Winners: On the List and Off

E-books have made it easier for self-published authors to reach readers in a way that wasn't possible even five years ago, and some of them are making quite a splash. For the first time ever, the USA Today Top 150 best sellers list included a self-published author, Amanda Hocking.

If you haven't heard her name yet, you're in the minority. This prolific 26-year-old from Minnesota uploaded a few of her completed novels to Amazon, Smashwords and B&N last March. Since then, she's sold more than half a million copies. Do you see where she is on this list? #16. Yeah, sandwiched between Suzanne Collins and Jeff Kinney!

And that's not her only title on the list. She has another book at #24 and one at #31. Pretty amazing for someone who hit the market less than a year ago!

You can read her interview at the USA Today website. So tell me, if you have an e-reader, have you read any self-published titles? How did they stack up against traditionally published books? And does Amanda Hocking's success make you want to start uploading your book to Amazon?

Well, I'm about to make three people happy with some old-fashioned hard cover books :)

The winner of Mockingjay is:

The winner of Catching Fire is:

The winner of Beautiful Darkness is:

Congratulations to all of you! Email me at solvangsherrie at gmail dot com with your snail mail address and I'll get your books to you next week.

Have a great weekend!

The Future of Publishing

Every day seems to bring new alternatives to traditional big publishing. The number of small presses keeps growing. Amazon has expanded its empire to become a publishing house.

Even your agent can be your publisher these days.

Crazy, right? And then there's self-publishing. It used to be a dirty word that made you look like an amateur if you were crazy enough to mention it around people in the know. These days, it's coming up in more conversations, and even authors who have had relative success with traditional publishing houses in the past are finding greater financial success by self-publishing their newer works.

So what does it mean when publishing houses like Harlequin start offering self-publishing services? Does your book get more respect if Amazon publishes it for you instead of Lulu? And what about agents jumping in as e-publishers? Yes, things are heating up!

Here are three recent articles from Publisher's Weekly on recent developments for authors and alternative publishing options. What's your take on the future of publishing?

Agents Weigh the Growth of Alternative Publishing Options
This article talks about J.A. Konrath's publishing deal with Amazon and the new publishing arm of Waxman Literary, Diversion Books. Now your agent can be your e-publisher as well...hmmm...

Midlist Author Tries Hybrid Self-Publishing
When I read this article, it didn't seem like "hybrid self-publishing" to me. When you consider the fact that even if you're published by Random House, you're still going to have to shoulder a lot of the publicity yourself, this doesn't seem like such a bad option.

Barnes & Noble to Offer Digital Self-Publishing
I guess Amazon must be making money from authors self-publishing on the Kindle if B&N has decided to enter the market as well...