While self-publishing is gaining a foothold in modern-day literature, I still notice people at my signings who will flip the book over, presumably to check the publisher, and then quickly set it back down again and walk away. Those of us who self-publish, whether it is our decision or not, are still seen by some as miserable failures as authors.
It’s true that there are some really bad books out there and self-publishing has contributed to that. It’s possible to slap pretty much anything together, give it a title and cover and publish it. The only real control is the reader who will hopefully provide an honest opinion about the quality of the book. On the other hand, I’ve read a few classics that make me shake my head as well. Sometimes it boils down to promotion. As consumers, if we are told often enough that something is good, we tend to think it must be. We are kind of gullible that way.
My point is that there are some really good books that have been self-published and some bad books that have been traditionally published and vice versa. It’s interesting to note that some famous books started out being self-published before they were picked up by traditional publishers. The article below refers to 5 of those. You may not agree they are all good books, but they are all famous.
So, for the self-published author, there’s always hope if you want to be traditionally published. For the readers, I urge you to give self published authors a chance. They may never become famous, but they just may become your next favorite author.