More options than ever these days exist for authors and their books
These days writers have more options than ever for finding a home for their books. Time was when conventional publishing was more or less the only route to seeing one’s book resting on bookshelves.
Trying to get published could be an utterly frustrating, daunting experience. Many writers spent literally years attempting to convince literary agents to take on a project. If an author was successful, that was only the first step. Eventually, a publisher had to want the book.
Now, with ebooks and print on demand publishing, authors can get their works out there before the public in no time at all. There’s no selling of one’s work. A writer doesn’t have to pore over books that offer the best ways of writing query letters.
Of course, these new opportunities present a double-edged sword. More books than ever now flood the market, making it more difficult for an author’s work to rise above the deluge of books out there.
Writers today have to make the choice of whether to go the traditional publishing route or that of print on demand or epublishing. Some authors scoff at the notion of anything other than traditional publishing. Others, including those who have banged their heads against the dark and impenetrable walls of traditional publishers for far too many years, perhaps see a vast ray of light with ebooks and print on demand.
Publishing is changing like never before. Ebooks continue to capture an increasingly larger segment of readers. Some studies indicate that ebooks eventually will eclipse print books. How this will ultimately affect traditional publishing remains to be seen. A single writer out there scribbling away at his next novel really has no control over these market forces.
What the writer can control is the effort, the time needed to produce the best book possible. Writers should not focus so much on how to get published as just writing the book.
Again, there are more options than ever these days. It’s an exciting time to be a writer.
Keep at it. There’s nothing like making a dream a reality.
