If you had been asked this question a few years back you would expect to be met with a sharp response. Any novelist or writer would have thought it futile to try and publish their own work. In this day and age of the Internet and online books, the reality is, there is more opportunity than ever before.

Some people have decided to invest in self-publishing packages to get their work published and keep the a greater share of the proceeds themselves without handing most over to publishers and advertisers. But this is not just about making money. In fact, many people who publish their own books do it out of the satisfaction that their book is out there in the public domain.

So, if you are starting to despair that no publisher will consider you for a book deal, think again. Maybe self-publishing is the way forward for you.

It can take years of patience before your work is finally published. However if you use innovative ideas like author Michael J. Gyulai you can help move things on a little quicker.

The author self published his work ‘Midnight in Rome’ in January 2008 but it didn’t’ feature on any large publishers radar. However Gyulai had other ideas. Using his knowledge of social media and web design skills he started a campaign which proved to generated a huge spike in sales. This meant that he got noticed and was offered a two year deal from a major publisher to reprint the work which was re-released in August.

Open publishing leader Lulu has just added a huge selection of 200,000 new eBook titles to its online content. Lulu has taken the step of introducing traditionally published content onto its site for the first time and hopes to break down the barriers of publishing. Their mission is to give readers opportunity to access to all types of content from a vast array of sources. Harish Abbott, senior vice president stated:

“It’s time for a new era in publishing, one that treats all content equally and gives all authors an equal shot at success,”

Access to literature and other forms of content from one source is Lulu’s ultimate goal and the addition of these 200,000 titles is a step in the right direction.

The Times online, the website version of the popular daily newspaper could be subscriber only early next year as Rupert Murdoch tries to claw back profits from lost revenue over the past few years.

The Times online is currently free to view but from June next year anyone who wants to read content on the site will have to pay a monthly or annual subscription fee. News International may even take the bold step of removing all its content from search engines like Google to try to win back readers and increase profits.

Plans for other titles like The Sun and The News of the World have yet to be finalised but whatever the outcome it will have to be a well calculated gamble to not alienate viewers and lose readers.

With many of today’s books now converted into digital format, the market has been flooded with different types of digital book readers. The Kindle, possibly the most high profile of these readers, is backed up by hundreds of thousands of books in digital format from the Kindle store. In fact, some new books are only available in Kindle format so can only be read in digital format by kindle, iPod touch or iPhone owners.

Now however, non-Kindle owners can rejoice. Amazon has announced the availability of a free application called Kindle for PC that now lets you read your digital Kindle downloads directly on your PC.

This is also great news for current Kindle owners who has amassed a collection of digital books and would like a different way to read them and also for non-Kindle owners who now have access to a huge library of digital books from the Kindle store.

Good news for small publishers and independent authors. Sony has developed a new partnership with Smashwords and Author Solutions to offer content through their brilliant eBook store.

Sony relaunched their publisher website recently and now gives publishers easy access to develop a relationship with Sony so their work can be made available on the eBook store. From first contact to getting your work published on the eBook store can take as little as ten days say Sony and with the addition of Smashwords and Authors Solution, more authors who are already with these providers can have access to Sony’s wealth of knowledge.

Sony is continuing with the standardisation of their eBook format to the EPUB format making their offerings compatible to different types of readers.

PDF giant Adobe systems and Barnes and Noble have agreed to standardise open EPUB and PDF eBook formats. The move will mean that owners of eBook devices with eReader software from Barnes and Noble will have access to digital content that was previously protected by Adobe systems technology.

The new content protection standard will also mean that users of Adobe Mobile Reader will be able to buy content from BN.com, the online website of Barnes and Noble.

“Consumers can feel confident that when they buy their digital content from BN.com, they can read it on more devices than any other bookstore. This collaboration with Adobe further delivers on our commitment to provide the digital content our customers want, anytime, anywhere and on whatever device they choose.”

Said William J. Lynch, president of Barnes and Noble.

In spite of the ongoing recession it is good news that the publishing arm of Lagardère has seen an increase in revenues for the first three quarters of 2009.

Publishing sales continued to grow and were up 8.3% on a reported basis. The growth in the US and UK was mainly due to True Compass by Edward Kennedy, Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan, Lies My Mother Never Told Me by Kaylie Jones and Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers and of course the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer.

Hopefully this trend will continue for Lagardère but with other divisions of the company reporting losses it promises to be a tough final quarter.

Pearson, the publisher for the Financial Times newspaper has just announced surprising profits and sales for the first three quarters of 2009. Despite difficult trading conditions, Pearson claim profits and sales of around one fifth more than the same period last year.

The Pearson group also owns the Penguin publishing company and both this and the FT Group are benefiting from Persons investments in new digital products and emerging markets.

Marjorie Scardino, Chief executive stated that:

“The group had weathered the tough economic climate with the help of cost-cutting, innovation and expansion into new markets”.

This can only be good news for both the FT and Penguin as most businesses have struggled of late due to the current economic crisis.

Writing, to most people, is relaxing, enjoyable and sometimes therapeutic. But when it comes to getting published, the tone can suddenly change. Emotions can shift to those of frustration, anger, misery and despair.
No one ever said that getting published was easy. In fact, some authors are living proof that it is not, with many of them taking 20 years to get their first book in print.

But the key is to stay inspired. Be prepared to write in any style if it means you get published. Also, accept that you will be marketed and don’t try to fight this. It will help in your mission to becoming a successful published author. And that’s what we’re all looking for isn’t it?