From Publishers to Self-Publishing: Disruptive Effects in the Book Industry

Abstract

This paper explores the structure of the book publishing industry post-digitalisation, analysing the choices of the publishers and authors. The introduction of successful e-book readers has belatedly given digitalisation the characteristics of a disruptive technology by making selfpublishing a serious option for authors. This has been supported by the entry of new types of intermediaries and the strengthening of others. These changes have reduced the general requirements for an author to get a book self-published. As a result, a larger share of the surplus from the book industry is likely to go to authors, explaining the significant increase in the supply of books. The potential over-supply of books has created a new problem by increasing competition and making consumer searches more difficult. We argue that digitalisation has shifted the potential for market failure from an inadequate supply of books to asymmetr ic information about quality. It remains to be seen whether the market will provide appropriate intermediaries to solve the asymmetric information problem.

Analysis of Network Effect in the Competition of Self-Publishing Market

“…Hviid et al claimed that self-publishing will lead to over-supply of books in the market. Therefore, an intermediary is necessary to solve the problem of asymmetric information about quality for book consumers [19]. Paquet demonstrated that self-publishers can engage online fan networked capital by using word-of-mouth and crowdsourcing [25].…”