Hundreds of thousands of unpublished authors today have manuscripts waiting in a pile at a publishing house somewhere to be noticed.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.
There isn't a sure ticket to being published quickly if one takes the conventional route.
Submission of manuscripts to publishing companies is mostly trial and error, involving a long and tearful journey of rejections and refusals.
Unless an author owns the company itself or has friends in high places, then he can't expect special treatment.
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.
Self-Publication 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.
Electronic Books 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.
Blogging Sites There are a lot of opportunities on the web for writers who want to earn money from the work that they do.
Some sites pay for literary contributions, and share the revenue raised either per view or per purchase of the written work to the author.
Many writers who submit to sites that pay per click usually divide their novels into several parts in increase traffic, thereby increasing revenue.
Personal Websites Books can be published at an author's personal domain.
He can either allow free reading of his work, or charge minimum fees for full downloads.
Income opportunities also come with companies that affiliate with website owners to place ads on their pages and share a portion of the revenue whenever readers click on ad links.
There is a variety of ways to broadcast literary works aside from print media.
The option to publish a well-written in electronic form does not make it any less of a book.
It is how a piece is received by its readers that determines its marketability.