2025-2026 Key Book Publishing Paths (page 1) by Jane Friedman

The Key Book Publishing Paths: 2025–2026

Should you self-publish or traditionally publish? This infographic will help you determine the best choice for you and your project.
Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book

Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book

This is an introductory guide to the major self-publishing options available to authors today, and how to choose the right service for you.
The Value of Book Distribution Is Often Misunderstood by Authors

The Value of Book Distribution Is Often Misunderstood by Authors

Any self-publishing author can easily make a book available to Amazon, bookstores, libraries, etc. But availability doesn't mean visibility.
How to Develop a Marketing and Promotion Plan as an Indie Author

How to Develop a Marketing and Promotion Plan as an Indie Author

Self-publishing offers so many paths and options that it can seem intimidating. One debut novelist shares her journey, with valuable tips.
turn Microsoft Word document into ebook EPUB

How to Turn a Microsoft Word Document Into an Ebook (EPUB)

Word doesn't export to EPUB, but you can still produce an editable file quickly, without buying software or using a "meatgrinder" conversion.
land an agent for self-published book

How to Land an Agent for a Self-Published Book

If you've given up on the self-publishing route and want to try traditional publishing, then there are several approaches you can take to interest agents.
book distribution

How to Get Your Book Distributed: What Self-Published Authors Need to Know

The most important thing any author needs to know about book distribution is that more than half of all book sales (regardless of format) take place online.
should you self-publish

Should You Self-Publish or Traditionally Publish?

Should you self-publish? There is no single right answer to this question—it's always situational. It depends on you, your book, and your career goals. This post outlines the key questions you should ask.
paying for book reviews

Are Paid Book Reviews Worth It?

The majority of authors will not benefit from paid book reviews, and should invest their time and money elsewhere. Here's why.
Self Publishing Checklist

The Self-Publishing Checklist: Editorial, Production, and Distribution

This printable and interactive checklist guides your self-publishing project to completion, to ensure you don't miss any important steps and to help you hit your target pub date.
Premium content for paid subscribers only

Selling Audio Direct: Curios Is Worth a Look

Curios hopes to offer a streamlined solution for the array of logistical challenges that come with selling audio direct.
Premium content for paid subscribers only

Traditional Deals for Self-Pub Authors Grew Significantly in 2025

Not only has the number of deals grown in 2025, but they are often multi-book deals in the six figures, with more publishers than ever competing for successful indie author series.
Premium content for paid subscribers only

Indie Authors Can Now Sell Ebooks at Bookshop via Draft2Digital

The partnership gives self-published authors an important new outlet for selling ebooks outside of Amazon.
Premium content for paid subscribers only

IngramSpark will increase pricing in 2026

As of Feb. 1, 2026, IngramSpark is increasing their pricing in two different ways: distribution fees and production costs.
Premium content for paid subscribers only

YouTube Offers Revenue and Readership for Self-Publishing Novelists

YouTube is the second-biggest search engine, and I spoke with three savvy authors for whom it’s a key driver of readership growth and revenue.
Premium content for paid subscribers only

Are you seeing paperback sales bottom out at IngramSpark?

A children’s author noticed that in October her paperback sales dropped precipitously through IngramSpark without any clear reason.
Premium content for paid subscribers only

Are We Nearing the End of Rapid Release? Q&A with Johnny B. Truant

The self-publishing veteran and I spoke about how things have changed since he began and how he succeeds on his own terms today, without Amazon.
Premium content for paid subscribers only

Amazon KDP now asks about ebook accessibility

Amazon KDP now asks author-publishers to answer questions about ebook accessibility, mainly for the benefit of visually impaired readers.
Quality Matters More Than Quantity

Quality Matters More Than Quantity

Many self-publishing authors work with a rapid-release, low-price model—but should that steer the pricing strategy for more artisan books?
Image: a red hard-covered book lies on a table, propped slightly open in the middle by small wooden blocks with letters printed on their faces, spelling the word "subtitle".

How to Subtitle Your Book to Encourage Sales

Whether for fiction or nonfiction, a good subtitle gives a book context and helps to pique a reader’s interest, but writing one can be tricky.
Image: against an empty backdrop, a woman wearing a quizzical expression stands with her hands in the air in the manner of a scale weighing two unseen options.

Do You Really Need IngramSpark?

IngramSpark has helped level the playing field for indie authors, but does that mean every self-publisher should be using it?
Image: a vector illustration of a laptop computer requesting that it be unlocked via a security code displayed on a nearby smartphone.

Self-Publishing Assistance Is Becoming Threatened

In an attempt to crack down on bad actors, KDP and IngramSpark have made it very difficult for anyone but the author to publish a book there.
Image: in the darkened stairwell of an old urban high-rise building is a blue neon sign reading "MORE THIS WAY" with an arrow pointing up the stairs.

The Silent Bestseller: How Some Self-Published Books Thrive Without Viral Marketing

Your book doesn’t have to be an overnight sensation. It just has to find its audience—and sometimes, that takes time.
Premium content for paid subscribers only

Author Solutions sold to mysterious firm

Najafi has sold Author Solutions to Center Street Ventures, described as “a private investment firm focused on publishing, media, and marketing services.”
Premium content for paid subscribers only

Website brought down by fans placing Ana Huang orders

This event late last month caught my eye because it symbolizes a few ongoing and important business trends for authors.