当今自助出版越来越呈现两极分化的趋势。有像奈瑞•贝尔维尔(Nyree Belleville)这样的知名作家，她说，过去18个月里她不经出版社直接卖书赚得50万美元。Rob Shepperson也有像伊夫•约翰勒姆(Eve Yohalem)这样的新手。在自助出版一个多月以后，她的销售额总计约100美元，而前期成本则为3,400美元。不过她说她不着急。自助出版行业已经有几十年历史了。但出版业追踪机构R. R. Bowker估计，得益于数字技术，尤其是电子书的出现，美国2010年自助出版的书籍由2006年的51,237部激增160%，达到133,036部。
Self-publishing these days is increasingly a tale of two cities.There are established authors, like Nyree Belleville, who says she's earned half a million dollars in the past 18 months from selling direct rather than through a publisher.Then there are new authors, like Eve Yohalem. More than a month after self-publishing, she has grossed about $100 in sales -- after incurring costs of $3,400. She said she's in no rush, though.Vanity presses have been available for decades. But thanks to digital technology and particularly the emergence of e-books, the number of self-published titles exploded 160% to 133,036 in 2010 from 51,237 in 2006, estimates R. R. Bowker, which tracks the publishing business.
亚马逊公司(Amazon.com Inc.)推动了自助出版的蓬勃发展。根据书籍零售价高低，亚马逊为自助出书的作者提供占数字图书销售收入至多70%的分成。而传统出版社一般只向作者提供占数字图书净销售额25%的分成，纸质书的分成比例则更低翻译公司。
Amazon.com Inc. fueled the growth by offering self-published writers as much as 70% of revenue on digital books, depending on the retail price. By comparison, traditional publishers typically pay their authors 25% of net digital sales and even less on print books.
这些条款能让一些知名作家通过自助出书获得丰厚利润。贝尔维尔是个有多年经验的浪漫小说作家，她以贝拉•安德烈(Bella Andre)为笔名写了七年书，以露西•凯文(Lucy Kevin)为笔名写了一年书。贝尔维尔于2010年4月自助出版了第一本电子书。从那以后，她自助出版了10部小说，总共卖出265,000本，定价大多在2.99美元至5.99美元之间。她说，从去年4月份到现在，她这10部书刨去支出净赚50万美元以上。而之前她写一本书所得最多为33,000美元翻译公司。
For some established authors, these terms can make self-publishing a financial home run. Ms. Belleville, for instance, a veteran romance author who wrote for seven years under the pseudonym Bella Andre and a year as Lucy Kevin, self-published her first e-book in April 2010. She has since cumulatively sold 265,000 units of 10 self-published titles, most priced between $2.99 and $5.99. Her total take from those 10 titles since last April: in excess of $500,000 after expenses, she says. Previously, the most she ever made from a book was $33,000.
