There are so many more options for publishing your work available today than when we started out with The Complete Guide to Foot Reflexology almost 30 years ago. Back then you had basically two choices, self publishing or going with a publisher.
In 1980 when we started out the odds of making it with a published work through a publisher was 8 out of 10 failing. That meant you had a 20% chance of making it. And if you did make it your title helped support those the other titles that had failed.
The odds have gotten even worse according to one CEO I talked with. Now the odds are 9 of 10 that your book would fail. Again this is a one in ten chance of making it. A bit grim considering the amount of work publishing a book takes.
If you chose the self publishing option back then you face a lot of time, money and effort. It costs a lot of money to publish your own book and there is a great deal of time and effort in marketing and selling your book, Then there is storing the book, shipping the book and collecting on the accounts.
The bright side of this is that there are more options available. Electronic books are a lot cheaper because there is not the usual publishing costs like printing, shipping, storing and so forth. Once the book has been produce it can be distributed on a lot of different platforms like eBook readers and smartphones. And it easy to have a worldwide audience.
There is also the option of doing a blog like this one. And this blog is free to use. There have been bloggers like Julie and Julia who have gone from blog to bestselling book to a movie. So there is a chance you may get noticed.
These blogs are easy to sign up for and they are easy to maintain. Theses blogs are a great way to practice your writing. And they get a lot of exposure, worldwide.
So these are your options. And don't let me discourage you from trying any particular option. Yes the odds are against you with publishers but they aren't impossible. A friend of ours years ago asked about publishing a children's book. I had to be honest that at that point in time publishing was pretty bleak. She went on to produce three bestsellers.
Self publishing is hard but you are your own boss and not held hostage by a publishing system that seems mired in problems. And you collect the whole amount with having to share it with agents and publishers.
But the new options are very intriguing. Electronic books mean you can be in print immediately and don't have to wait a couple of months in self publishing to 8 to 12 months in mainstream publishing. They give you access to a worldwide audience.
Blogs are intriguing because you can be in print the moment you push the "Publish Post" button. They also give you a worldwide audience to speak to about your work. I recently found my blog translated into Japanese. How neat is that?
So at this point there is absolutely nothing standing in your way. We have been with the big publishers, self published, electronically published and blogged. All have their upsides and their downsides. But there is no greater satisfaction than seeing your thoughts and ideas spread through your writing.
So time to start your publishing career. What are you going to write about first?
Kevin Kunz
Facebook www.facebook.com/kevin.kunz
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