A Typology of Authorship

Abstract The growing share of self-publishing titles on the book market has sparked debates about their position within the literary sphere. Although some consider self-publishing to be a parallel universe in its own right, our understanding of self-publishing’s links to traditional structures is still evolving. This study showcases three distinct types of perspectives. The first type strategically utilizes self-publishing to build authorial renown and increase their likelihood of securing a contract with a royalty publisher. The second type makes use of self-publishing to measure the quality of authors’ work, assessing the work’s popularity with readers and comparing its quality with that of competing authors and titles. Finally, the third type sees self-publishing as a way to preserve creative autonomy and self-determined authorial work. Drawing further on the broader sociocultural context of these findings, the research contributes to our understanding of self-publishing’s diverse landscape as well as its implications for the contemporary literary sphere.