I can’t count how many times I’ve heard an author say to me lately, “With all that my publisher is making me do to promote my book, I’m not sure why I needed them at all.”

Check out this very revealing and plain-facts Globe and Mail article (with the appropriately defeatist title, “Publish, and Your Book Will Probably Perish”) about the modern world of traditional publishing. Every single complaint in this article has a painfully obvious cure in self-publishing.

Basically, the article describes how when tough times happen, major publishers are no different than any other company. They usually cut back on the last activity they should ever skimp on: sales. The reason for this is simple – any entrepreneur will tell you that sales are usually the most expensive part of any business, whether it be in publicity, customer acquisition, payment for sales services, or more generally, in marketing. Accountants see dollars going out the door, and they look for the biggest column. That’s the one they chop.

One fiction author is anonymously quoted as saying, “[there has been a] …steady erosion of [publishers'] services toward creators. … [They] no longer edit or proofread as they once did, buy advertising, employ a sales force … and tour authors as they once did” – and this at a time when the books they publish have climbed in price to “the edge of affordability for most readers.” Hmm. Sounds like the only difference between a self-publishing author and a traditionally-published author is now the imprint on the title page.

Self-published or not, there is (let’s be frank here) plenty of work to promote a book and get copies sold. I’ve said before that authors often imagine that a traditional publisher will take on a significant portion of the cost involved in the promotion, thereby relieving them of the work. It’s just not true: a major publisher won’t even look at your book unless you can demonstrate that you’re really prepared to do the legwork required to promote it.

A book is a business. Micro or major, it involves about the same amount of work. If you’re going to do most of the work anyway, why not keep most of the profit? In an economic downturn, authors are actually better off to self-publish than any other time, because all authors are finally calling themselves entrepreneurs. As stated by Margaret Atwood, “The term ‘relentless self-promoter’ used to be an insult in publishing circles. Now it will be a necessity.”

The article seems to suggest (to me, at least) that major publishers are now performing services no differently than many of the print houses now marketing themselves as “publishing houses” – they hand over the book and get out. Too bad: if I had Margaret Atwood on my roster, I’d at least be paying for the wine and cheese party.