It was going on 25 years ago now that I first began my writing-for-publication journey, and if there's one thing that I'm tremendously grateful for NOW that absolutely wasn't even a possibility BACK THEN, it's the following:
Back in the day, when the Traditional Publishing Path was the ONLY PATH, the writing-for-publication journey looked something like this:
You wrote the book of your heart (or at least the first three chapters)
You wrote what is called a Query Letter to submit to dozens of agents who decided which manuscripts would get to go to the editors who worked for the Big Six NYC Publishers (ex. Harper Collins, Time Warner, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Putnam, etc)
You waited forever, Forever, and then FOREVER, hoping and praying you'd get a response (fact was ... most of the time you didn't)
If you did get a response, it was usually a crappy photocopy of some type of standard REJECTION LETTER that often was "so standard" it wasn't even about your book, it was simply put in the wrong envelope and mailed to the wrong "thanks but no thanks" writer
If you had thousands and I mean thousands of dollars, you could go to a conference and pitch to said agents and editors in person (usually with a timer ticking ... literally ... as if you were speed-dating to find someone who was interested in you and your story).
If you were lucky enough to get an agent/editor, then you went thru HELL, and I mean HELL, for months (18 long ass months for me), writing and re-writing, and then re-writing your story, based on your editor and their marketing departments ideas as to what would sell by the time they got you into one of their publishing slots about 18 months to 2 years down the road.
Agents and Editors were the GATEKEEPERS of the publishing industry, who would literally make you or break you. And when I say, "break you", that's what they did - they decided whether or not you and your book were GOOD ENOUGH to continue the publishing journey from manuscript to published book.
Most of the time though, it had nothing to do with whether or not readers around the world would love your story, it was a "business decision" based on last quarter's income from any given genre or type of story or whether or not said agent or publisher had "too many of those kinds of books" or really, honestly, just "didn't like that kind of story or character".
So, as you can imagine, many writers - including me - faced their dreams of writing and publishing a book being crushed, stomped on, and spit out long before a reader ever had the chance of even seeing it, let alone having an opportunity to read it and enjoy it.
When Self-Publishing became "a thing" around 2010 (thanks to the invention of the Amazon Kindle), writers around the world rejoiced! Finally, every writer had the opportunity to write and publish the books of their hearts! NO MORE GATEKEEPERS!!!
As long as you could figure out the process (and that wasn't easy, but it was doable with a lot of work and a steep learning curve), you could WRITE AND PUBLISH THE BOOKS OF YOUR HEART.
And that's what I did for myself 39 times ... that's how many books I wrote and published and had the honor of selling over 1.4 million copies around the globe, after hitting bestseller lists including Amazon's Top 10 and Movers and Shakers and Top 100 Lists, Barnes & Noble #1, Kobo and Apple Top 5, and many more.
Then, about 5 years ago, I created LetLoveGlow Author Services to share my love of the writing-for-publication journey with writers/authors who were ready to write and publish the books of their hearts but needed help with the process of self-publishing ... from ebook and paperback cover design, to editing, to formatting and uploading to Amazon, author and book branding, and promotional strategies and materials.
It's my honor to help you write and publish the books of your heart.
Say it with me:
NO MORE GATEKEEPERS!!!
Cheers Hugs and Love --- DD