When I first started writing, I was successful at selling Internet Christian articles and stories. This was amazing because I wasn't very good at writing yet.... When I researched and took a good look at the "publishing game" I became very discouraged. It is completely in favor of the publisher. Until you have the stature of a Steven King, you are thrown crumbs of money in "advances" and dinged for expenses to the point that you will probably NOT make enough with your author percentage of the sales to earn more than that paltry advance.
Didn't sound very attractive to me. That thought and the possibilities of endless rejection slips spurred me to action. The action of self publishing! I was NEVER going to hand myself a rejection slip...
The publishing good news is that it is really pretty easily done. Master a few skills, and you are good to go.
The publishing bad news is that it is all on YOU. You get to do everything, from writing to editing to ebook cover creation....Then it all needs to be on an attractive website (yes, that is your work again), equipped with a good digital delivery system. All of this can be a steep learning curve. Having a mentor can help a lot! I was fortunate to have a good friend, Patricia Spork who is a writer and website creator herself. Thanks to her amazing good heart and willingness to assist me, I have come a long way in a short time.
I believe we are poised at the very beginning of a new renaissance in reading. The electronic formats and the various ereaders will bring this about. Just imagine the ability to hold a huge library of books in your hand!!! I am astounded and rather in awe of the possibilities this opens up to us as writers and as readers.
May the Lord Jesus bless you richly,
Sincerely,
Levada Pendry