Amanda Hocking proved that self-published authors really could make a veritable success online without a traditional publisher. Yes, she admits she tried the route of traditional publishing without any success and decided just to try her hand at self-publishing. She had no idea at the time that it would change her life the way it did. Not only that but eventually a traditional publisher did come knocking and she decided to sign with them.
So when new writers ask me if they self-publish whether it would hurt their chances of ever getting traditionally published I always refer them to the Amanda Hocking story. There are a few other self-published authors that started with self-publishing and went on to be approached by traditional publishers. One of the most notable self-published authors to do this was E.L. James when she first self-published "Fifty Shades of Grey", which later was picked up by Vintage Penguin Random House.
If you would have asked either one of these ladies if they ever thought they would have had the success in publishing their book through self-publishing, in the beginning, I am sure they could have said no. So now as I write this today many people have self-published at least one book, if not more. What was interesting for most people was that they now see publishing their book as a dream come true. Although, I have heard some authors say that some people who publish are just out for the money and don't really care about the quality they are presenting to possible readers. One item, in particular, is the writer who publishes using a ghostwriter. (See video below about this subject).
Now I'm here to tell you that ghostwriting has been going on even with traditional publishing and there is nothing that says you can't have someone else write your book. So this particular self-publishing industry exists and many authors using a ghostwriter this way are making a whole lot of money.
Some authors hate this and some have no problem with it. I personally wouldn't use a ghostwriter because being a published author is something I had wanted to be since I was in 3rd grade. Sharing my own stories are extremely important to me. I'm the kind of creative person that if I ever did contemplate using a ghostwriter that it probably wouldn't help me because I would end up re-writing what the ghostwriter wrote. (Creating a story of my own is my passion).
Have you published a book? Did you write it yourself? Do you have any problem with using a ghostwriter?
There are many reasons why today people are jumping on the bandwagon to self-publishing, and believe it or not, there has never been a better time to do just that. So whether you are writing a book yourself or using a ghostwriter the wave of self-publishing is still growing every day.
I found this podcast yesterday given by the owner of smashwords.com (Mark Coker) who says today has never been a better time to publish. I've been listening to this podcast and the free information he is giving to authors, as well as upcoming authors in this podcast is invaluable. If you would like to start listening to this see below for URL.
Whatever your reason or reasons might be for wanting to be a published author just know that as long as there are people who love to read, your book has the chance of being read by someone. So if you are still working on writing your first book, keep plugging away because readers are waiting.
In my next blog article, I am going to discuss how to avoid distractions when you are writing a book.
So stay tuned!
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