Self-Publishing

The term self-publishing is used to describe processes used when an author publishes works of fiction or nonfiction without the use of a commercial publishing house, which typically buys the copyright of a creative work in return for royalties paid to the author. This entry describes key moments in the development of self-publishing, [Page 1470]from the invention of the printing press through to the current day when the affordances of 21st-century digital technology have allowed for more than 1 million self-published titles to be created in 2018. According to the 2018 Bowker Report, self-publishing is in the strongest growth period in its history.

For centuries, publishing depended on access to the means of mass production. This changed irrevocably after the development of digital means of production ...