Monetizing the Slush Pile

"Self-publishing has moved into the mainstream of our industry" --- Penguin CEO John Makinson.

Just a couple of my previous posts on the new uses and newly-earned professional status of self-publishing:

'Medium' A New Lightweight Publishing Platform and Democratized Distribution


Self-Published Books Are Dynamic ‘Business Cards’

For those who haven't read these posts, they provide excellent insight and info RE self-publishing today :)

Yes indeed, the old slush pile has always been ripe with relevant and talented work. And now the big publishing houses want to monetize this beautiful source (you know, the 'screw you' source the old traditional publishers kept on the back burner or ignored because they had too much control over writers and just did not have the manning or talent to handle the workload --- so, they made the actual writers feel inferior with rejections to cover their own ineptness).

Further proof of self-publishing legitimacy is evident by the traditional publishing houses seeking out self-publishing or publishing services firms to purchase --- to possess this capability in-house.

This insight from John Makinson, Penguin CEO:

Why self-publishing is no longer a vanity project

The rise of self-publishing marks a radical change for publishers, readers and writers


A few years ago, HarperCollins launched Authonomy.com, a website dedicated to "flushing out the brightest, freshest new literature around". Site members share their works in progress – and HarperCollins and others publish the best. Last year, Penguin US launched a similar site, Bookcountry.com.

There's another term for what Authonomy and Book Country do: "monetising the slush pile". It's a pretty cruel one, as the "slush pile" of unsolicited manuscripts has long been a fine source for publishers, and publishing lore abounds with stories of much-rejected classics finally being picked up. But the addition of "publishing services" (self-publishing, essentially) to both sites suggests that publishers intend to profit from all of this work, even if it doesn't reach their house standards.

This summer, Penguin acquired Author Solutions Inc, one of the world's largest providers of publishing services, or what might have once been called "vanity publishing"...

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