Self-Publish with Simon and Schuster?

Simon & Schuster hiking
into self-publishing

How's that prospect grab you? It just shouts out publishing intrigue and further delineates the rapid changing world of publishing.

"According to data from research firm Bowker, some 211,269 books were self-published in 2011, up more than 60 percent from the previous year, as reported by Shelf Awareness."

This fact (super growth), coupled with the old TP model crumbling in traditional publishing, shows why you can't blame the publishing 'big houses' for finally pursuing self-publishing.

BUT, are they charging too damn much money for their self-publishing services? Especially when technology has made it so economical for one to directly self-publish?

A hard, detailed analysis of their peripheral benefits is highly suggested :)

Husna Haq writes this for the Chapter & Verse blog of The Christian Science Monitor:
Simon & Schuster will enter the self-publishing world

The publishing giant is teaming up with Author Solutions Inc. to create Archway Publishing, a publishing house which will focus on self-published works.

If there was any doubt in the publishing industry that self-publishing is here to stay, news that a top mainstream publisher is teaming up with a self-publishing company to create a self-publishing imprint should put those doubts to rest.

Simon & Schuster announced Tuesday that it is partnering with Author Solutions Inc. to create Archway Publishing, a separate publishing house focused on self-published fiction, non-fiction, business, and children’s books.

Self-publishing is a booming sector of the publishing industry, and Tuesday’s news reaffirms the significance of self-publishing.

“Self-publishing has become a viable and popular route to publication for many authors, and increasingly a source of content for traditional publishers, including Simon & Schuster,” Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. “We’re excited that we’ll be able to help more authors find their own path to publication and at the same time create a more direct connection to those self-published authors ready to make the leap to traditional publishing.”

Simon & Schuster is marketing Archway’s self-publishing offerings as a premium service – which comes at a premium cost to authors. Archway will offer authors a range of packages from a basic $1,599 children’s package that includes “editorial assessment” and “cover copy review” to a $24,999 “Outreach” program for business books that includes an “author profile video,” and a reception at BookExpo America, the industry’s annual national convention.

It might be a tough sell. Archway will be staffed and operated by Author Solutions (not Simon & Schuster) and final products will not have the Simon & Schuster name attached to them. “With no Simon & Schuster personnel involved, and without the Simon & Schuster name attached in any way to the final product, Archway’s prices – significantly higher than the competition – could be a hard sell,” writes the New York Times.

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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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Just What is an Indie Author and Publisher?

What is an Indie Author?

More insight from writer-publisher-entrepreneur-businesswoman Joanna Penn (Please visit my post Future Publishing and Book Selling – An Insight RE Joanna on my Publishing/Writing: Insights, News, Intrigue blog) for even more background.

Confusion is evident in the fast changing world of publishing ... especially in understanding just what in the hell is an 'indie' author and an 'indie' publisher ... I know I get mashed potato brains thinking about it at times! :)

Here is a post by Joanna Penn from her Creative Penn blog that brings clarity and is one of the best, all-inclusive explanations I've heard to date:

Self-Publishing And The Definition Of An Indie Author


I’ve been at two publishing conferences in the last week and it’s evident that myths and misconceptions abound when it comes to independent authors and self-publishing.

Book Machine’s Publishing Now even had a debate on the motion “Self-publishing is devaluing publishing.” In a heated discussion afterwards, I could see that the definition of ‘indie’ as it applies to authors is still misunderstood. Of course, when mainstream publishers like Penguin announce their own self-publishing arms, it can be difficult to know what the hell is going on!

This is further demonstrated in the leaked Hachette internal memo on the relevance of publishing companies where they equate self-publishing with just digital distribution, which we (hopefully) all know is only the final step in the process. Joe Konrath & Barry Eisler respond with their comments here which is worth a read.

Eisler defines self-publishing: ‘it means you keep the rights to your book and publish it yourself using distributor/retailers like Amazon, Apple, B&N, Kobo, Smashwords, and Sony, typically retaining 70% of the cover price instead of the 17.5% offered by legacy publishers (for digital editions). This isn’t what “most people” mean when they say self-publishing; it’s what everybody means when they say self-publishing.


But it’s true that to many people self-publishing means bad quality books with no editing published by one of the vanity presses and the main concern is that this crap is flooding the world and readers can’t find quality in the mass of rubbish. I know these books do exist but I hope you agree that we can do a lot better than that these days. I also believe that readers are the new gatekeepers so sales online, reviews and rankings will ensure that the cream rises and bad stuff drops out of the picture.

The term ‘indie author’ has been increasingly claimed by authors who want a new label, one that does justice to the work involved.

This is my take on the subject but please add your comments and thoughts as it is definitely a moving target and no doubt there will be continued debate on it. I do mean for this to be an inclusive definition and you may sit somewhere on the spectrum of indie or you may be traditionally published. People have different aims for their books and their writing careers and I respect your choices, I just wanted to add to the debate!

Indie author means truly independent

At its most basic, indie means there is no separate publisher involved. Many indies may have setup their own micro-press, so their books still have a publisher name that is not the author’s name but the publisher is not one of the author services companies. The indie author most likely owns their own ISBNs. The indie pays the bills and is paid by the distributors e.g. Amazon/Smashwords directly. The only middleman is the distributor.

There has been a blurring of the line between indie author and indie publisher that seems to be mostly related to size and scope of the business. I am an indie publisher of my own books so it’s basically the same thing as being an indie author, but there are small & midsize independent publishing houses who don’t like the term indie being used for people like me. However, there are increasing numbers of micro-businesses being set up by authors who also publish other author’s books so these perhaps count as indie publishers.

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