As a writer, I am needy by definition and need ego gratification to help keep me motivated.  If you’re a writer, that probably applies to you as well.  It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about freelance writing, copy writing, web content authoring or your novel.  You want to see your hard work in print.

I am also a subscriber to Writer’s Digest.  I was perusing the latest issue when I began to take notice of the amount of advertisements of self-publishing companies.  The October 2008 issue has no less than 18 ads for these services.  That tells me that this is big business in the writing world.

You’re So Vain…

In the past, self publishing was partly done through what was known as a “vanity press”.  (It was important that if you were a real writer, you looked down your nose and said this with a certain amount of disdain.)  Self publishing was seen as something that no serious novelist would ever consider.  Using a vanity press was just for that very reason – vanity.

(CNN) — “Still Alice,” written by Lisa Genova, is a novel about a 50-year-old Harvard professor’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. It’s also a book, Genova was told, that nobody would want to read.

After spending 1½ years writing “Still Alice,” Genova spent just as much time trying to find a literary agent. “I never heard a response from most of the query letters I sent,” Genova said. “Four literary agents asked to see the book. One of them said she just didn’t think there was a general audience that would want to read about Alzheimer’s.”

When she was turned down by several traditional publishing houses, Genova decided to follow a different route: self-publishing via Web-based companies. When she informed one of the literary agents of her decision, his response was daunting.

“He said, ‘Don’t do that, you’ll kill your writing career before it starts,’ ” said Genova.

Living in San Francisco, almost everyone I meet is convinced they’ve got a brilliant novel or memoir buried inside, if only they had the opportunity to write and publish it. With the launch of a new startup called FastPencil, those wannabe authors (no offense — I’m one of them) may be running out of excuses.

The Campbell, Calif. company wants to provide a comprehensive solution for writing and publishing a book. The site is built around a social network of writers, editors, reviewers, and others; it offers a Guided Collaboration tool to help you find potential collaborators, chat with them, ask for feedback from others, and more. Other features include automatic chapter formatting and blog importing. Then, once the book is written, FastPencil can publish and distribute it for you, getting the book listed on Amazon, sold for the Kindle, and even stocked in brick-and-mortar bookstores.

Matador has become the first self-publishing services provider in the UK to employ a professional sales representation company to sell its self-published titles into bookshops across the country.

As of 1st July, the strongest titles published under the Matador self-publishing imprint are being repped countrywide by Star Book Sales, based in Exeter.

Troubador Publishing Ltd’s Managing Director Jeremy Thompson said: “This really is excellent news for us and our authors, and is an important step in our commitment to provide quality self-publishing services under our Matador imprint. We expect over 150 new titles to benefit each year from full sales representation by Star Books. The retail industry has always had sales reps, whatever sort of product is being sold, and for good reason. A sales rep knows the product, can sell one-to-one to a retailer, and has the logistical back-up to ensure orders arrive promptly. I don’t think the influence that a sales rep has on what a retailer buys for stock should be underestimated.

Ray Goss was told throughout his 40-plus years in radio that he should write a book. The longtime play-by-play announcer for Duquesne University basketball certainly accumulated enough stories about crazy road trips and his broadcast partners to fashion a narrative of his career.

Writing the book was relatively easy. Getting it published proved to be problematic.

When a friend — and Duquesne grad — who owns a small publishing house turned the book down, Goss realized his options were limited. Rather than let his work go to waste, Goss chose to self-publish, shelling out about $5,000 of his own money to print 1,000 copies of “Misadventures in Broadcasting.”

“I didn’t even know how to get an agent,” Goss says. “And if you think about it, who would be interested? Only people who have heard of me.”

As a literary agent, I receive hundreds of query letters every month—and reject about 99 percent of them. Many aspiring writers dream of getting a book published, but for most it’s a tough road to navigate, and today’s economy is making it even harder to get a deal from a traditional publisher. These factors—coupled with the increasingly affordable and accessible choices for self-publishing—are prompting many authors to get their book out there on their own.

Indeed, self-publishing can be successful. Several recent bestsellers started out self-published before landing a mainstream deal and hitting it big: Rich Dad, Poor Dad, The Celestine Prophecy, Eragon and The Shack among them. But almost always, behind each break-out success you’ll find a dedicated, highly motivated author with an extensive marketing plan that’s being implemented on a full-time basis. What you hear about less often are the thousands of disappointed authors who have gone the self-publishing route only to end up with hundreds of unsold books in their garages.