Remember when self-published authors were shunned by the marketplace? That wasn’t so long ago! And yet, all the recent changes in book publishing have put self-published authors pretty much on a par with those published by major publishing houses.

About five years ago, I was working as the webmaster for Publishers Weekly. And PW’s had a policy — their book reviewers would not even consider self-published books. Traditional publishers would send their books to PW for review consideration. Anything that came from another source was pretty much ignored. If you were a self-published author, your chance of getting any press in PW was nil.

But even Publishers Weekly seems to be coming around. PW announced this week that is now adding a quarterly self-publishing supplement,  beginning this December, where self-published authors can get their books listed. A listing would be free for PW subscribers, but cost $149 for non-members. This supplement will also include news about the self-publishing field and interviews with authors.

“PW does regular announcement issues and supplements that cover a wide variety of publishing segments,” said PW president George Slowik Jr. “We believe the self-publishing supplement will bring self-published authors more attention from our subscriber base of publishers, agents, booksellers and distributors.”

Finally! They’re coming around! It won’t be long before choosing to go through a publishing house or to self-publish will be like choosing between Coke and Pepsi.

If you’re a self published author, make sure to contact us for a free consultation about what we can do to promote you and your book!

Karin has been working in web development, strategy, and copywriting since 1998. She entered the world of book publishing in 2003 when she became the Webmaster for PublishersWeekly.com, LibraryJournal.com, and SchoolLibraryJournal.com. It was there that she gained a unique perspective on book publishing, book sales, book reviews, and more. In 2005, Karin became a full-time freelancer to meet the needs of authors like you and, shortly after, created SmartAuthorSites.com. She's since worked with over 100 authors on developing author/book websites and marketing their books online. Karin prides herself on personalizing each site for a specific author's needs.

Karin has blogged 231 posts here.

Related posts:

1. Using Your Website to Get Yourself Published
2. Looking to Get Published? Consider Harper Collins’ Authonomy
3. Marketing Fiction Books on the Web