Self - Publishing or Traditional Publishing? Which Way Do We Go?

[Shannon Evans]

Why do mainstream publishing companies maintain such a tight strangle hold on what is printed and promoted as literary fiction and non-fiction in our country?
Opportunities for traditional get smaller and smaller. Agents and publishers are not likely to pick up a new unproven author. They certainly do not want to risk the few publishing dollars they have available on an unknown entity. How can an author stand out, get published, and successfully launch their book under these conditions?
Building a book based on what their audience wants is one way for authors to find the niche for their message and their book. Why let a publisher or an agent tell you what the reader wants? Go straight to the source and discover what people really want to read. Get people talking about what they are excited about and you will find others with the same passion for topics and ideas worthy of your time and theirs.

Shannon Evans
www.mywritingmentor.com
[e-mail]

[Diane Eble]

I couldn't agree with you more, Shannon! In fact, I just posted on my Your Book Publishing Coach blog a conversation I had recently with a mainstream publishing acquisition editor about the importance of platform.

I am finishing up a Special Report of the results of a survey I did, asking people to choose the title of a mini-course I want to offer. It was fascinating and enlightening how much you can learn from simply surveying your list, even if it's small. Authors and publishers almost never test their titles, something I teach people to do in my Choosing Your Bestselling Title course (which I'm about to teach again). People can get the Special Report (when it's ready) if they're signed up at http://www.wordstoprofit.com.