Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I know you are busy and most likely get asked for a good deal of advice. I currently finished my first novel and I have been contemplating going through a traditional literary agent or using Print on Demand (POD) publisher.

I was greatly impressed with your company for taking on the big guys for us little authors. I’ve read through most of your FAQs and reasons to and not to use POD publishing, and am coming down on the side of POD publishing. Additionally, I’ve found fantastic reviews of BookLocker. Before heading forward, is there anything else you think I should know about the system or any relevant informational sources I should be steered toward? I realize this is a very general question but any knowledge I can gain now should help me to avoid pitfalls in the future. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

I would never try to talk an author out of trying to land an agent and a traditional contract, especially for fiction, but I can tell you that the process can take years and you may never get that contract…or even an agent. If I were to write a novel (I probably won’t be able to until I retire because it’s very difficult to make a living writing fiction), I would do it all on my own rather than wait for something that may never happen. But, that’s just me. I’m impatient and can’t stand to see something lying there, gathering dust. Even if you did land an agent and a traditional contract, you would likely never earn more than your initial advance (if you get an advance at all).

That said, if you are willing to wait several months (or years), you should try to go the traditional route just to see what happens. Of course, you can self-publish while you wait. Several self-published BookLocker.com authors have landed traditional contracts after proving sales of their books through self-publishing. In fact, one author who moved from BookLocker to a very large traditional New York publisher a few years ago is back at BookLocker, with the same book. He got his rights back after becoming disenchanted with his traditional publisher.