This thesis dives into the self-publishing landscape in Latin America in an effort to understand the current interests and concerns authors share in online communities when incurring in this process. Data gathering was conducted through content analysis on these communities and interviews with their members, using an abductive approach that aims to answer what are the top discussed topics and try to explore possible explanations for their incidence.

The ‘reasons why’ behind these interests were studied through several media and communications theories. Results show that the growing interest of writers in asserting their self-expression values could be supported by Florida’s (2014) creative class. Another finding pointed towards McRobbie’s (2016) artist as human capital reflections, as authors mostly struggled with the writing process itself before reaching the more advanced self-publishing challenges. Finally, to make sense of the relevance of technology among aspiring published writers, Shirky’s (2009) ideas of mass amateurization and revolution were accurate and thought-provoking. 

Results of the study expose how the field is rich with possibilities for future research, with each area of interest diving into considerations of different media and communications arenas such as audiences, gatekeeping or emotional values.  It is important to consider such studies in the global landscape to identify how each region might enrich the understanding of a trend that stems from a universal human yearning to create, unaware of boundaries.