Self-publishing

The electronic age has allowed writers to sit in the publishing driver’s seat, rather than the publisher. Traditional publishers have seen their revenues decline, along with brick and mortar book stores, with the advent of self-publishing and ebooks. Some self-pubbed books have even hit the best seller list. Whereas rejection letters used to mean the end of the road for many writers. Now, self-publishing is a logical alternative for a writer to ensure his work becomes the printed word–or perhaps the electronic word.

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is one way to become published. Whether it’s a novel, short story, or poetry, KDP allows the writer to make his own decisions and set a price. The royalties are more author favorable as well with KDP, with 70% paid to the author. I recently tested this process, creating my own anthology: The Nightstand Collection. The process was simple and intuitive, and the finished product was professional.

On the other hand, self-publishing companies have sprung up overnight, like mushrooms in the forest. As with anything else, there are reputable companies to do business with and others who will offer more than they can deliver. Many will publish your book, at a hefty price, but the end result may not be something you can be proud of. Most do not offer editing, or cover design, without which your labor of love becomes simply a dust collector.

Top Consumer Reviews takes a quick look at the best self publishing companies: http://www.topconsumerreviews.com/self-publishing/ If you are interested in examining this process, please take a moment to read this informative article.