18/06/2024
Self-publishing, sometimes called vanity publishing, often has a bad reputation. Even the term ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ is made to be said with a sneer of derision. The implication is that authors who self-publish are those whose works no one wants to read and, consequently, no publisher is willing to invest in publishing. In popular imagination, the tragi-comic figure of Crabcalf in Mervyn Peakeโs ๐๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ด ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ represents the archetype of the self-published author โ condemned to spend his life carrying his remaindered books around with him:
๐๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ, ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฐ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ; ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค-๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐. ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ค, ๐๐๐ง๐ค๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ค๐ฌ, ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐จ-๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐, ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ง, ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ง, ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ ๐๐ฒ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ, ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐ฅ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ญ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ฌ.
However, this caricature is inaccurate; many famous authors and popular or critically acclaimed works were first released via the author self-financing the publication. Notable authors who have self-published or self-financed the printing of their own books include Marcel Proust, Mark Twain (๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ), James Joyce (whose friend Sylvia Beach published ๐๐ญ๐บ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ด), Walt Whitman, Virginia Woolf (whose Hogarth Press published many of her own works), Beatrix Potter, Thomas Paine, Edgar Allan Poe, T. S. Elliot and John Grisham.
Self-publishing has long been a means by which those authors, who were not considered to have mainstream appeal, or whose work was considered risquรฉ or controversial, could put their work before the public. Such authors include Aleister Crowley and Sir Richard Burton, the latter having created his own publishing society, The K**a Shastra Society, to evade the strict Victorian laws against obscene publications. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต (๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด), and ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข ๐๐ถ๐ต๐ณ๐ข ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ต๐ด๐บ๐ข๐บ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข were both published by him.
D. H. Lawrence, who found publication of his works difficult after the banning of ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ธ, published some of his work in Italy. Perhaps most significantly, the great poet, artist, printer and mystic, William Blake, wrote, illustrated and printed all of his own works.
In the current economic climate, even established publishing houses are seeing the benefits of self-publishing. Penguin recently bought a self-publishing company and is said to be eager to join the sector. This change in the status quo is due to technological advances in digital and inkjet printing and the growth of e-books, both of these developments have brought self-publishing within the means of most people, not just a privileged elite as was previously the case. Authors are now ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ to bypass traditional publishers by releasing and marketing their own titles, thus enabling them to retain their rights, keep control of their work, and decide how and when their work is released.
Aspect Design is a small, independent book publisher. We provide services ranging from proof-reading, typesetting, design, illustration, printing, binding and finishing. Almost all of our books are produced in our own workshop and are printed on paper which is FSC certified.
When you consider the time and energy that has gone into producing our books, both by the author and ourselves, we believe that you will admit that our books represent exceptionally good value: for a modest price you are purchasing a unique product. Our books are hand-bound and finished, and are printed in small, limited runs. They are also by new and exciting authors and, in a market which is increasingly only interested in large runs of cheap, homogeneous fiction, or the celebrity biography ubiquitous to bargain bins everywhere, the small independent book publisher and seller, such as ourselves, represent an important and vital source of alternative titles.
To find out more, why not take a look at our website: www.aspect-design.net
