Readers Benefit from Publishing Changes

The publishing industry is changing rapidly, and we readers are reaping the rewards of those changes.

Now more than ever readers have the chance to read terrific books publishers often rejected for one reason or another.

Publishers have limited space in their yearly publication catalog. They have often needed to reject quality books because there just wasn't enough space in their programs to publish them.

Enter Independent Publishing. With places like Kindle Direct Publishing, Barnes and Noble's Pub-it program and Smashwords, authors now have the ability to put quality books into readers' hands without having to jump through publisher hoops, hoping to have their books published. Authors benefit and so do readers.

Last week I read an article about a reporter who'd dreamed of writing fiction. After years of procrastination, he finally wrote his book. He spent a couple of years traveling the traditional publishing route submitting to publishers, using an agent, etc. He got nowhere. He heard lots of "you've written a nice book, but" yet no one wanted to publish his book.

Then he heard about Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing program. He published the book himself, and it wasn't long before his book started selling. Fortunately for him, his book really took off. Within months it had sold thousands of copies. Readers LOVED his story. If he hadn't made it available to them on his own, they'd have missed out on a terrific read.

This past week it was announced that Amazon has acquired long-time publisher Avalon Books, a traditional New York publisher. Three of my books have been published in hardcover by Avalon Books. My fellow Avalon authors and I are looking forward to working with Amazon as they make distribution of our books more easily accessible to readers.

I've read dozens and dozens of books published by Avalon Books. Believe me, readers should be prepared to be highly entertained when these quality books become available in the more affordable e-formats, audio books and paperbacks.

As I said, changes in the publishing industry have been great for readers, and I think things will only get better.

Fran

Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author
Fran's Web Page