Imagine a delightful thing happened, and a writer got a great book deal with a major publisher.
In that situation, d'you think it'd be wise for the writer to jump entirely to traditional publishing, or also release stuff independently?
I think that over the next few years it might be the case that some established authors drift over into self-publishing. There are downsides (more kudos with the old approach, and more help), but upsides too. Income is higher, per unit sold (no agent/publisher or others to take a cut), and you can release whenever it suits you (whereas a publisher may well have to queue books so they aren't splurged on the market, meaning a gap of months or even years from finishing a book and its release on the market).
Does make me wonder if a mixed/hybrid approach will end up becoming a dominant model. It's not seen that much right now at the top end of writing, and I have to wonder why. If Joe Abercrombie released a self-published book, it'd sell like hotcakes and he'd get a higher share of the cash.
On the other hand, if you're immensely successful and have a tried and tested approach (ie through a major publisher) I imagine the approach taken could well be that it's working well, so keep on doing it rather than trying a new avenue.
In that situation, d'you think it'd be wise for the writer to jump entirely to traditional publishing, or also release stuff independently?
I think that over the next few years it might be the case that some established authors drift over into self-publishing. There are downsides (more kudos with the old approach, and more help), but upsides too. Income is higher, per unit sold (no agent/publisher or others to take a cut), and you can release whenever it suits you (whereas a publisher may well have to queue books so they aren't splurged on the market, meaning a gap of months or even years from finishing a book and its release on the market).
Does make me wonder if a mixed/hybrid approach will end up becoming a dominant model. It's not seen that much right now at the top end of writing, and I have to wonder why. If Joe Abercrombie released a self-published book, it'd sell like hotcakes and he'd get a higher share of the cash.
On the other hand, if you're immensely successful and have a tried and tested approach (ie through a major publisher) I imagine the approach taken could well be that it's working well, so keep on doing it rather than trying a new avenue.