The Impact of Platformization on Self-Publishing: Granting Authorial Agency to Female Professional Authors Through a Connection to Readers

Abstract

The self-publisher is often viewed as a disturber of the publishing industry through bypassing traditional book production methods and professional ecosystems (Skains 2019; Laquintano 2016). My dissertation argues that the process of self-publishing is an alternative book production method, which signals that the traditional publishing industry is not being disrupted but innovated. The practice of self-publishing was specifically propelled by the introduction of Web 2.0. I argue that the process of contemporary self- publishing facilitates a direct connection between female authors and their readers, which is made possible by the development of platformization. Through the transformation of the web from a static entity into interactive platforms, readers and authors can network with each other. Arguably, the reader is no longer just a consumer but provides the self- publisher with the opportunity to gain different forms of capital (as conceived by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu), which grants self-publishers authorial agency and the ability to produce diverse and culturally significant content in the romance, mystery, and poetry genres. My project investigates (i) how mainstream publishers, female authors, and readers perceive the practice of self-publishing; and (ii) what makes self-publication an appealing alternative to conventional publishing practices. I conducted interviews with self-publishers and workers in traditional publishing to obtain perspectives from both sides of the publishing field. Additionally, I employed content analysis to evaluate the comments left under self-published books, which revealed that the online environment is viewed as a safe space by women who share their work with their supportive readers.