During the 12 New Media Days of Christmas, we’re counting down the days until Santa comes by featuring some of the best blog posts of 2011 from awesome writers within the BlogWorld community! Skip to the end to read more posts in this holiday series and don’t forget to leave a comment if you’ve written a post about today’s topic!

One of the things I love about the new media industry is watching the publishing industry grow and change. Today, I’ve gathered some interesting blog posts about this topic, and I’d encourage you to read them all if you’re a book publisher, writer, online content creator, marketer…basically, if you all should be reading these posts!

Post too long? Head to the Quick Links section for just a list of the links included in this post without all the analysis and quotes!

1. The Future of Books and Publishing by Mitch Joel at Six Pixels of Separation

I don’t have time to listen to many podcasts, but Mitch Joel’s is one I really enjoy. In this episode, Mitch talks with Hugh McGuire about some really cool new tools in the publishing world. The publishing world is going through a lot of changes right now, but those changes don’t have to be bad. In fact, I think they’re pretty exciting. During the podcast, Mitch and Hugh talk about this exciting future.

Writes Mitch,

The book publishing industry is going through dramatic change and digitization. With that comes some fascinating lessons for marketers and marketing. Enjoy the conversation…

After listening to his podcast, you can find Mitch on Twitter @MitchJoel. He’d the author of the Six Pixels of Separation book and also writes for The Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun.

BONUS: I featured Chris Brogan earlier in this 12 New Media Days series, but he also have a great interview with Hugh published on his blog that is totally worth checking out!

---

 

2. The Economics of Self-Publishing an Ebook by Simon Owens at The Next Web

Self publishing is a hot topic. At one time, you weren’t really considered a legitimate author if you self published. Sure you could do it, but it was hard to sell copies of your book, since retailers didn’t (and still don’t) want to stock self-published books. That’s not to mention the out-of-pocket costs for the author. But now, publishing an ebook is pretty simple, and not only can you sell your book on your own blog, but you can also upload it to the Kindle and Nook marketplaces. And authors? Well, some of them are making a killing. In this post, Simon writes about some of the authors who have found success with self-publishing, along with topics like pricing, where the big publishing houses are going from here, and more. From the post:

Recent figures released by Amazon indicate that its ebooks are now outselling their print counterparts. Most the top sellers in the Kindle store also have print editions, but there are dozens of “indie” authors who are selling thousands of ebooks a month without a print version.

Simon also blogs at his own site, Bloggasm, and you can find him on Twitter @simonowens. He’s also the Director of Editorial & Outreach at JESS3.

---

 

3. How to Publish Your First Book by Donny Gamble at DonnyGamble.com (guest post for ZacJohnson.com)

If you’re brand new to the idea of self-publishing an ebook, this post is a good place to start. It all starts with a good idea, which is the same thing you need before starting the traditional publishing process as well! If you have a great idea that will really help people, self-publishing is pretty easy. Donny talks about his experiences in this post, and you can easy replicate these ideas to publish your own posts. He writes,

Do you have a book swimming around in your head? Maybe you’ve got one already written but have never known how to offer it or where. Now you do. If you make the decision now, you can realistically see your dream come to fruition before the end of the year.

Okay, it might be a little too close to the end of the year for this still to be true, but you can definitely have a book published by this time next year! After reading Donny’s post, check out his book, #Code Bytes – Conversations with Internet Entrepreneurs, and follow him on Twitter @donnygamblejr.

---

 

4. Self-Publishing versus e-Publishing by Suzanne Fyhrie Parrott at Unruly Guides

While we often equate self-publishing with ebook pushing, as Suzanne points out in this point, it isn’t your only option. If you want to build your business, print versions might make sense for you as well, depending on your goals and target market. Check out this post to learn about your options, including both traditional print self-publishing and print on demand. From the post:

Self-publishing means you take on all the responsibility of getting noticed. You have to set aside time to market yourself. I like to do all my connective work (facebook, blog) in the morning – even before I am dressed. I spend about an hour, sometimes less, and then I take a small break, preparing myself for my writing.

One thing every author needs to ingrain in their mind – you are a business and the commodity is you. Not your books, but you.

You can find Suzanne on Twitter @unrulyguides and also like her Facebook page. If you sign up for her newsletter on her sidebar, you can download her guide, 10 Tools for Finding Author Success for free!

---

 

5. Self-Publishing: A Game Changer for the Publishing Industry by Abby Johnson at WebProNews (with Jim Kukral)

A lot of what Jim is saying in this video with WebProNews is echoing what others are saying as well about the publishing industry. He also talks his experiences publishing, both traditionally and in this new online world. I love his ideas about pre-selling or pledging, which is how he’s marketing his new three-book series. Traditional publishing might not be totally dead, but Jim makes some really good points about how it is evolving. Says Jim,

“[Traditional publishing techniques] are not going to die…they’re just changing. The model of having a thousand books put out by a big publisher every six months is going to change simply from the fact that bookstores can’t support that anymore….they’re gong to scale back and handpick books they know are going to sell.”

You can add Abby to your circles on Google+ and follow WebProNews on Twitter @webpronews. Jim is on Twitter @jimkukral. He’s the author of Internet Marketing for Business Answers and a number of other books, which you can find on his website, JimKukral.com.

---

 

6. 6 Reasons Why I Chose to Self-Publish my Novel by Ali Luke at Aliventures

Whether you are publishing an informational book/guide in conjunction with your blog or are publishing a novel, as Ali is doing, there are some clear advantages to self-publishing for some people.

Is self-publishing the right option for you? The answer it’s “yes” for everyone, but Ali’s post will help you decide. For her, it was the best option! Writes Ali,

Seven months ago, I wrote a rather provocatively-titled post here on Aliventures: Why I’m Giving Up on My Dream.

I explained why the writing dream of “get an agent” then “land a book deal” wasn’t looking so great to me anymore. And I outlined my plan to publish Lycopolis myself.

A couple of weeks ago, I went ahead and did it.

Read about Ali’s experiences, and then follow her on Twitter @aliventures. You can also check out her online shop, where you find ebooks such as The Blogger’s Guide to Irresistible Ebooks, The Blogger’s Guide to Freelancing, and The Blogger’s Guide to Effective Writing. And definitely check out her new novel, Lycopolis!

---

Quick Links

For those of you short on time, here’s a list of the links covered in this post:

1. The Future of Books and Publishing by Mitch Joel (@MitchJoel)
2. The Economics of Self-Publishing an Ebook by Simon Owens (@simonowens)
3. How to Publish Your First Book by Donny Gamble (@donnygamblejr)
4. Self-Publishing versus e-Publishing by Suzanne Fyhrie Parrott (@unrulyguides)
5. Self-Publishing: A Game Changer for the Publishing Industry by Abby Johnson at WebProNews (@webpronews) with Jim Kukral (@jimkukral)
6. 6 Reasons Why I Chose to Self-Publish my Novel by Ali Luke (@aliventures)

Other posts in the 12 New Media Days of Christmas series will be linked here as they go live:

12 Bloggers Monetizing
11 Emailers List Building
10 Google+ Users a-Sharing
9 Vloggers Recording
8 Links a-Baiting
7 Community Managers a-Managing
6 Publishers a-Publishing (this post)
5 Traffic Tips
4 New Media Case Studies
3 Must-Read New Media Interviews
2 Top New Media News Stories of 2011
And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

You can also check out the all the posts from 2010 and 2011 here, and don’t forget: If you wrote a post in 2011 about today’s topic (digital publishing), PLEASE leave the link in a comment below to share with the community!