Self-publishing has grown at an exponential rate in the past few years. More people are now self-publishing their books or other media and making more money than ever before. It is difficult to predict what trends will happen in the future, but there are a few that you should know about today, so you can be prepared for them when they arrive. In this blog post, we’re going to talk about six relevant self-publishing trends of 2021!
1. The Rise in Readers
It’s not just a trend anymore! Readers want to read new content from self-published authors, and there is research that proves this. By the end of 2021, revenue in the ebook marketplace is projected to pass $1.5 billion! In addition, future projections have the annual growth rate of the ebook marketplace for 2021 through 2025 at 3.18%. The number of readers has also helped to increase the number of sub-genre writers. With more people reading, many authors that specialize in specific topics have been able to thrive. This created a win-win for both sides: small specific-topic authors can succeed, and readers are treated to amazing diverse content.
2. Selling eBooks
The advent of self-publishing has disrupted the publishing industry through Amazon and other online retailers. Now, independent authors can generate revenue without having a publisher or agent vouch for them first. This means more writers can enter the market and release their ebooks instantaneously.
The arrival of new, more advanced e-reading devices has led to a renewed interest in the idea that reading could be done on something other than paper. These tools can now cater to multilingual readers and smartphone users alike by making it easier for books from different countries or languages to reach their intended audience no matter what format they’re read in.
Reading is one art form we’ll never see die out: as long as there’s an eagerness among consumers, publishers will produce content tailored specifically toward these kinds of technologies — iPads have been instrumental in this regard, with even schools taking advantage of them!
3. Writing Entrepreneurs
Once upon a time, being an author was simple. You wrote the book, and that was it! But these days, things are different; self-published authors must think more like business people than artists if they want to stay in the game. It doesn’t matter how good your story is or what kind of books you’ve written before — nowadays, every writer needs to think about marketing plans, branding strategies, cover design, you name it! The point is this: The world of self-publication and social media allows authors to build their empires.
In 2021, self-published authors are starting to build big businesses online. This can be hard work and requires a lot of time that could otherwise go toward writing your next bestseller. However, the rewards are worth it as you could receive streams of income from sources other than just sales, like royalties for foreign translations or movie rights deals — all because you did so much extra behind-the-scenes labor.
In addition to that, the doors are now open for successful entrepreneurial writers to travel and do coaching, consulting, or speaking gigs on some of the biggest stages around the world.
4. Growing Teams
As stated above, in 2021, the self-published author needs to start thinking about becoming an entrepreneur. This means building a team of marketing professionals and more to maximize your level of success as you grow from being just one person with ideas into a burgeoning business.
Self-published authors have been learning to work smarter, not harder, by assembling a team of experts in various fields such as marketing and design. And the results are promising! Self-publishers with teams average more than 30% more from their books than those working alone. How big your team is depends on what you want it to do for you: if sales are your goal, then an editor may be most important, while other aspects like book layout or cover design will require other experts to take priority.
The great thing is that it’s no longer expensive or hard to assemble a high-performing team. With businesses like Upwork and Fiverr, it’s become straightforward to build a strong team of professionals around you for a reasonable price.
5. Social Media
Authors across the world are leveraging social media platforms to promote their content. Once self-published authors have a solid following on Facebook and Twitter, they can use these sites and Amazon to grow sales for themselves while saving money in marketing costs.
Authors of all stripes should consider using social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter that allow them more access at little cost compared with traditional publishing methods. Traditional methods offer less personalization than desired by many writers who want readers everywhere — not just those customers living close enough to stores or libraries carrying copies of their book. This creates a world of opportunities for authors and their book publishing options.
6. Subscriptions
There has been a growth in subscription newsletter platforms. More and more creators are starting to create exclusive content that they release monthly for their subscribers in exchange for a monthly fee. Most subscriptions are priced at $5-$20 per month, which doesn’t seem like much until you realize that many of these creators have thousands of subscribers.
The subscription process allows self-published authors to make money off the exclusive content they write for readers who subscribe. It’s an easy way to get your work out there without the support of a publishing company and is constantly evolving as technology changes.
This also provides a constant cash flow to writers, who might otherwise have to spend hours writing an article or blog post and then waiting for payment from a publisher.
Image from Liquid State.
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My books:
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
