When the Publetariat Vault launched, self-publishing was still in the early stages of mainstream acceptance and the majority of authors dipping their toes in the self-publishing pool were doing so in hopes of building readership, sales and their author platform, with an eye to eventually crossing over to a mainstream publisher book deal. Since then, in less than a year, the indie author landscape has changed dramatically.

Increasing numbers of aspiring and established authors alike are bypassing mainstream publishers entirely, and enjoying greater creative and commercial freedom, as well as higher royalties, as a result. We Publetarians believed this trend would come eventually, we just didn't think it would be so soon. The tide has turned, and it no longer seems the majority of self-publishing authors are interested in pursuing mainstream publishing deals. They're not only going indie, they intend to stay indie.

While this is a terrific thing for the indie author movement overall, it's not so great for the Vault. Now it seems the service the Vault was intended to provide, offering self-published authors greater exposure to mainstream publishing professionals, will never reach a level of demand that justifies keeping the service going. It is for this reason that the Vault will no longer be accepting new registrations or book listings, and will be shut down entirely at the end of September, 2010. However, authors who are already registered can still access their listings until then, to give them the opportunity to copy and transfer any listing data they can use elsewhere.

Thanks to all those indie authors, publishing pros and producers who gave the Vault a try, and Viva La Revolution!

There are going to be some changes around here, but until our site admins have worked out all the kinks and details, they're simply extending the free Vault listing offer another month, to July 31st.

Vault members with active listings will continue to have them free of charge through July 31, 2010, but will no longer have free access to Vault University lessons. It's only $5 per month to continue with either curriculum (Author Platform/Promo or Publishing) though, so continuing your enrollment shouldn't break the bank.

If you currently have free access to Vault U lessons as part of the free Vault listings promotion, your access to the free lessons will be cancelled by July 12, 2010, but your Vault U membership account will not be deleted till 8/31/10. If you decide you'd like to remain enrolled in Vault U after your access is cancelled, all you need do is go to the curriculum listing page for the curriculum you'd like (Author Platform/Promo or Publishing), then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Subscribe button. Your Vault U enrollment will pick up right where it left off as soon as your payment is processed.