Last week at the Hawaii Book & Music Festival I met a new breed of author - the self-published author. With few exceptions, they were self-published because publishers didn't have a sense that their books would sell.
In this digital age, these authors have the option of bypassing publishers altogether and engaging in do-it-yourself publishing. That's ok if your ego is such that you want to see your great novel in print. But, don't expect it to sell.
There's a reason that there are publishers in this world. They know the market ... and they know quality. Authors often think publishers are a pain in the butt because they are making suggestions and editing their great American novel. But, the publishersare doing their job. They're making sure that the book has a reasonable chance for financial success.
So self-published books ever break through? Yes, there are exceptions, but they are truly exceptions.
Technology has made self-publishing possible, but it hasn't changed marketplace reality.
I'm also getting a lot of amateur surveys in my e-mailbox these days. Web services like Survey Monkey have made do-it-yourself research possible. The problem is that it's easy to create a survey instrument using the web, but it's hard to make one that is effective. There are many, many skills involved in creating an effective survey. There are courses, conferences and degrees that specialize in this field. Some of the surveys that I have seen violate many of the rules for validity and reliability that are the hallmarks of effective research. Research is all about gathering intelligence to make informed decisions. Bad research lead to a wrong decision.
Just because technology opens up techniques that were formerly reserved for professionals, it doesn't mean that you are instantly qualified to use them. Sometimes you need a professional.
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