PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 25, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The number of books published each year in the U.S. is expected to double to 300,000 in the next three years as writers, photographers, and artists increasingly tap into new printing technologies that let them bypass traditional publishing and take their work directly to market.
"It is a poorly kept secret in the industry that mid-list and emerging authors and artists are being squeezed out of mainstream publishing by corporate consolidations," says John Feldcamp, founder and CEO of Xlibris Corporation, a major provider of print-on-demand publishing services to writers and visual artists.
"Where there were once 25 publishing houses and opportunities for emerging writers to break in, there are now just five houses, all owned by global media corporations, all demanding blockbusters. Mainstream publishing now walks and talks like the movie business. And, like the movie business, the "indies" are finding new ways to reach their audiences."
Feldcamp, whose company is 49 percent owned by an arm of publishing giant Random House, said about 150,000 new book titles were introduced in the U.S. market last year, up from about 120,000 two years ago. "None of that growth is coming from traditional publishing," he said. "It's all coming from small, independent publishers, many of them mom and pop operations, and writers and artists publishing their books themselves simply because they can. It's affordable. They can do it from their home computers and still get them listed on every online bookseller in the world."
Feldcamp said about two-thirds of the new titles published last year came from major houses. Within two or three years, the number of books published outside of traditional publishing is expected to sweep past the majors. "This is nothing short of a revolution that is going to reshape the publishing landscape forever."
Since its founding in 1997, Xlibris has published more than 9,000 titles. Unlike traditional offset printing, which requires long lead times, expensive set-up, and print-runs in the thousands, print-on-demand technology makes it possible to produce one book at a time from a digital file that never goes out of print. Books are listed with publishing databases that make it possible to order through bookstores as well.
While self-publishing, as it is sometimes called, used to have a negative connotation in the publishing world, book reviewers are increasingly writing about these niche-published works, and hundreds of authors that were first published through print-on-demand have been picked up by major houses. In addition, brand-name authors with out-of-print titles are turning to the new technology to keep their works in print. Best-selling fantasy author Piers Anthony, for example, currently has 16 of his backlist titles in print through Xlibris.
"Authors find self-publishing appealing for obvious reasons," says Feldcamp, himself an unpublished writer who came to publishing from the computer world. "No rejection letters, no negotiations, no long waits for the final product, no delayed royalty checks, and no loss of rights. And from a production standpoint, the final product is as professional and polished as anything released by a major house.
"This is a do-it-yourself approach. We make the back office stuff easy, from the technical details to design and editing. It doesn't mean you're off the hook as an author. You have to think hard about how you are going to reach your market and really work to get it."
An Xlibris author spends an average of $900 to get his or her book into print. Authors earn royalties on sales and can purchase copies at a discount to sell themselves. The company has paid out more than $1 million in royalties so far.
Feldcamp notes that many independently published books would never have been suitable for a major house because their audiences are too narrow to warrant the necessary minimum print runs and marketing expenses.
"Yet it's a mistake to dismiss these books, many of which are autobiographies and thus slices of history, even if of local interest only. For example, there are now thousands of World War II memoirs out there that would never have seen the light of day otherwise, preserved for all time."
Xlibris also produces professional-quality picture books for artists and photographers in both hard cover and paperback.
"This will be a big leg up for visual artists who previously could not afford to produce a quality volume of their work," said Feldcamp. "They can sell them at shows and galleries and use them for portfolio submissions and other marketing purposes."
Feldcamp said access to niche publishing will reach a point in the next two or three years when an elementary school teacher can produce a professionally-published booklet of student writing and art, or a master's candidate can publish his or her thesis with quality illustrations, or Joe can create a Valentine's book for Mary.
"The basic trend is a continuous evolution in the degree of access to simple publishing. Just as the Internet gave people the ability to say whatever they wanted online, these other technologies are giving people access to get into print almost as easily. This is going to become a fairly ubiquitous service."
About Xlibris Corporation
Located in Philadelphia, PA, Xlibris is a closely-held publishing services company that has been serving local and national writers since its founding in 1997 as a pioneer in the field of print-on-demand. Through leading-edge publishing technology and dedicated customer service, the company offers streamlined book design and production services, publication, distribution availability, print-on-demand book manufacture, plus a growing suite of marketing products and services to self-publishing authors. Xlibris publishes a wide array of sophisticated book formats in both color and black-and-white. In 2000, Random House Ventures invested $10 million to purchase a 49% interest in Xlibris.
About John Feldcamp
Feldcamp was featured in a Newsweek article in 2000 as one of seven major players in the publishing industry. He started Xlibris in 1997 after many years with Tokyo-based Oki Business Digital, where he was VP-Operations, specializing in new media publishing technology and services. He managed an international publishing team that orchestrated a large-scale transition to digital publishing for Oki. He earned his BS from the University of Toronto in 1986.