"The Best Time EVER to be a writer!"

One of the key messages that I brought home from Book Expo America in New York City this week was this: "Now is the best time ever to be a writer!"

Why? Because the publishing world is changing radically. In fact, the balance of power seems to have shifted to the author! In 2010, more titles were published by authors than by traditional publishers! There has also been a dramatic increase in e-book sales with both Amazon and Google reporting that e-books are now selling more copies than printed books!

Guess I'm slow to move into the world of e-books, although I now offer a Kindle version of my novel, Waters of the Dancing Sky. Still, I love exploring physical bookstores, holding a book in my hands. But I do plan to break down and buy myself a Kindle soon.

With so many books and authors out there, how will anyone ever find your book? The good news is that there are unprecedented marketing opportunities unfolding on line everyday. Think e-books, websites, blogs, Amazon.com's Author Pages, social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn,and Twitter. (Yes, I need to learn to "tweet" or so they tell me!)

There are also many good non-traditional or alternative publishers out there to guide you along your writer's journey. Check them out carefully since there still are some of the old "vanity presses" around which you may want to avoid...

Did you know that The Shack was initially self-published? So were Mark Twain, Henry David Thoreau, and a number of prolific authors.

Yes, today is a great time to be a writer! If you've always dreamed of becoming an author, you can do it!

Stay tuned and please stay in touch!

Janet Kay
http://www.watersofthedancingsky.com