News Bill Bryson On Self-Publishing

[BrianY]

Am I the only one who's spotted this?

Bill Bryson on self-publishing

 

[Vagabond Heart]

Can’t read it

 

[BrianY]

The link works fine on my laptop and not at all on my phone. Back to the drawing board.

How about going to "The Times" (not the New York Times!) and searching on "Bill Bryson."

 

[Vagabond Heart]

Can’t read the Tines online without a subscription.

 

[Bloo]

Can’t read it

That's why he's the only one who spotted it

 

[Bloo]

Oddly enough, the article isn't written very well. I think the big takeaway is, "stop writing memoirs!" Here's a taste...

Bill Bryson has said the self-publishing world has become too big with too many books about “some anonymous person’s life”.

Bryson said too many people now wrote because they “think it suddenly makes you a writer”. He added that the growth in the number of books published annually in the UK — which has increased from about 120,000 ten years ago to an estimated 200,000 now — meant there were “more books than you could possibly read”.

Bryson goes on to say that he's, "not sure that self-publishing is a healthy development." He often gets books about some unknown person's life that hold "no interest.”
The article also drops some observations couched in weasel words...

The growth in the number of self-published books, which are mainly distributed through Amazon platforms, has previously led to fears that it is harder for “good” self-publishing authors to be noticed by publishers and bookshops.

It is thought that about 90 per cent of self-published books sell fewer than 100 copies, although some self-publishing writers have become successful, notably Colleen Hoover.

Bryson says he's enjoying his retirement, and does not intend to write another book.

 

[Jake E]

The growth in the number of self-published books, which are mainly distributed through Amazon platforms, has previously led to fears that it is harder for “good” self-publishing authors to be noticed by publishers and bookshops.

I mean, I feel this. My experience over the last few weeks has been like this.
Of the fifteen or so books I sampled on Amazon, I bought.... One.
It was a diamond in the rough. Good prose, engaging character, and a plot that dragged you through the pages. Very good.
But that's one book out of fifteen. The rest were horrendous.

 

[Bloo]

I read your rant elsewhere and truly agree with it. You shouldn't be sorry, BTW.

I'm considering a reply, but have been too sober lately.