The last decade has witnessed a gigantic leap in self-published books. The number of self-published books grew from about 150K in 2010 to more than 1.68 million in 2019. The pandemic of 2020 has pushed that trend even further by making eBooks very popular.

Fast forward to 2023, the number of self-published books has increased by 264% in the last five years.

What Has Driven This Exponential Growth in Self-published Books

The stigma around self-publishing has decreased over time. Many authors now see self-publishing as a viable alternative to traditional publishing, with more control over their work and potentially higher earnings.

Suppose you’ve already published your book or are still considering publishing one in the near future. In that case, chances are that you’ve already experienced any (or all) of the following trends in the publishing industry.

• Ease of Access to Publishing Platforms: Self-publishing has gained significant popularity over the years due to the ease of access to publishing platforms and the ability for authors to retain creative control and higher royalties. Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform has been a major player in self-publishing. As of 2020, Amazon owned over 80% of the ebook market in the United States.

• Ebook Dominance: eBooks remain a dominant format in self-publishing due to their digital nature, ease of distribution, and cost-effectiveness. Platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) have played a crucial role in this trend. As of 2020, eBooks accounted for around 45% of all book units sold in the United States, showing the continued popularity of digital reading.

• Hybrid Authors: Many traditionally published authors choose to self-publish certain works or side projects. This “hybrid” approach gives them more control and potentially higher earnings for specific projects.

• Diverse Genres: Self-publishing is present across various genres, including romance, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction. Different genres tend to have varying levels of success and reader engagement.

• Quality Improvements: As self-publishing becomes mainstream, authors increasingly focus on producing high-quality content. Professional editing, cover design, and formatting are becoming more common, contributing to the overall reputation of self-published works.

• Marketing Challenges: While self-publishing provides creative freedom, authors often face challenges in effectively marketing and promoting their books. Successful self-published authors often invest time and effort to build their online presence and engage with readers.

• Collaborative Efforts: Some self-published authors collaborate on projects, box sets, or anthologies to cross-promote and reach a wider audience. Collaborations can help authors pool their resources for marketing and visibility.

• Audio and Print: While eBooks dominate, there’s still a demand for print books and audiobooks. Print-on-demand services have made it easier for self-published authors to offer physical copies of their books.

• Global Impact: Self-publishing platforms have enabled authors to reach readers worldwide. Translations and localization efforts have become more common to tap into international markets. Authors from various countries use platforms like Amazon KDP and other international self-publishing platforms to share their work.

• Data-Driven Publishing: Authors increasingly use data and analytics to make informed pricing, marketing strategies, and book content decisions. This data-driven approach helps authors refine their publishing efforts.

The trends explained above drove the overall growth of the self-publishing market, which is expected to grow at 17% CAGR, whereas the global publishing market is expected to grow at 1% CAGR per year. This means the traditional publishing market is shrinking.

Publishing Giants Consolidate

In the early 2000s, the publishing industry was dominated by the “big six”; Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin, HarperCollins, Random House, and Simon & Schuster were the only major players.

These “big six” accounted for 50% of all books sold in the US in 2012. In 2013, Random House and Penguin merged, leaving the industry in the hands of the “big five.” Stats show that these five publishers accounted for 80% of all books sold in 2021.

In 2021, Penguin Random House (PRH) announced that it would buy Simon & Schuster for more than $2 billion. Penguin’s purchase of Simon & Schuster helped consolidate the remaining publishing industry giants. This means there will only be four major players in the industry, further concentrating publishing power in the hands of a few companies.

Before this merger, Penguin Random House was already the biggest publisher in the US. Now that the two houses are together, one publisher puts out 34% of the books sold yearly.

This imbalance in the publishing industry will reduce competition for manuscripts, drive down financial advances, and make it difficult for authors to negotiate contracts.

Independent Publishers Create Opportunities for Indie Authors

As many in the industry view the top publishing houses as becoming behemoths that seek to control the entire book market, indie publishers are seeing a surge.

These smaller publishers are in direct contrast to the big-money operations of the top four publishing houses.

Smaller independent publishers now provide a far wider variety of literature, politics, history, journalism, art-making, and business books from a far more diverse group of authors than commercial conglomerate publishers.

Independent publishers often take risks on books in unusual genres and unknown authors. Despite their smaller scale, these indie publishers are considered boutique publishers that work with (and for) authors and, thus, are finding success.

Our publishing house, Authority Publishing, an imprint of Employee Millionaire LLC, is a small indie publisher that has seen company revenue growth in recent years. Since we started in 2022, we published over 27 titles and doubled our business in the first half of 2023. All titles we’ve published are #1 international bestsellers, with no exception.

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