tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2501318815429056576.post9059481715640175101..comments2023-09-04T06:46:46.607-07:00Comments on Andrew Crofts: Independent Food Producers Are Widely Admired - So Why Not Independently Published Books?Andrew Croftshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16101696875255886422noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2501318815429056576.post-78880744261502498852012-04-13T06:09:54.328-07:002012-04-13T06:09:54.328-07:00Every other art form, and as you say many other in...Every other art form, and as you say many other industries, have accepted and often encourage self-starters - all except publishing. There does seem to be a huge element of snobbery about it, but the more that publishers strive for profits over quality the less chance there will be for genuinely talented authors. Those authors who aren't precious about being traditionally published will find out just how beneficial self-publishing is, leading, hopefully, to a shift in public consciousness towards self-published books.<br /><br />The problem lies in distribution and ensuring quality. There's no Waterstones or WH Smiths for self-published books (there is Amazon but that's needle in haystack time!), and equally there's no way to guarantee quality - a 'seal of approval' from some sort of body would go against the very ethos of self-publishing, and until that hurdle is cleared opponents will be lump the decent books in with the genuinely bad. It's not an easy one to solve, but I do believe that the overall quality will improve, as will distribution and recognition.Mark Hunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07740676599861183146noreply@blogger.com