Open Book, by KoS (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsI’ve heard it said that bringing a book into the world is a bit like giving birth—there’s a long period of gestation followed by a surprising amount of pushing and shouting just to get the thing into readers hands. In the best of all possible situations, you have very good birth attendants. Mine is Brooke Warner, who showed up during a difficult transition to guide The Shark’s Paintbrush into publication.

As she notes in What’s Your Book?, the publishing world is currently undergoing a sea change. There’s traditional publishing, where the publisher shoulders much of the burden for printing and distributing the book—but also takes a larger share of the profits. With self-publishing, the author keeps more money—but finances the book’s publication up front. The latest model, hybrid publishing, allows publishers and authors to work in a more balanced partnership, with each shouldering some of the costs of publication—and likewise sharing the benefits.

After parting from a traditional publisher over editorial differences, I was fortunate enough to meet Brooke, who guided me through the many options and helped connect me to White Cloud Press. Now, I don’t want to gloss over the fact that the publishing industry’s seismic shifts affect authors. But some of these changes—like eBooks—are creating interesting opportunities. Despite the chaos, it’s an exciting and innovative time to be publishing a book–and I encourage any writers reading this to keep at it! There are more ways than ever to get your books in front of readers.