Has Self-Publishing Finally Become Cool?

You know, it's one thing when you see blog posts like this one from indie-turned-Big Six published author Karla Brady (whose book THE BUM MAGNET has led to a deal with Simon & Schuster) that ask whether self-publishing is in. She raises many good points about the opportunities that have opened up for the self-published (or indie, if you prefer) authors. She encourages writers not to think of self-published as second best or disadvantaged. Quite the opposite.

But what really got my attention was a couple of posts from Alan Rinzler, who writes a blog called The Book Deal: The Inside View of Publishing. (Rinzler is a "consulting editor" who -- as you can see from his bio -- qualifies as an industry insider.) The first post, called "The Last Laugh: If Self-Published Authors Owned the Midlist," made such amazing statements as the following:

"Mega publishers like Simon and Schuster and Random House could someday cede the midlist to a vast army of self-published authors.

"In that scenario, they'd focus instead just on blockbuster books by brand-name authors and celebrities.

"All the rest — the literary fiction, the cookbooks, the self-help books, the bread and butter midlist books that now make up 80 percent of every publisher's list — those books they'd cherry pick from self-published authors who'd already tested the market and had the credible sales to prove it."

Whoa, Nellie! This from a publishing industry insider. But wait -- keep reading:

"If you're tired and exasperated at waiting, waiting, and then waiting some more for agents and publishers to wake up and pay attention to your book…take a look at self-publishing.

"It's not what it used to be. Self-publishing has grown exponentially and achieved an unprecedented degree of legitimacy.

"This approach has emerged as a powerful and effective way to prove the quality of your content and show that you can self-market.  And most significantly, if you can achieve a threshold of sales, say from 5-10K copies on your own, a traditional publisher may offer you a deal to take over the book for their list.

"This isn't some future-tense scenario hyped up by self-pub marketing enthusiasts.  It's real, and it's happening now.

"I know this because I'm starting  to receive more agented submissions of books from self-published writers.  And I've signed up several."

OMFG! I feel faint. This is an industry insider talking! Stop and take a breath before I swoon. There. Much better.

But I must push onward to the post he wrote after that, with a title nothing less startling than: "Literary Agents Open the Door to Self-Published Writers."

Oh, dear! Not again. (Where are my smelling salts? LOL) Anyway, here's what Rinzler had to say about this startling development:

"The top dog at one of the most successful literary agencies in New York says he's in hot pursuit of self-published books to represent to mainstream publishers.

"'Absolutely, yes!'  That was Jim Levine’s unequivocal answer when I asked him recently if he was accepting self-published submissions.

"Levine is a founding partner at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency, among the top five overall most active agencies in the business, according to Publishers Marketplace.  And he's on the crest of a wave of agents beginning to represent authors who've self-published and are seeking mainstream commercial publication."

Jeez Louise! Have I died and gone to indie author heaven?

But wait. Gotta keep going because there's more:

"Levine's attitude is a notable shift, since in the past, most agents shunned self-published books as tainted goods and a tough sell. Levine says that's changing.

"'Usually when we take on a self-published book we sell it,' he said. 'We sold Jason Kaplan's Things That Suck to Andrews McMeel Publishing, Jeff Rivera's Forever my Lady to Grand Central, Dane Sanders' Fast Track Photographer to Random House, and Ivan Sanchez's Next Step to Simon & Schuster. And that's just off the top of my head.

"'So we're happy to take a look at self-published books. Of the more than 10,000 proposals we get every year, a few hundred are self-published and that number is growing. Sales track is key. If the author has sold 5,000 copies in the previous year, it interests publishers.  And if an author has sold that many, she or he probably has some sort of platform.'"

Did you see that? "Happy to take a look at self-published books." (Pinch me. I must be dreaming.)

I wonder if they'd be interested in a novel that's at the top of the hardboiled mystery category on Amazon (including several weeks at #1) and that's sold almost 10,000 downloads since June 2, 2009. Hmm ... now, which one could I mean?

Hint, hint ... :)