The Diy Of The Book World: Self Publishing

The pandemic brought out the author in the best of us, and short stories, novellas, tales about living through a lockdown came alive. But the self-publishing industry is one that’s existed forever, and has only grown over time. Here’s a lowdown on where it

- Samreen Tungekar

When author Siddhartha Gigoo self-published for the first time, it wasn’t really a planned decision. Gigoo has gone through the traditional publishing route (his book in January this year was through a publishing house), and while that took him a good one and a half years, he self-published Love in the Time of Quarantine in 21 days. It took technology, Kindle Press, and determination.

This is a conversation with authors that have self-published, platforms that allow self-publishing, the pros and cons of both forms of publishing, and India’s most important literary agent weighing in. Brace yourself.

Kindle Press has a lot to do with how self-publishing became even more accessible. In 2008, Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) launch meant writing is now open to all. KDP provided authors tools that can help them do the head-to-toe of a book on their own — writing, editing, formatting, designing a cover, and making an ebook. Gigoo’s experience with self-publishing has been good, because he’s sick of people asking him, “Who is the publisher?”

How does it matter who is the publisher, he retorts. “When a movie is announced, does anyone ask who the studio is? I find this question extremely baffling, as if the publishing house decides if the author’s work is good. People have this mindset,” he adds.