Why Publishing Needs to Move With the Times

Every year, thousands of writers finish manuscripts they’ve spent months — sometimes years — creating. These aren’t just documents. They’re ideas, memories, imagination, and persistence bound together in words.

And then comes the question no one prepares you for:

What do I do with it now?

For most new authors, the instinct is automatic — pursue traditional publishing. It’s seen as the gold standard, the dream outcome, the only “proper” way to become an author. Few people talk about the alternatives. Fewer still explain the reality.

So the process begins.

You research publishers.
You prepare your submission.
You polish your manuscript one last time.
You press send.

And then you wait.

Weeks turn into months. You refresh your inbox, hoping for good news. Eventually, responses arrive. Sometimes they’re rejections. Sometimes they’re offers.

At first, the offers feel like success. Validation. Proof that you’ve made it.

Until you read the small print.

Some contracts require you to give up the copyright to your work. Others ask for significant financial contributions — often thousands of pounds. And in many cases, there is no obligation for the publisher to actively market or promote your book.

So the question becomes unavoidable:

What are you really paying for?

Traditional publishing still holds many of the keys to distribution. Access to libraries. Listings with major wholesalers like Gardners. Potential routes into bookshops and wider retail networks.

But that access often comes at a cost — control.

If you sign away your rights, what happens if your book gains unexpected attention in the future? If someone wants to adapt it for television, film, or another format, the rewards may not go to the person who created the story.

More and more authors are beginning to question whether the traditional route truly serves them.

And many are choosing a different path.

Self-publishing is not the easy option. It requires resilience, investment, and a willingness to learn skills far beyond writing. Editing, design, marketing, distribution — the author becomes the publisher.

It’s hard work.

But it also offers something traditional publishing often cannot:

Ownership.
Creative freedom.
Control over your future.

The shift is already happening. In 2023, 2.6 million titles were self-published — a 7.2% increase on the previous year, according to the Alliance of Independent Authors. This is no longer a niche movement. It’s a growing and professional sector of the industry.

Yet while authors are changing, many parts of the publishing ecosystem are not.

Currently:

• Many libraries will not accept self-published books
• Major wholesalers often require a large catalogue before listing
• High street retailers, including Waterstones, rarely consider independently published titles
• Store managers no longer have the time or flexibility to review books individually

These barriers don’t reflect the quality of modern self-published work. They reflect outdated systems built for a different era.

The reality is simple: the definition of an author has changed.

Today’s independent authors are entrepreneurs, project managers, marketers, and business owners. They invest heavily — financially and emotionally — in producing professional, high-quality books.

They are not asking for special treatment.

They are asking for fair access.

Publishing is evolving. Readers are discovering books in new ways. Authors are taking ownership of their careers.

The industry now faces a choice: adapt to this new reality or risk leaving a growing part of the creative community behind.

Because stories don’t belong to gatekeepers.

And the future of publishing should belong to the people who create them.