last week with disappearing products and as I write this the vast majority of titles currently have their buy buttons missing and are unavailable in the US - no Suzanne Collins for you! I can't fathom how much as f**k up like that costs.

 

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Oh, they'll wise up eventually. And the fact that 90% (relative statement) of self-published works are a huge pile of crap doesn't hurt them in the least.

Great article about Hugh that I think sums up exactly why traditional publishers are going to have to change.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/51416-self-made-bestseller-weighs-traditional-deals.html

$70K last month alone and growing, he could over the next year with more books coming make over $million on his Wool series alone. That may not impress George Martin or Suzanne Collins but you can be sure a lot of other published authors are going to be reconsidering their options, I read an article about a NYT bestseller that didn't earn that in it's entire run.

I suspect the question will quickly change from whether new authors should pursue traditional publishing to whether existing published authors will remain with them. I would not be surprised to see respected but less mainstream writers - Robert Macammon types - testing the water with novelette releases going the self-published Amazon route in the near future.

Congrats to Hugh anyways, that's a fantastic success story for a guy that only a few months ago was living in a tiny house and working at a book store, it should inspire anyone that wants to pursue writing though the vast majority struggle to get any recognition, and Wool to Hugh's credit is an exceptional piece of SF work. (Would not be surprised to see a Hugo nomination today)

 

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Individual successes mean squat. When the average self-publisher starts to be comparable to traditional publishing is when changes will happen.