| Though self-publishing online has been a viable | | | | Facebook. Make samples of your work available |
| model for aspiring authors for at least the last 10 | | | | as broadly as you possibly can. Create something |
| years, self published authors have been | | | | that you can give away be it a short story, |
| second-class citizens in the publishing world and | | | | novella, or chapter sample. Traditional publishing |
| are still somewhat looked down on by traditional | | | | deals have always been few and far between and |
| publishers (for example, the NY Times will not | | | | difficult to land, but nowadays they are also |
| review a self-published book under any | | | | becoming stingier and stingier as publishers are |
| circumstances). With the emergence of e-reader | | | | becoming increasingly risk-averse in this dynamic |
| devices such as the iPad, Kindle, Nook, Sony | | | | environment with new eReaders and new eBook |
| Reader, etc. and the gentle (or not so gentle) | | | | stores arriving monthly. The more you do now to |
| unraveling of the publishing industry, this is all | | | | market yourself, the more likely that you will get |
| about to change. | | | | a traditional deal, the more favorable it will be for |
| As these trends begin to play out, self-published | | | | you, and the more likely you will be to have |
| authors will have direct access to larger and larger | | | | success. If that traditional deal never comes, you |
| audiences and more and more receptive | | | | will be very, very happy that you laid the |
| audiences. As more and more self-published | | | | foundation for a solid author brand and developed |
| authors see success over time, they will certainly | | | | a readership and name for yourself. Your odds of |
| look with either pity or bewilderment upon their | | | | successfully self publishing will have increased |
| 'published' brethren who will be saddled with their | | | | exponentially. |
| agent's fees, paltry advances, miserably small | | | | If you are a non-fiction writer, the tipping point is |
| royalties, and tied helplessly to the anchor of a | | | | upon us or is very, very soon to be. You should |
| traditional publisher who is becoming less and less | | | | be very seriously considering self-publishing over |
| relevant and less and less effective in marketing | | | | pursuing a traditional publishing deal. You should be |
| their book. | | | | doing everything that fiction writers should be |
| What to do? The self-publishing model, while on | | | | doing. The marketing tasks that are required to |
| the rise, is certainly no cure-all or quick-fix. In fact, | | | | be successful as a non-fiction writer are easy and |
| it is hard work. And it is work that does not tend | | | | cheap enough to buy on the open market. Many |
| to come naturally to most authors -- it really | | | | of these tasks are far more effective when |
| comes down to marketing. Marketing yourself can | | | | performed by the author rather than by a |
| be daunting to many authors, but the rewards | | | | publisher, anyway (such as blogging and |
| are well worth it, and the same trends that are | | | | participating in social media). |
| slowly displacing traditional publishing are making it | | | | It is a very, very exciting time to be launching |
| easier and cheaper to market yourself effectively | | | | into self-publishing. As e-books and the |
| online. | | | | self-publishing model grow and displace traditional |
| At this point, if you are a fiction writer, you may | | | | models, many of the old barriers will lower and |
| still be holding out for a traditional publishing deal. | | | | prejudices will go away (and even reverse!). If |
| Even if you are, you need to be aggressively | | | | you write a good book and most importantly |
| marketing yourself in the meantime. You'd better | | | | market it well over the next couple years, you'll |
| have a good blog or website. You need to be | | | | be very, vary glad you did. |
| active in social media such as Twitter and | | | | |