A Brief History of Self-Publishing: From Gutenberg to KDP

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Self-publishing may seem like a relatively new concept, but writers have actually been doing it for centuries, from Ben Franklin to Jane Austen.

While the technologies may have changed, the DIY-approach is nothing new. In this post, we’ll trace the history of self-publishing from the earliest printing methods to the more recent digital era, which has given writers everywhere the power to publish in seconds.

A Brief History of Self-Publishing

Here’s a brief history of self-publishing, from the early days of the printing press to Amazon’s KDP boom.

The Printing Press

The world’s first movable type printing technology was invented in China around 1040 AD, but it wasn’t until 1439 that Johannes Gutenberg applied similar technology to bring the mechanical printing press to Europe.

This development made it possible for writers to produce and print their books in large quantities, ultimately signaling the rise of the traditional publishing house in the West.

One of the oldest known publishing houses in the western world is Cambridge University Press, which was founded by Henry VIII in 1534.

Early Self-Publishers

With traditional publishing houses on the rise, writers who wanted to see their work printed on a large scale had two options: get their book represented by one of those publishing houses (and thus sign away their rights and a large percentage of the royalties), or, if they had the means, publish it themselves.

Of course, to publish your own book, you needed access to the right equipment, which was still very costly. Self-publishing remained an expensive and exclusive alternative to traditional publishing for several centuries.

As a successful editor and printer, Benjamin Franklin often published his own works, including The Way to Wealth in 1758, and his yearly pamphlet, Poor Richard’s Almanack.

Between 1738–1820, English poet and painter William Blake self-published some of his best-known works, including Songs of Innocence and of Experience and The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Blake wrote the text, designed illustrations, and etched them onto copper plates. He then printed and colored the pages.

In 1811, Jane Austen went the vanity-publishing route after her manuscript for Sense and Sensibility was rejected by publishers. Austen paid London-based publisher Thomas Egerton to publish the book.

Publishers took notice of Austen’s later work, Northanger Abbey, but Austen ended up buying the book back because the publisher was taking too long to release it.

Desktop Publishing

With a handful of notable exceptions, traditional publishing remained the status quo for several centuries.

That started to change, however, with the arrival of “desktop publishing” in 1979. Using word processors and layout software on desktop computers, self-publishing became much more accessible to the general public.

Dan Poynter even published a how-to guide that same year, titled The Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print, and Sell Your Own Book.

However, printing in the “desktop” era was still not cheap. For example, James and Peggy Vaughan self-published their book Beyond Affairs in 1980, and paid $25,270 to print 10,000 copies.

Print on Demand

What truly revolutionized self-publishing was the advent of print-on-demand (POD). In 1997, Lightning Source, one of the largest POD companies, was founded.

Prior to POD, self-published authors had to take the risk of bearing the costs of printing up-front, without knowing how many copies (if any) their book would sell.

But with POD, a book is only printed when it is purchased, so authors don’t have to worry about printing more than they sell.

Self-published authors aren’t the only ones who have benefitted from POD; small and independent publishers without large budgets also frequently use it to minimize their risks as well.

POD was taken to the next level in 2006 with the introduction of Espresso Book Machines, which can print a book in minutes at point of sale. The first was installed at the WorldBank InfoShop in Washington, D.C., and the machines can now be found at locations all over the world.

Early Digital Era

By 1999, blog hosting services like Blogger, LiveJournal, and WordPress were making it easier than ever for authors to share their writing with the world.

This helped launch the blog-to-book phenomenon, which was exemplified by Julie Powell’s blog, The Julie/Julia Project. Powell started the blog in 2002 to chronicle her culinary journey as she worked her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

The successful blog led to Little, Brown and Company publishing Powell’s book, Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, which also inspired the 2009 film Julie & Julia.

In 2000, Stephen King made the following proclamation on his website: “My friends, we have a chance to become Big Publishing’s worst nightmare,” as he became the first major author to self-publish a book online, offering the sale of his epistolary novel The Plant in PDF installments.

The Rise of E-Readers and Amazon KDP

In 2004, Sony released the first ebook reader. Amazon followed suit with their Kindle eReader in 2007, with a complete online retail store attached.

Amazon launched its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) service, which allowed authors to upload ebooks into the for purchase for Kindle devices, and took a cut when an author’s ebook was actually purchased.

Bowker reported that 235,000 titles were self-published in the U.S. in 2012, a 287% increase since 2006.

In 2016, Amazon added a paperback option, which uses POD to allow self-published authors to also sell their books in print.

Today, Amazon is the leading publishing and retail platform for self-published authors, but it is not the only option.

Companies such as Lulu, Scribd, and Smashwords also allow self-published authors a space to publish their works.

From Print to Digital and Beyond

Self-publishing started as an exclusive practice for those who had money and access to equipment to print their own books.

Over time, modern technology lowered the costs of production and made self-publishing more accessible to the masses, allowing everyone the opportunity to publish and sell their writing, and no longer leaving authors at the mercy of literary agents and big publishers. In fact, anyone can self-publish their work for free online, through platforms like Amazon’s KDP!

And authors aren’t limited to print or digital formats—platforms like ACX now make it easy to even self-publish audiobooks, offering access to an ever-growing market.

While there has been a stigma around self-publishing, many contemporary authors are proving that not only is self-publishing for talented writers, but it offers a wealth of opportunities for true success. Just take a look at these self-publishing success stories, featuring books that went on to become best-sellers and even feature films.

Self-Publishing Resources

Whatever publishing path authors pursue, whether it’s self-publishing or traditional, we proudly offer resources that can help them get one step closer to their goals.

If you’re interested in self-publishing, be sure to check out our downloadable Kindle self-publishing checklist. Or, if you want to pursue the traditional route, learn more about how to write a query letter, an important first step in approaching literary agents or publishers.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

 

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