SPONSORED CONTENT: Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You

Self-Publishing Authors are publishing books that have narrow markets and pocketing the profits. Some of these may only reach a family, a small circle of friends and colleagues or a special interest group. They are books that would never be of interest to a traditional publisher. Typically available only online, they never see the inside of a Barnes and Noble or Borders. But since books are purchased with disposable income, these renegade titles compete for share of wallet with the volumes in traditional retail outlets.

Authors with larger followings are beginning to replace traditional publishers, working with a digital print provider for production and dealing directly with book distributors and sellers. The BradyBrady series, a successful children’s series in Canada is entirely self-published and poised for expansion to the U.S. and even international markets. The book is produced digitally and printed--often with custom covers--based on demand. Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the successful Guerilla Marketing series also shifted to self publishing and digital printing. In each case, and others like them, the margin that once went to the publisher now increases the bank accounts of the authors.

Book retailers--especially independents--can increase the range of titles and authors lining their shelves by offering more titles from self- and small publishers. With the ability to order books to be printed on demand they can begin eliminating the unrecoverable costs associated with shipping unsold books back to publishers. And since books from those new voices compete with the mass market titles for same share of reader’s income, booksellers and readers both have greater choices of what to sell and read.

Big box bookstores like Barnes and Noble are already looking at how they can become publishers and use digital technology to produce books with their imprint in their distribution centers and supply their stores on an overnight basis. This means a book retailer is able to acquire, edit, produce, distribute and sell a title. This circumvents traditional publishers and distributors, changing how the revenue stream flows.