How to Publish, Not Perish

It sounds like a spam come-on, not the headline on an article in the blog of one of the most respected newspapers in the world:

How to publish your own book online -- and make money

Yet there it is: in backlit black and white, on The Guardian’s technology blog. Technology and economics columnist -- and fledgling poet -- Victor Keegan takes a very personal approach to the topic of self-publishing for fun and profit in a piece that clearly comes from outside of the book industry and approaches the matter at hand from many angles.

It doesn't have to be an embryonic bestseller because self-publishing is best suited to limited editions. Anything over 1,000 copies and you would be better off going to a traditional printer to take advantage of economies of scale. I know a lot people who are self-publishing a record of their own lives together with memories of their parents and grandparents as a bit of family history. That's not vanity publishing, just a great way to preserve memories for future generations and add to the archive of local history. Self-publishing is ideal for that.

Despite Keegan’s clear-eyed approach, I’m still not convinced you can do what the man said and “publish your own book online -- and make money.” But if self-publishing is something you might take a run at, you could do worse than Keegan’s primer.

The Guardian piece is here.