Autobiographies are the sorts of work that are typically well-received when they are written by the rich and/or famous. We love to know the behind-the-scenes scoop on what happens in celebrities’ lives – or the back story behind our most famous icons. And when they write their story themselves – from their own perspective instead of their history being detailed and commented on from another source, as it is in a biography – we get to really feel close to the person in a way that answers most, if not all, of our burning questions.
Now we ourselves may think that we have quite the story to tell and that may be true. But the other truism is that people are not likely going to want to read our story if we are not someone who they know or can relate to in some way. An autobiography may be compelling, utterly well written, and completely current but if it’s written by a writer that no one has heard of it is unlikely that book publishers will take notice.
This doesn’t completely count out the option of writing and even publishing an autobiography; especially when there are self publishing methods that writers can pursue. With all of the many online options available to us today, self publishing companies have taken advantage of the opportunity to get in front of their target audience and give them the convenience of uploading and printing their book from the comfort of their own home – showing them essentially how to publish a book on their own.
For those who have penned what they believe to be a profound autobiography but are discouraged by the opportunities available to get in front of traditional book publishers, self publishing sites open up a whole new world of possibilities; and can put writers who are just entering the world of book publishing in the driver’s seat of their career.
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My daughter has always known that she wants to be a writer; something that her 7th grade English teacher has only validated by really taking her under her wing and giving her advice about submitting some of her stories to contests they hold for her age group. Under her tutelage my daughter has really blossomed and she continues to write with fervor on a daily basis. She has so many pieces that she has written that she decided that she really wanted to put all of her work together so that she would have a memento for when she is older and she could look back at her younger work and even share it with her own children one day.
At first she was just going to print everything off her own computer and assemble it that way but with some online research I presented her with another option in self publishing. I told her that she didn’t need to actually work with book publishers in order to see her work in book form; instead she could choose self publishing and put all of her work together under one cover; something truly special for a keepsake.
It was actually a very simple process that we did together. Through a self publishing site that we found – one that had received high praise in the industry – we uploaded all of her work in one document. Then, I helped my daughter choose the size of the book that she wanted, the type of binding, and even helped her upload a piece of her own artwork that she wanted to use as book cover art. We ordered extra copies for members of our family and then we approved for printing.
Just a week later we had my daughter’s first book in our hands and it was even better than either of us expected. This professional and beautiful piece will not only serve as a keepsake but will hopefully continue to remind my daughter of what she wants to do with her life and encourage her to push hard toward her dream.
Popularity: 91% [?]
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Writers come in all shapes and sizes and at all stages of life; we write poetry, non-fiction, fiction, and all host of other genres. We make our living writing and we make our living at something else and write to make our own hearts sing. No matter what kind of writer we are, however, if we have a true love for the craft, we can never stop doing what makes us happy. So it may come to pass that we want to publish some of our work – as a compilation piece that includes many of the things that we have written over the years; and unable or unwilling to seek the approval of book publishers we may instead choose self publishing.
I reached this place three months ago when I wanted to see my blog on paper. I had found an online outlet for my musings and considered it my haven – my home away from home where I could write about those things that were most important to me and what was going on in my life. I loved doing it and it was well received by those who read it and followed it. I felt like a real writer. And eventually I wanted to really capture this experience in a real book that I could have for posterity.
It was actually a really cathartic experience. I compiled all of my blogs in one central location and then uploaded them to a self publishing website that I found online – one that came highly recommended by past customers. I was able to specify how I wanted my finished book to look and order the number of copies that I wanted.
In the end I had the memento that I wanted – all of my blogs in one place with a cover that was my own creation. Now I’m really a writer!
Popularity: 100% [?]
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To say someone is busy in this day and age is to say they are breathing; in other words, who isn’t busy? We are running to and from work, activities, school, and the millions of other things that we do during the course of a week; not to mention the fact that we are plugged in at all hours of the day with our many communication devices at the ready. If we are not doing at least five things simultaneously then we aren’t doing anything at all.
Internet businesses have responded by providing us with more conveniences by the day; ways in which we can plug in and have access to anything and everything we could ever want or need. We could be paying our bills while writing an email, all while our personalized holiday cards are being printed; it’s absolutely mind blowing when you consider all that is available to us.
