Fiction publishing changing with the times

It used to be there was a basic formula for a fiction writer to become a professional. First, they'd write some quality short stories. Then they'd submit to magazines and hopefully make some sales, and with luck and experience eventually making it into a few of the better-known magazines. Then, once the writer's name was known a little by some of the editors in the fiction world, and it was known the writer could produce quality work, the writer got to typing on a novel.

Once that first novel was finished, the writer would begin shopping it around to editors, publishers and agents in hopes one of them would eventually bite. Meanwhile, the writer got to work on the second novel. With skill and luck, eventually, maybe after having finished writing several novels, someone in the professional publishing world would be interested enough to offer the writer a contract.

Once the contract was signed and the first novel published, the writer kept writing. Then he or she sold their second book. Then the third. And fourth. And so on.

That was how a career was built as a fiction writer.

That world barely exists nowadays. It's still there. Some writers do manage to make it through the years of writing and submitting it takes, and some do make a career as professional novelists.

But it's becoming more difficult to do so today because of changing technology and the changing world economy.

For one thing, there are fewer magazines that publish short stories. And with the weakened economy of late, fewer book publishers are buying novels from first-time novelists.

I can be done, it's just tougher than ever.

But are there other options? Yes, there are. That very same technology and economy I wrote of also provide writers with other options. Though the larger publishers might not be buying novels as much nowadays, there are plenty of smaller publishers out there, especially genre publishers, who are more than willing to take a chance with beginning novelists.

Another option is self-publishing. Once upon a time a potential author would have to shell out big money to one of the vanity presses to have them publish their book. But not any more. It can be quite inexpensive, even with no initial costs, to publish one's own ebook today. To discover which Web sites that help you to publish your ebooks at no beginning costs, check out Four Places Online to Publish Your Ebook for Free.