What MindStir Media’s Growth Says About the Future of Self-Publishing

The first major shift in self-publishing centered on expanding access.

For decades, authors who wanted to reach a large audience generally needed a traditional publisher. That meant finding an agent, getting a manuscript in front of the right editor and, in many cases, surrendering at least some control over the finished product.

Then technology changed the equation.

Print-on-demand, ebooks, and online retailers dramatically lowered the barriers to publishing. Suddenly, writers could bypass the traditional gatekeepers, bring a book to market on their own timetable and maintain ownership of their work.

But solving the access problem created another one. Today, almost anyone can publish a book. Getting people to notice it is another matter entirely.

That distinction may be contributing to changes in the self-publishing industry … and the growth of companies such as MindStir Media offers an interesting glimpse at where the market may be headed next.

Publishing a book is no longer the hard part

There was a time when simply getting a book into distribution was a meaningful accomplishment. Now, a writer can make a paperback or ebook available to readers around the world relatively quickly.

Technology has democratized the mechanics of publishing.

It has not democratized attention, however.

An author still needs a book that looks and reads professionally. That may require editing, cover design, interior formatting, and distribution expertise. Once the book is available, another set of challenges begins: advertising, publicity, reviews, media exposure, social media, and audience building.

In other words, putting a book on Amazon is relatively easy. Building an audience around that book is not. This is not particularly different from what has happened in other industries.

Consider ecommerce: Launching an ecommerce website has never been easier, but attracting customers can be expensive and difficult. Anyone can start a podcast, but building a meaningful audience takes work. Businesses can create social media accounts for free, yet entire industries have emerged around helping those businesses capture attention.

Books are following a similar trajectory.

As barriers to entry fall, competition shifts somewhere else. In publishing, that competition is increasingly about professionalism and visibility.

Independence does not have to mean doing everything yourself

This may be one of the most important changes in how authors think about self-publishing.

The early promise of self-publishing was independence. That hasn’t changed, but what independence looks like has. 

Entrepreneurs understand this almost instinctively. A business owner can own 100% of a company and still hire an accountant, attorney, advertising agency, web developer, or consultant. Outsourcing specialized work does not make the entrepreneur less independent.

The same logic increasingly applies to authors.

A writer can retain ownership of a book while hiring professionals to edit, design, distribute, and market it.

That has created room for a growing category of publishing businesses operating somewhere between the traditional publishing house and the completely do-it-yourself model. Some companies operating in this space describe their model as hybrid publishing. 

MindStir Media is one example.

Founded by author and entrepreneur J.J. Hebert in 2009, the company originally focused heavily on helping independent authors publish books. Over time, its services expanded into areas including advertising, book marketing, and publicity.

The more interesting story, however, is not simply that one publishing company grew. It is what that growth may say about what authors are increasingly willing to pay for.

They are not necessarily looking for someone to give them permission to publish. Many are looking for expertise.

The next phase of self-publishing may involve greater professionalization

A book can be independently published and still be professionally edited, professionally designed, and professionally marketed. From a reader’s perspective, the publishing path often matters far less than the quality of the finished product.

Readers generally do not purchase a novel because they admire its distribution arrangement or its publisher. Readers may be motivated because the cover caught their attention, the description interested them, someone recommended it or the author already had credibility with them.

The same principle applies to nonfiction. A poorly produced book can damage an author’s credibility. A polished one can reinforce it.

As more writers recognize that distinction, publishing service companies may increasingly compete not only on the promise that ‘we can publish your book,’ but also on quality, reputation, transparency, expertise, and results.

That raises the stakes for publishing companies as well.

Authors are not buying an ordinary commodity. A manuscript may represent years of work. Choosing a company to help edit, design, distribute or promote that work requires a considerable amount of trust.

For that reason, reputation may therefore play a more prominent role as the assisted self-publishing industry matures.

Publishing and marketing are moving closer together

Publishing used to have a relatively obvious finish line: The book was released.

For many independent authors, publication is now closer to the midpoint. Once a book is available, the question becomes: What happens next?

A professionally produced book can still disappear into a marketplace containing millions of competing titles. Publishing technology solved the distribution problem remarkably well. It did not solve the discovery problem.

That is one reason publishing and book marketing are becoming increasingly intertwined.

Authors may want advertising campaigns, publicity, reviews, social media exposure, email marketing, and other forms of promotion alongside editing and production.

MindStir Media’s own expansion from publishing services into book marketing and publicity reflects that shift.

The company has worked with authors whose books have appeared on major online bookseller bestseller lists, while books produced by its clients have also received literary and industry awards. Those results matter not simply as promotional achievements, but because they illustrate something larger about the market: Authors increasingly expect their publishing partners to help with what happens after publication, not only what happens before it.

That expectation is likely to persist.

A book is becoming more than a product

There is another reason the economics of publishing are changing. For a growing number of entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals, selling copies is not the only reason to write a book.

The book itself can become a business asset, part credential, part calling card, and part marketing tool.

A consultant might use a book to establish authority in a particular field. A CEO might use one to introduce ideas to a broader audience. An entrepreneur may use a book to generate speaking opportunities, media appearances or new customers.

In those cases, calculating the return on a book solely by multiplying copies sold by royalties may overlook some of the potential value.

One speaking engagement may be worth considerably more than the royalties from the book sales that led to it. A media appearance can introduce an entrepreneur to potential clients. A book sent to the right prospect can sometimes communicate expertise more effectively than another sales presentation.

This changes what some authors expect from publishing. They are not merely asking, “How do I get my book into stores?” For some authors, the question is also becoming, “What can this book help me build?”

That could be a readership, a personal brand, a consulting practice, speaking career, media profile or larger business.

For entrepreneurs in particular, a book can sit at the center of all of those things.

The battle has shifted from access to attention

Self-publishing has substantially expanded access. Authors no longer necessarily need a major publishing company to make their work available around the world. This broader access appears likely to remain a defining feature of the market.

As a result, competition may increasingly focus on everything that surrounds the book: quality, positioning, credibility, marketing, and audience development. Within this evolving landscape, the growth of publishing service companies such as MindStir Media offers one example of how the sector is developing.

The company began during an era when much of the publishing conversation revolved around whether writers needed traditional publishers at all. More than 15 years later, the question is becoming more nuanced.

Authors can publish independently, but independence does not require isolation, and independent publishing does not have to mean amateur publishing.

The future of publishing may include a combination of do-it-yourself, supported self-publishing, and traditional models. A substantial part of the market may sit somewhere in between: authors maintaining ownership of their intellectual property while assembling professional infrastructure around it. In other words, hybrid publishing.

That infrastructure can include editors, designers, distribution specialists, marketers and publicists — much the way an entrepreneur surrounds a company with specialists without giving up ownership of the business itself.

For publishing companies, that means the standard is rising. Getting a book into distribution is no longer enough. Companies that serve independent authors may increasingly need to show how their expertise can add value beyond providing access to the marketplace.

And for authors, the opportunity is becoming larger than simply publishing a book.

The first era of self-publishing gave writers access. The next stage may involve providing independent authors with the professional infrastructure needed to make more of that access. 

Entrepreneur Media was not involved in the creation of this content.