Even book publishing has changed in the face of the Internet craze. Anyone interested in having their book published – be it their personal memoirs, a biography, a book of poetry, or a work of fiction – can simply logon to a reputable self publishing website and have the job taken care of within days. How easy is that?
So for us busy writers who are working 40+ hours a week at our day jobs (and who does that anymore? Fifty is the new forty!), are running the kids to their many activities, working out, cleaning the house, making/rescheduling/cancelling appointments, and generally living a life, book publishing is still a possibility.
Forget the book publishers in your head; the intimidating, judgmental sort who never let you do what you want. With self publishing you can have your cake, frost it, eat, and still work out afterwards – all for just a few minutes time online spent uploading your work and personalizing the printing process.
Popularity: 22% [?]
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As life seems to get harder and harder, the computer has made things easier and easier to accomplish. Perhaps this level of convenience has allowed us to take on many more projects which have contributed to our level of daily chaos. I know that my cell phone – which can essentially do everything but dress me in the morning – has been my favorite convenience purchase but it also means that I am available and accessible 24 hours a day; I guess there is a trade off for technological advancements.
But I’ll tell you what; I will take all the added work and accessibility if it means having all that I have been able to have at my fingertips. Take self publishing for example. I put together a collection of short stories last year – a compilation of my writings from over the last decade. It was something that I had wanted to do for awhile but I really didn’t know where to turn; learning how to publish a book before the Internet was nearly impossible to imagine.
But with the birth of the Internet and its constant presence in our life, we have had access to many services that we would have once had only a vague idea of where to go to find. Through a self publishing website I was able to upload all of my stories and put together the book that had been in my head for years. Honestly, with all the hype I had created in my head I had expected the whole process to be a lot more difficult than it was. Instead, it was really one of the easiest things that I have done; certainly a whole lot easier than writing the stories.
I never considered traditional book publishers; it wasn’t my goal to market my book on a national scale – I just wanted to do something for myself. And with self publishing I was able to publish with ease, exactly the way I wanted.
Popularity: 20% [?]
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Here we are in the heart of winter and for many people around the country that has meant record low temperatures and more than their share of snow. Typically about this time – with the holidays behind us – we begin to long for the milder temperatures of spring; a time during which we are able to plug back into our lives and sort of get moving again. For many people, in fact, this is the time of year in which they are able to accomplish the most, as they feel reenergized and ready to put plans in place to reach their goals and get organized.
Those who are in the market to publish a book may be planning to hit the rounds of traditional book publishing houses in the coming months. After all, having written a book that one deems worthy of publishing is accomplishment enough; but to actually be able to witness it in print is like nothing we could ever imagine.
Then there are others who wish to navigate away from the traditional world of book publishing – choosing instead to go the way of self publishing where they can work online to upload their book and make choices that will be revealed in the final printing; choices such as binding, size, and quantity.
This is not an either/or thing; there are some who may choose to do self publishing in the beginning stages and still shop their book to traditional book publishers who may – if they like it and want to support it – reprint another run to their own specifications. And there are those who may be perfectly content with self publishing and marketing their book on their own if that is what they choose to do.
But in preparation for the coming spring months, why not check out self publishing online? There you will find the most affordable and organized methods of book publishing ready and waiting for you to realize your dream.
Popularity: 28% [?]
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Economy is the scale by which we measure nearly everything that we do in this country in terms of our business decisions. Companies do not sign on to do anything unless it is within their budgetary means and promises at least a healthy chance of a solid return on investment; anything else would be too risky, especially in this economy when finances are stretched to the max already.
Just as businesses are concerned with finances, so are individual consumers who must weigh the costs of particular products and services against what they will receive for the investment made. Just as in business, consumer spending must yield particular results in order for it to be worthwhile and cost effective.
For authors who are looking into the process of self publishing, the costs associated with such an endeavor may put them off in theory; it is often a widely held belief that self publishing is in line with what it costs large book publishers to print their run of books, except in this case the author himself is absorbing all the cost.
This is not the case and, in fact, the options for self publishing online are often affordable as well as high quality. How can you find both?
Pricing when it comes to self publishing is typically determined according to how many pages you are printing – and more specifically how many of those pages are color and how many are black and white, the physical size of the book that you choose (based on paper size), what kind of binding you choose for the book, if there is any cover design required, if you desire a proof of the book before the final printing, if you want a barcode and ISBN number included on the book (for sales purposes), and, of course, how many copies of the book you want printed. There can be additional fees for rush charges and other extras but the basics of pricing are included in this list and are actually quite affordable depending on the quantities of your run.
