A Self-Publishing Future?

As I prepare to gradate in March and am putting my portfolio together, I have been doing a little research into short-run, self-publishing options. I found several different options where I may be able to have just a few copies of my portfolio printed without spending a lot of money. The first place that I found that seemed promising was Blurb.com. I was drawn to this site because it offers the chance to use a template to put together a pretty professional portfolio at a decent price. I didn't get to terribly far into the process before realizing the format is too restrictive for my purposes. A little more investigation has lead me to a few other short-run printers that allow the user to upload files to be printed rather that working with templates. Lulu.com is a good example of such a company.
Doing the research for having my portfolio got me to thinking about self-publishing in general. Though in the past, self-published books have gotten a bad rap in the publishing industry it is apparent to me that in the future there will be more and more writers that will choose to self-publish. There are bound to be writers like myself that will complete similar programs of study as offered at Portland State University and Ooligan Press. These writers and others are developing the skills now to self-publish professionally edited, designed, marketed, and hopefully, well-written books. Even those that don't study publishing have more and more resources and opportunities to circumvent the traditional publishing model and present their writing to the world. Paul Young's novel, The Shack, originally self-published has gone on to sell 3.8 million copies.

In addition to writers self-publishing their works, short-run printing makes it possible for the emergence of micro-publishers. Ken Arnold Books is a great example of how individuals or small partnerships can develop and reinvent the publishing business model. Though these examples aren't the norm as of yet, it cannot be denied that the publishing industry is in the process of monumental change. It's exciting and a little frightening to be entering an industry at a time when such transformation and potential for innovation is possible. I look forward to participating in and discovering what the future holds for publishing and self-publishing.