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I'm a relatively new author and I decided to go the self-publishing, print-on-demand route because it takes forever to get published with a traditional publisher, and I thought I'd rather have more control over what happens with my novel. It can be pretty expensive depending on who you use, and I've tried two different POD publishers, iUniverse and Virtualbookworm. Self-publishing requires lots of patience and money, so this shouldn't be taken lightly, so I thought I'd write an article on my experiences so far.

My very first time, I used iUniverse, but, it was really expensive even for a basic package. I didn't get my novella into the Library of Congress, so I didn't get a Library Card Catalog Number (LCCN) because it was an add-on that I really couldn't afford, along with the marketing kit. They gave me bookmarks and a real basic press release template. I work in a library, so I scattered the bookmarks everywhere I could, but it didn't help any. I utilized as many social networking sites as possible, including author sites such as Goodreads, but my visibility was still really low. I even created my website, posted a few blogs about my novella, but very few people visited, so I tried traffic sites, which just increased traffic, but no one clicked on the links to the novella. After a while, I quit trying. At the time, I didn't think to use a press release site or offer giveaways for my novella.

This year, I finished a novel, so I went with Virtualbookworm. They offered more for much less and were easier to get into contact with. The package I bought included a LCCN, which got me into the Library of Congress, so it should be easier to get into libraries around the country. My novel is also supposed to be listed in Books in Print. This time, I used three press release sites, including paying for one that gave me greater visibility. That seemed to work, because I was contacted by a seller for the American Library Association, a major press release agency, and I found some more promotion websites that helped me get even more visibility and offered professional book reviews. So far, with this novel, my experiences are much more pleasant and I feel encouraged.

In general, if you're thinking of going the self-published route, take the time to do plenty of research and find out if you're budget can handle the amount of money you're probably going to spend. Find out if you're friends and networks will help you with word of mouth and posting their reviews on Amazon and maybe you too will end up being the next J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer.

The term "Paradigm Shift" was coined in the sixties by Thomas Kuhn. It is essentially a significant change in our fundamental view. As an example Kuhn sites the making of books. Gutenberg's invention of movable type made books readily available, easier to handle and cheap enough for commoners to acquire directly. As more and more people learned to read, these new devices started an information revolution in the 1400s.

Churches and Governments began to lose control over what people were allowed to know. As time went on those who could afford the presses and control the flow of information became people of great influence.

Today, thanks to computers, the internet and printing technologies, anyone can afford to have their words "prepared and issued for sale or distribution to the public" (Published).

I was actually able to prepare and publish my book in 6 different formats, including a 337 page paperback, for free. Of course I had to write the book, do a lot of research, learn to use some new software and have the book mentioned in the right circles to generate sufficient sales to offset my costs. But even if I hadn't sold a single e-book, my total investment would have been less than $1000. And if my readers hadn't insisted on a paperback, I could have e-published without investing a dime.

So if we can all afford to get published, can we all become persons of great influence?

This is where we have not yet seen the paradigm shift. Or at least, we have not yet discovered the single method or process that lets us control the flow of information.

There are millions of digitally published authors on the internet. There are hundreds of thousands of print published authors with books available at your online and local stores.

YouTube has millions of videos competing for our attention while PodCasters, shock-jocks and talking heads preach their gospels to us every minute of the day. And let us not forget the ubiquitous handhelds texting us those vitally important HBYs, DYKs and LOLs while we try to study, work, watch, eat and sleep.

The presses have not just been freed. They have been enhanced, tuned and digitized to provide us with a never ending flow of information from an ever increasing number of sources. And who controls this flow of information? YOU!

Every individual can now choose to pay attention to whatever is important to them.

This is a tremendous responsibility that has been thrust upon us. Just as our brethren from the 15th century no longer had their "beneficent" Church and Government making their decisions for them, so too are we losing the infallibility of our god-like Media Moguls and Celebrities controlling our ability to reason.

Your voice is now just as audible as all the others. Your TV station is now another channel to be surfed. Your words are readily made available to billions. So the question is no longer, "How do I get published?" The question is, "How do I get YOU, the person of greatest influence, to put me into your flow of information?"

With Facebook and Twitter being two of the fastest growing networks on the internet this can only mean that there are more social networks in development. However, when it comes to social networking you should not be worried about developing a copycat website, but you should be worried about how to market your business on these sites by using social media marketing.

Recently there was a study that showed that Twitter is now the most visited website for news updates over all traditional news venues. According to the same report Twitter now reaches more people via social media marketing and consumers' cell phones than the New York Times and The Post do. This means that by spending less than 5% of what you would pay for an advertisement in either of these papers, you can spread the word to a larger audience by using social media marketing.

Social media marketing is not only cost efficient, but it reaches people instantly since most people are now able to check updates on their social networks from their mobile phones. This means that if you are a local business who has contacts via a social networking website, you can update your page or send out a massive mailer that will land in your customer's hands possibly while they are already out on the go.

Even better, even if they check the message and disregard it items such as updates, blogs, and messages do not disappear as they stay in place until you take them down. Thus, by using social media marketing you create an advertisement that people will continue to view until you decide to change it or alter the content. Thus, you have the opportunity to create a lasting impression which can pay off instantly or later on which are both positive results all due to social media networking!

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