The best way to find those self publishing companies that offer both affordable pricing and high quality work (and don’t forget stellar customer service) is to do some online research; nothing speaks louder in terms of reputation than satisfied (or unsatisfied) customers!
Popularity: 21% [?]
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I always had it in my head that I was going to write a book one day but my dream never went beyond this point. It’s not as if I looked at this writing as a career choice; I had a career in a completely different field and only looked at writing as something that I loved to do – something that I was driven to do in one way or another throughout my life. But two years ago I did write a book – one that chronicled the story of my grandparents coming to this country; I never meant the first book that I wrote to be so personal but it was the story that I wound up wanting to tell at the time and so I did.
When it was complete I had the strangest feeling of unease. I expected to have this accomplished, cathartic feeling that I had set forth this goal and completed it with such vigor; my heart and soul were on those pages. Instead, while I felt so very proud of the story itself, it just didn’t feel like enough to let it sit in a drawer and end with only my feelings of self-satisfaction. I wanted it published. This didn’t mean, however, that I was up for the challenge of going the traditional route of book publishing. I wanted instead to publish the book myself and I turned to Internet sources to help me accomplish this next goal in my journey.
What I found was a great online resource – a self publishing company – that essentially taught me how to publish a book on my own terms. After uploading my finished work I made the many choices that would ordinarily be left in the hands of traditional book publishers.
When I held that book – printed and bound with a beautiful cover – I finally felt like I could rest. My story was told and I was able to print it the way I wanted it through self publishing.
Popularity: 22% [?]
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I have a friend who has been a writer since we were old enough to say the word writer. It is what he has always wanted to do and talent – along with a significant helping of self-fulfilling prophecy, no doubt – propelled him into his career as a published author of over a dozen books of fiction. Looking from the outside in it surely looks as though he just decided one day to do what he does for a living, sat down and wrote until he was done, picked up the phone and called all the area book publishers at which time he said, “I’ve finished! When do you want to pick it up?”
This, of course, is not the way that it went; and while he never had any doubt about what he wanted to do and never strayed from his objective of making it his career he still hit roadblocks just like everyone else. In fact, his first job out of school was at a newspaper where he was relegated to writing small blurbs of ad copy, which of course did not thrill him in the slightest; and during this time he began his first book. It took him two years to write it and when he was done he was absolutely clueless about what to do next. He had some ins in the book publishing world considering his job but most book publishers were not inclined to talk to him considering that he had not been able to as of yet acquire a literary agent.
After about a year of the drama of trying to find a literary agent who would represent an unpublished author or a book publisher that would publish an unrepresented author my friend finally turned to self publishing methods through which he was able to print his first book. The book got so much buzz that before long one of the larger book publishers offered to buy the rights and reprint it at much larger quantities. The rest is history.
Popularity: 20% [?]
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In the last post we talked about the often impossible position of loving to do something particular but not being able to rely on it for a steady enough income flow to support ourselves and our families. This is an age old dilemma and one that many of us wrestle with throughout our lifetime. Writers, while they would hope to be able to make enough money to sustain themselves through the practice of their craft, often find themselves in a position of having to get a “day job” to support their living expenses while carrying on their writing in a more part time fashion. While this is certainly not ideal, this situation does provide a writer with both the ability to pay their bills and feed their creative hunger.
Part time writing should not be pushed aside as being anything less significant than the work produced by full time writers however. Many a great work has been written piece meal, in between the many other activities and responsibilities that take place in the course of a writer’s day. And writing part time does not in any way minimize the desire of a writer to see their work in print. Unfortunately, however, traditional book publishing is often a tough nut to crack and something that may dissuade writers from even pursuing the dream in the first place.
Self publishing, however, allows writers part time or full time to essentially control their own destiny. Work that is completed on a writer’s own schedule can be published on their schedule as well. Self publishing sites offer options for choosing every conceivable component of a finished book product and allow writers to see their dream come to fruition.
And who knows? Maybe this dalliance into self publishing will be a first step towards a full time, income-producing writing career!
Popularity: 20% [?]
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