Should You Self-Publish in 2026?
What reliable voices in the industry want you to know
PUBLISHING TRENDS
Maria Reynolds-Weir
10/8/20261 min read
What's selling, what's hot, where to publish
Authors, your book is coming along, and you're full of questions about how to market it, whether it's publishable, and if you own the publishing process, what your options are.
Resource #1: Jane Friedman (always)
We don't have to do this alone. We have a community. Jane Friedman is a solid resource on what's selling, why and how to think about the business of writing. (And it is a business.)
In her Mid-2026 Publishing Update, Jane breaks down why fiction markets are doing well, which ones are changing, reasons for the dip in nonfiction sales, and why building community will help you sell books.
Resource #2
What you need to know about not being a KDP author, why you should own your ISBN and publish first on IngramSpark (and below, why you might want to do MORE than that.) Laura Helming and the Independent Authors Guild are helping authors navigate the uncertainties.
Resource #3
Should you publish with IngramSpark? KDP? Or another on-demand printer? Laura Helming advises you to think about being the owner of the means of production. She shares why and how you should think about the process. You can work with a hybrid publisher.
You'll learn about AI and audiobooks, how Spotify is breaking Audible, how Amazon is slipping. There's some good news for savvy writers behind this information.
Shameless plug for Midwestern poets and memoirists to consider Purple Aardvark Publishers. I'm one of the founding members of this very collaborative press. We haven't branched into fiction, even though I edit fiction and we included it in our anthology. We also don't publish children's books, cookbooks, or table books.
Not sure what's best for you?
Book a consultation about what it will mean to publish with a collaborative press, create your own imprint, or just self-publish.