The rise of the self-published “Authorpreneur” has come. How can editors and publishers reassess their services to compete in this new publishing environment?

As more authors decide to take the route of self-publishing instead of going to a traditional publishing house, traditional publishers and editors need to reassess their process. To fully reassess, traditional publishers must (1) understand what factors drive authors to self-publish and (2) work to meet those needs.

THE RESEARCH

In her doctoral dissertation, “Profiling the Independent Author. Who Are Self-Published Authors, What Factors Influence Their Likelihood of Commercial Success, and Has Self-Publishing Played a Role in Disrupting the Publishing Industry?,” Holly Greenland at Kingston University provides insight that can help traditional publishers and authors better understand the motivations and needs of self-publishing authors.

To gain this insight, Greenland (2025) used a survey of 819 self-published, hybrid, and traditionally published authors to measure their motivations behind their chosen publishing route. The data analysis revealed that self-published authors aren’t one uniform group but can be separated into two distinct groups:

  1. The “Authorpreneur”: This group has a high commercial motivation and views their writing as a business.
  2. The “Author-artisan”: This group has lower commercial ambition and produces their work at a slower pace while still demonstrating a strong commitment to their craft. 

What united these two groups of self-publishing authors is their desired control over the publishing process. In fact, when asked why they chose to independently publish instead of traditionally publish, the self-publishing authors most frequently selected “Wanted to retain power over decisions for my book” (198). This finding contrasts with the most frequently selected response of traditionally published authors: “Wanted support to undertake practical publishing activities” (202).

Notably, the most frequently cited reason for self-publishing in a free-response question was speed. Traditionally published authors also noted this issue, with 35% of traditionally published authors being unhappy or only somewhat happy with the timelines of their traditionally published books. 

Not involving authors in decision-making when they are interested in doing so could become a challenge in terms of author satisfaction and therefore retention.

Greenland (2025)

Greenland concluded that “not involving authors in decision-making when they are interested in doing so could become a challenge in terms of author satisfaction and therefore retention” (199), and noted that there are many authors who are seeking “a faster publication period than that commonly offered by traditional publishing houses” (201). The research thus suggests that slow timelines and lack of creative control are two of the main drivers behind the exodus of authors from traditional to self-publishing.

THE IMPLICATIONS

Traditional editors and publishers can recognize that self-publishing authors prioritize a quicker publication cycle and control over their craft. Understanding these priorities can help publishers change their processes so they can better meet authors’ needs and desires. This can include editors changing their business models to offer rapid, commercially-focused editing packages for authorpreneurs and highly collaborative, detailed editing for author-artisans. Traditional publishers can realize that their primary problem might not be competition from other publishing houses, but their own slow processes and exclusion of authors from the decisions they care about.

To discover more about self-publishing authors and what draws them outside of the traditional publishing route, read the full article:

Greenland, Holly. 2025. “Profiling the Independent Author. Who Are Self-Published Authors, What Factors Influence Their Likelihood of Commercial Success, and Has Self-Publishing Played a Role in Disrupting the Publishing Industry?” PhD dissertation, Kingston University: London. Kingston University. https://researchinnovation.kingston.ac.uk/en/publications/profiling-the-independent-author-who-are-self-published-authors-w-2. 

—Megan McGee, Editing Research

FEATURE IMAGE BY THOUGHT CATALOG

Find more research

Read Heather Moulaison Sandy’s (2016) article to discover more about how self-published authors are disrupting not just the publishing environment but also the public library environment: Moulaison Sandy, Heather. 2016. “The Role of Public Libraries in Self-Publishing: Investigating Author and Librarian Perspectives.” Journal of Library Administration 56 (8): 893–912.  https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2015.1130541

Take a look at Alison Baversock, Robert Blackburn, and Marfuga Iskandarova’s (2015) article to discover more about how independent editors can work to meet the needs of the independent author: Baversock, Alison, Robert Blackburn, and Marfuga Iskandarova. 2015. “How the Role of the Independent Editor Is Changing in Relation to Traditional and Self-Publishing.” Learned Publishing 28 (4): 261–273. https://doi.org/10.1087/20150206.