We all know that publishing has changed a lot in recent years. Challenges such as a more competitive market and financial pressures mean that things have been tough in the industry – but there has been plenty of opportunity as well. Independent publishing is just one of the beneficiaries of the changing publishing landscape, and while it is not the only solution to the challenges facing the wider publishing industry today, it is undeniably an important one.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the ways in which publishing has changed in the past decade. It’s not an exhaustive list, so do feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments section…

The rise of technology

Technology has affected publishing in a whole range of ways:

E-books are becoming increasingly popular and are likely to become even more so.
There’s a move away from traditional bookstore chains and independent bookshops to buying online.
It’s opened up the ways we can market our work, such as through social media.
It’s made it easier to self-publish through methods such as Amazon’s KDP.
Where once authors might have lived in fear of a bad review in the papers, we now have myriad online reviews, blogs and comments in there as well – not great if you’re hit with a stream of negative reviews, but the chance to hear from readers more than ever before is great.

The increase in self-publishing

Independent publishing is a change in itself; it really wasn’t so long ago that self-publishing had an air of ‘vanity’ and reduced quality about it. While that reputation still lingers a little, the growing popularity of independent publishing among authors – including those who have previously had traditional deals – and the growing willingness of readers to buy these books mean that indie publishing is a major contender in the industry.

The resurgence of the small press

When we think of traditional publishing, we often think of the ‘big six’. However, we can also identify plenty of smaller, independent presses that are producing fantastic work and getting noticed more and more. Take, for instance, Salt Publishing, which publishes The Lighthouse, one of this year’s Man Booker shortlisted books. It’s nice to see more diversity in the market, as well as smaller presses being recognised for their work.

The need for authors to be entrepreneurs

All of those other related changes – thousands of authors self-publishing their own books, the big publishers facing pressures and so on – mean that authors now need to be more entrepreneurial than ever before. Whether that means setting up a proper business as an independent publisher or taking more control and having more say in how our books are marketed varies from case to case, but we can’t deny that authors these days have to do much more than just write. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does pose challenges – not least how to fit everything in.

What do you think are the biggest changes the publishing industry has gone through in the past 10 years – and what changes do you think it will go through in the