Well, its been quite a week. After wrestling with the whole self publishing thing all during December, I finally decided to pursue the traditional publishing route.  That means writing book proposal, looking for a literary agent and then a publisher.  And that is still my plan.  I realize that to be taken seriously in the academic world, you just have to subject yourself to the process.  The goal is to get the book out there and publishers do have access to all the distribution channels.

However, I realized that that was going to take at least a year or more.  And so why not do both?  Why not get the book printed, so at least I can have some copies to use in my own ministry.  How hard can it be?

And while, the self publishing companies (there are many of them out there) charge thousands of dollars to help you self publish, one company (there may be others), Lulu does it for free.  They make their money (20%) when people buy your books on their site.   So I decided to try it out.

I had a clean manuscript, so all I had to do was follow their publishing wizzard. I had to format the word file according to their specifications for a 6x9 paperback.  Then I converted it to a pdf.  I designed my own cover using pages on my Mac and presto, I was published.

I ordered a box of books to have on hand (sight unseen) and they were shipped Friday and are due to arrive Monday.  So, I started the week  with a manuscript and finished it with a published book and a box of copies on the way.  Now that was easy.

I will let you know Monday, what the quality of the books is like.  But, what a sense of accomplishment!

So, for all you writers out there, this is your time.  If I can do it, so can you.  

Somehow, I think the publishing industry is in for a shake up.