Self-Publishing in 2026—Is Now a Good Time to Self-Publish Your Book?

Learn how readers are buying their books, what they think about self-published books, and what strategies are still working in 2026, so you know what to focus on and spend your time doing when publishing your books. One thousand readers were surveyed, and these are the answers they gave.

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📣 ENTER MY GIVEAWAY FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A $500 DESIGN CREDIT TO BE USED ON 99DESIGNS. I'm so excited to offer this again. It's so cool that this is basically one free book cover. To enter, all you have to do is include the word "giveaway" in your comment, and the winner will be announced in next week's video.

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Read this blog post to get a more detailed walkthrough of the survey results: https://99designs.com/blog/book-design/publishing-a-book-in-2026-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ClaireFraise

This video was sponsored by 99Designs by Vista, a global graphic design company that I use to design my book covers. I've rarely worked with sponsors on the channel because I want to only work with companies that I stand behind completely, and I was so excited when 99Designs approached me with this article because it has so much interesting information that I found so useful when planning my upcoming book launch (reading this confirmed I really want to do hardcovers for the pre-order). If you're interested in checking out 99Designs' library of cover designers, you can use my link to get $30 off: https://99designs.com/categories?utm_campaign=claire-fraise-30&utm_medium=YouTube&utm_source=influencer

I also highly recommend the cover designer I work with, Mila Book Covers: https://99designs.com/profiles/meella

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WATCH MY COVER DESIGN IN 2026 VIDEOS:
How to Design a Book Cover in 2026: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UMzei40gzg
How Book Covers Have Changed in the Past 25 Years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMRDUG7tBGM

SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL:
https://www.youtube.com/c/WritewithClaireFraise

👻 READ THEY STAY (book 1 in my paranormal thriller series and won the Grand Prize at the 2023 Writer’s Digest Self Published Book Awards):
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/They-Stay-Suspenseful-Young-Mystery/dp/1737225301/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=claire+fraise%27&qid=1628649544&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/they-stay-claire-fraise/1139953490?ean=9781737225300

Add on GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57821402-they-stay

JOIN MY MAILING LIST: https://bit.ly/3zFpz0l

😀 CONNECT WITH ME:
MAILING LIST: https://bit.ly/3zFpz0l
EMAIL ME: claire@clairefraise.com
WEBSITE: https://www.clairefraise.com/​​​​​​
TIKTOK (where I’m most active other than YouTube): https://www.tiktok.com/@clairefraiseauthor?_t=ZP-90cwafzkR5z&_r=1
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/clairefraiseauthor/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/clairefraiseauthor
PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/clairefraisebooks/
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14193771.Claire_Fraise

ABOUT: Hi, I'm Claire! I’m an award-winning self-published author of paranormal thriller books (my book "They Stay" won the Grand Prize at the 2023 Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards and is the first in a five-book series).

There is no one way to write a book. I’m a strong believer that the only way to develop your own writing process is by trying a bunch of different methods to find out what is the most helpful to you. In my videos, I share how I approach every stage in my writing process, from brainstorming to editing, in the hope that it could give you something to try that could help you level up as a writer. I share techniques that have improved my own writing so you can see if the same strategies help you.

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CHAPTERS:
0:00 About the survey
0:38 Sponsored by 99Designs
1:21 ENTER MY GIVEAWAY
1:48 Big takeaway 1: People still read
2:08 Big takeaway 2: Self-publishing is losing its stigma
3:40 What makes readers buy books?
5:32 Where do readers discover books?
9:40 What formats do readers prefer?
10:29 Cover design is so important
12:32 Recap