Do You Have a Book in You?

By Kim Foley MacKinnon

New Do-It-Yourself Options Make It Easier than Ever to Become a Published Author

At one time or another, almost everyone has said, “I could write a book about that,” or had a friend say, “You should write a book.” But publishing a book has long been an unattainable dream for many. Competition is tough to get anyone in a publishing company to even read a manuscript, let alone sign an unknown writer. Would-be writers have many war stories about the rejection letters they’ve received.

In recent years, though, there have been radical changes in the publishing world. Print-on-demand (POD) technology, where individual books can be printed and bound one at a time – printed only when an order is placed – has opened up a whole new avenue for writers. No overhead and no need for warehouses have allowed on-demand publishing companies to spring up and keep costs down. Many POD books are also available as electronic books (e-books).

The “do-it-yourself” trend has come to book publishing. So it has become much easier to self-publish that great American novel, or whatever else an aspiring author might like to see in print (or online).

In the past, when authors wanted to self-publish their own books, they had to shell out thousands of dollars, according to Angela Hoy, who owns Booklocker.com, an e-book and POD publishing company. At Bookerlocker.com, authors can see their book in print for as little at $217, with various add-ons, such as cover design, costing more.

People turn to self-publishing for various reasons, Hoy says. No. 1 is how difficult a field it is to break into.