Taking Charge
Being an author in today's world involves a great many more things than ever before. Consider: there was a time when a person wrote a book, submitted it to a publisher, and, if accepted, waited for the royalties.
But those days are long gone. Today you have choices, such as traditional publishing or self-publishing. Either way you still have to make additional choices, namely under the heading of marketing.
In other words, the modern author has be be something of an entrepreneur. And now even self-publishing entails choices. Now you have the choice of using a self-publishing company or using an online printing resource.
You read that right, an online printing resource. Earlier this year I came across the website of an online company where you can upload your document and publish it for a very reasonable cost. I have not yet tried it with a book length of 300 pages or so, but my investigation indicates that the cost will still be reasonable.
What is reasonable? Everyone has their own ideas on this, but for me keeping the cost per copy at $15 or below would be very exciting. (That cost would include among other things the printing, color or B&W, binding, and shipping to me.)
You will notice I have not identified the company. That is because I want to be sure before I put the name out there. In that regard I am currently experimenting with my book Christian Workers Total Workout, which is only 93 pages long. This will allow me the opportunity to evaluate the quality of the work.
I will let you know the results.
All of these choices press upon us daily. And, if we let it, the whole weight of it could prove depressing. But I look at it differently.
As a Christian, I not only believe in God, I trust Him. He is the One who has given me the talent, the inspiration, the tools, and the direction to go. He is more than able to lead me!
With that in mind, I look at these choices as opportunities or, if you will, doors. Some doors are not viable for me, some require opening and looking around (perhaps for awhile), and then there are doors that are "right."
The right door for me is the one that will bring me success God's way. I have learned over the years that we Christians make a mistake when we measure success the same way the world does: by looking at dollars and cents.
While those measurements are important and have a necessary place and use, real success is measured in godly terms. Without going into detail let me summarize: Real or godly success is knowing that what you are doing is what God wants you to do! There is no dollar figure on that.
In conclusion, we authors are more than authors. We are authors, publishers, and marketeers. How involved we are in each area is driven by our choices. But whatever choice you make, you are involved in all three areas.
But those days are long gone. Today you have choices, such as traditional publishing or self-publishing. Either way you still have to make additional choices, namely under the heading of marketing.
In other words, the modern author has be be something of an entrepreneur. And now even self-publishing entails choices. Now you have the choice of using a self-publishing company or using an online printing resource.
You read that right, an online printing resource. Earlier this year I came across the website of an online company where you can upload your document and publish it for a very reasonable cost. I have not yet tried it with a book length of 300 pages or so, but my investigation indicates that the cost will still be reasonable.
What is reasonable? Everyone has their own ideas on this, but for me keeping the cost per copy at $15 or below would be very exciting. (That cost would include among other things the printing, color or B&W, binding, and shipping to me.)
You will notice I have not identified the company. That is because I want to be sure before I put the name out there. In that regard I am currently experimenting with my book Christian Workers Total Workout, which is only 93 pages long. This will allow me the opportunity to evaluate the quality of the work.
I will let you know the results.
All of these choices press upon us daily. And, if we let it, the whole weight of it could prove depressing. But I look at it differently.
As a Christian, I not only believe in God, I trust Him. He is the One who has given me the talent, the inspiration, the tools, and the direction to go. He is more than able to lead me!
With that in mind, I look at these choices as opportunities or, if you will, doors. Some doors are not viable for me, some require opening and looking around (perhaps for awhile), and then there are doors that are "right."
The right door for me is the one that will bring me success God's way. I have learned over the years that we Christians make a mistake when we measure success the same way the world does: by looking at dollars and cents.
While those measurements are important and have a necessary place and use, real success is measured in godly terms. Without going into detail let me summarize: Real or godly success is knowing that what you are doing is what God wants you to do! There is no dollar figure on that.
In conclusion, we authors are more than authors. We are authors, publishers, and marketeers. How involved we are in each area is driven by our choices. But whatever choice you make, you are involved in all three areas.
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