The presentation you’ll see below was prepared for Ebook Lab Italia conference. I wanted to highlight a prevailing characteristic of self-publishers, yet not discovered and fully utilized by publishers and readers. It’s the innovative thinking.
In digital times, times of over-content, the front line is the attention of a reader. Technology leads to equal chances. Both big publishers and self-publishers use the same on-line tools and services to find the reader and convince him to buy the book. But obviously there is a difference: it’s the money at disposal.
Self-publishers usually don’t have money, so they use all their energy to be creative and innovative. In a presentation there are several examples of innovation in both a self-promotion run by single authors and joint actions taken by self-publishing community:
– 3D1D project (3 days, 1 dispatch) – a draft of a novel written live in under 72 hours,
– Bathrobe Guru – a short story written using Google Wave,
– Indie Call to Action – authors cross-reviewed and promoted their books using social media,
– Friday Flash – a large group of writers share their new flash-fiction stories on Twitter with a tag #FridayFlash.
Truth is that not every self-publisher is as successful as Joanna Penn. She made her debut novel, Pentecost, a bestseller within 24 hours from launch.
What can self-publishers do if royalties are just not enough? Again, they are innovative enough to find other ideas for earning money. You’ll also find the examples in a presentation.
This year self-publishing is on the rise. In January there were as much as 18 self-published books among top 50 bestsellers in Kindle Store. There are big chances that self-publishers will be noticed and get the attention they deserve.
Writer Updated 
Thanks so much for the mention in your presentation Piotr and your support for my blog over the last few years! This site has definitely become one of the must-reads for ebook publishers and writers. You’re a star :)
Thanks, Joanna
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This presentation is a tribute to self-publishers, and you’re a perfect one. You give so much positive energy to the others, that it comes back – multiplied. It’s what sel-publishing is about:-)
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Piotr, thanks for mentioning me in your presentation. It’s one of the most interesting to watch and innovative I’ve seen, beautifully done, thanks for putting this together.
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Self-publishing is a huge driving power. It’s good to notice it and embrace – before someone gets 1mln followers on Twitter or sells 1mln Kindle books.
But first of all it’s good to change the attitude towards self-publishers.
More to come:-)
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Thanks for putting me in your presentation too! It’s great how vibrant the self-publishing community is. We do crazy things that nobody in their right mind would try otherwise :D
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Are you going to make a next 3D1D? I just want to make sure I’m not gonna miss it.
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Absolutely! Actually, the next #3D1D is being livewritten from Belgium starting March 24. It’s going to be crazy, but a whole lot of fun!
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Oh god, you crazy man:-))) Fantastic news!
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Angels of Inspiration @ http://www.angelsofinspiration.blogspot.com
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Awesome work. I’m a big believer in innovation (though I am far from a tech geek). I look forward to exploring some of these ideas. Thanks for sharing.
Scott Nicholson
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Most exciting thing for me is to use tools which are not meant to tell stories – like the Excel spreadsheet.
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