| Most writers have heard the amazing stories of | | | | popular. |
| authors who were turned down by publisher after | | | | On the other hand, the majority of writers who |
| publisher before finally deciding to self publish their | | | | self publish do not become rich or famous. There |
| books. In these modern day fairy tales, the | | | | are several reasons that a book writer might |
| author is rewarded not only for her creative | | | | choose to self publish, and getting noticed by big |
| writing skills, but also for her initiative, by selling a | | | | time publishers is only one. Other reasons include |
| zillion copies. Then the big publishers start to take | | | | wanting to publish the book specifically for family |
| notice. They get into a bidding war, and the book | | | | and friends, planning to make a little extra money |
| writer is again rewarded, this time with a fat | | | | selling them on the side, or just wanting to see |
| contract and a book that hits the best seller list. | | | | the final product in print. (There's a reason self |
| So, do these things really happen, or is it all a | | | | publishing companies are called "vanity presses.") |
| myth? The answer is a little bit of both. Yes, | | | | Some writers feel that having a copy of the book |
| there have been some authors that have risen to | | | | that can be sold is what it takes to make them a |
| fame after deciding to self publish. Some | | | | professional writer, and if that's a dream of theirs, |
| examples include: | | | | self publishing can be one way to fulfill it. |
| 1) Rich Dad Poor Dad was self published by | | | | Self publishing is easier today than it ever has |
| Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter. A decade | | | | been before. The process used to involve printing |
| later, the book has been featured on the Oprah | | | | hundreds of copies of a book, all at the author's |
| show and has spent more than three years on | | | | expense. He or she would keep the books on |
| various best seller lists. | | | | hand (often in the trunks of their cars, apparently) |
| 2) The Celestine Prophecy was self published by | | | | to sell at seminars, workshops, or even swap |
| James Redfield in 1993. Eventually he sold it to | | | | meets! With print-on-demand publishing, it is now |
| Warner books for $800,000. | | | | possible for a novel writer to simply direct buyers |
| 3) The One-Minute Manager was self published by | | | | to self publishing websites where they can order |
| Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson to go along | | | | one copy at a time. This may or may not cost |
| with their seminars. After selling 20,000 copies on | | | | the author a fee up front, depending on the |
| their own, a publisher purchased the book and it | | | | service. |
| became a best seller. | | | | One final advantage to self publishing is that it |
| 4) Eragon was written by 15 year old Christopher | | | | frees writers up to do more jobs writing. Rather |
| Paolini who enjoyed writing fiction. He decided to | | | | than focus so much time and energy on creating |
| self publish his fantasy book and sell it on his own. | | | | book proposals, reviewing writer guidelines, |
| Two years later, Paolini received a contract and | | | | working with editors, and keeping track of |
| was signed to write two sequels. | | | | manuscript submissions, writers can spend their |
| 5) What Color is Your Parachute was written and | | | | time doing what they love the most-writing. While |
| self published by Richard Nelson Bolles more than | | | | it's not the right choice for everyone, there are |
| three decades ago. It spent 288 weeks on the | | | | some writers who really can benefit from making |
| New York Times bestseller list and is still incredibly | | | | the choice to self publish in today's market. |