Hundreds of thousands of unpublished authors today have manuscripts waiting in a pile at a publishing house somewhere to be noticed. Some of them did, but couldn’t get through the next pile; others never will. Out of all the potential books out there, maybe two or three can make it to fame and fortune in the next few years. In light of recent developments in technology and book publishing, however, there are easier and quicker ways to becoming a published author. The digital shift has made publishing more flexible and accessible to authors all around the world. Books can be sold in a variety of forms, contrary to the single traditional way of distribution through offset printing. Publishing options and marketing opportunities for writers have widened considerably through the years.

Basically, when a writer finally gets a deal at a commercial publishing house, the company buys his manuscript, takes care of editing, artwork, cover designs, printing, advertising, and everything else. As for the sales, royalties are given to the writer for every book sold. However the process of penetrating publishers is too long-winded so that an author who wants to “get my book published” before the next millennium may opt to do all the above tasks himself. In order to produce a self-published book, the writer invests just enough funds for editing, printing, and distribution of his work, over which he has complete, unbounded control. He gets the full profit for the sale of his book, and continues to reserve all rights.

Literature does not necessarily have to come in paperbacks these days. Publication, sale, and distribution of electronic books have grown more popular as a consequence to the growing developments of today’s virtual economy. A number of software are available, which can convert text documents to electronic books with chapters, illustrations, and page numbers. Several websites also cover advertising and distribution at reasonable costs. Although electronic versions may not give the author the feel of having a “real” book, they can be as marketable and promising as actual printouts.