markhunter99

Agreed. The biggest stumbling block for self-publishers is marketing - if there was any way we could all break through the contacts/money barrier then it would be a huge boost, but that ain't gonna happen any time soon. I suppose that's what I'm trying to achieve with PoDhouse - I want it to make it easier for self-published authors to have a place to go to to easily get their work out there (as long as it's of a good enough standard!) With the right books and the right avenues for the customers I think word would eventually spread that there is good quality stuff out there that isn't just in Waterstones/Amazon.

This all tallies with my own personal experience, but if, as I'm trying to do, there was a place where would-be readers could 'shop with confidence' then this would, to a point, eliminate the unknown element. In the same way the music industry has done, there could, in time, be a revolution in the publishing world as potential authors could realise that you don't have to get a book deal to get recognised and sell - if enough people saw the quality of some self-published work that is out there they might be more receptive to further purchases (which is better for the author as they can set their own royalties of course). I’d love to see more authors like Shiobhan Curham who rejected her publisher because they wanted her to write a completely different style of book and turned to self-publishing instead – we need more like her! I’m really positive about the future of self-publishing and really think it could alter the way people sell, promote and buy books. PoDhouse (which is my baby) will hopefully just be the start of things. Does anybody else share this optimistic outlook? And what other books have people read that deserve some praise? Mark

From my research, I have identified a couple of websites that cater for the promotion of self-published work but they either charge authors a membership fee or they take a slice of profits, which is fair enough but doesn't really allow a level playing field. What the industry needs is a free resource that simply finds and promotes (not sells itself, just promotes) quality self-published work. I believe that a website in this format would lead to more people considering self-published work, but I'd like to know what other people think. Thanks, Mark p.s. - Michelle, out of interest, what were the issues this topic raised previously? If you don't want to say then of course I'll understand, but I'd like to know what raised people's hackles.

Hi everyone. I'm in the process of setting up a website that promotes good quality self-published writing and was interested in the community's feelings about self-published books. What would it take for you to shop at a self-published book store rather than Amazon? Would you be more open to self-published books if you knew that they were above a certain standard, or would you still be too wary to buy it? Would independent reviews help? Or, on the flip side, are you an advocate of self-published books? Do you actively seek out and purchase good quality self-published work? What/where would you recommend to buy? Mark