The publishing field has changed so much over the last decade. Why has this happened? Self-publishing has become very popular. When I started my first novel in November of 2000, the word was out that Bowker was getting approx 35,000 new books a year. This last year 2009, Bowker announced the number to be 764,448 new books. Remember, the number represent new books and not the ones that are in print from other years.

Self- publishing has changed the way big publishers looks at new manuscripts. It’s easier for them to pick up books from self-publisher than it is to take the risk of spending the money on getting the manuscript into print. I have published 4 books and I have 2 books in production. I have learned how the publishing industry works.

This is not the website dedicated to getting published…Keep reading, I do have one.

If you are getting bombarded with email on how easy it is to get published, you need to know that they aren’t telling you everything. Getting your manuscript into print is the easy part. It is the only part that they can make any money with.  What they aren’t telling is the real work comes in after you get your book into print.

I have people send me manuscript wanting me to publish them and they do not understand what a publisher wants. A publisher is more interested in the author than they are in the book. Let me give you an example. I have a friend who is a retired CIA agent. Yes, he really was an agent and he didn’t always sit behind a desk. He wrote a fictional book. Are you interested in his book? Of course, you are and you don’t even need to know what it is about.

How interested in my friend’s book would you be if they were just a housewife or a truck driver?  Most people would want to know a lot more about the story before they pick up the book. This is what publishers are looking for when you approach them with your manuscript. You can still do it. Most publisher want a story that creates a strong interest within a few sentences.

Star Wars wouldn’t be an easy sale if it came out as a book first. If you are like, I fall into an category where I don’t have an interesting background. But you do have a powerful story. I might have some ideas for you. I have a site that is dedicated to helping people find their way through the maze of the publishing field. Contact me and we can talk.