When many is an indefinite pronoun as the subject, is the predicate singular or plural?

When many is an indefinite pronoun as the subject, is the predicate singular or plural?

Not necessarily 1) many (of the) / a great many (of the) + plural noun + compound verb, for example: a great many books have been published this year. 2) many a is also used to modify "many" of countable nouns only, but it is necessary to add singular noun and single verb, for example: many a book has been