The past couple of years have dragged all of us, including authors, into a new, fast-changing universe. As a storyteller and a working musician, I fell into hard times economically when the bookings at the schools, libraries, and festivals I depended on suddenly vanished. For authors, however, our dire circumstances actually gave us unexpected opportunities.

More people are reading than ever, and more books, both print and digital, are being purchased.  Since 2014, authors are making more money than ever before, and more money is made from self-publishing than from traditional publishers. If you are an author, especially if you are a new, emerging author, you should consider signing on with BookLocker.

First of all, publishing with the Big Five publishing companies is nearly impossible for a first-time author to sign on with. Being published by any of them will require you to have an agent. Meeting, finding, and convincing an agent to take you on is difficult and time consuming. The Big Five are reluctant to consider any manuscript unless they are sure it will become a best seller very quickly. Also, there are usually no ARC (author review copies), few (if any) big advances and no assurance of your book becoming famous or even known to the general public.

Furthermore, you won’t see your book in print for two to three years, and the publisher will control all rights and may place limitations on what you can and cannot do in the contract. And the new authors that those traditional publishers do accept through agents will still have the responsibility of and payment for much of the editing, advertising, and marketing for their books. From sales the author will make maybe 4% per book sale. Oh yes, agents who obtained the deal for the author must also be paid 10-20%. For the Big Five, market fiction (novels of famous authors), their backlists of popular books from the past (like Gone with the Wind, Jaws, etc.),  nonfiction, and political books account for their biggest successes.

It is possible, however, for today’s authors to be successful and even make money. Authors must face the fact that the publishing industry has changed forever. The future of publishing will be with smaller, independent, university, regional publishers, self-publishing companies, or POD (print-on-demand) presses and working in the digital world through social media and the INCREASING sale of ebooks.

This new reality is why BookLocker should be the publisher new authors should consider:

1. BookLocker is a POD (print-on-demand) publisher, less expensive and offering more services than traditional companies. This means you don’t have to spend a massive amount of money to have books to sell and BookLocker can get the books to you rather quickly without the very common delay caused when supply chains are disrupted. BookLocker is affordable. Too many new authors have been robbed by vanity presses who have charged naïve authors thousands of dollars. BookLocker’s fees are so low that some authors are skeptical. However,  you should not be.
2. If you are an author who wants to “think big” and reach as many people as possible in as many ways as possible, as quickly as possible, and to make as much money as possible, BookLocker will provide authors with a quality print book that will be marketed on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BooksAMillion, Walmart.com, Target.com, and many more. BookLocker will also create a great digital edition that BookLocker will listfor you online, including Amazon, which outsells all bookstores combined! In spite of what you may have heard, ebook sales are increasing, not decreasing and their prices are also increasing as the various means/devices to save and read them have increased. Profits from ebooks have also  increased. Oh, here’s one important fact to remember: POD books and ebooks will NEVER go out of print!
3. An author with BookLocker will be his or her own boss, with total control and all rights with their book(s), and authors are allowed to leave BookLocker without penalty should a great opportunity presents itself. Authors own the copyright and can also arrange movie rights and create their own audiobooks.
4. BookLocker can provide affordable but excellent book cover services if desired. This is one matter that authors should invest in. A poorly designed cover will NOT sell books.
5. BookLocker can also recommend affordable editors, should the author or publisher think editing is needed. A wonderful Microsoft Word template is provided so the author can get the book ready for publication.
6. BookLocker offers authors sizeable discounts on book orders. Each book has its own webpage, set up to take orders from customers quickly and safely. Authors communicate with the publisher through their own author page which records all communication and has a record of all sales. Authors do not need to guess as to what has sold and what their royalty payment will be.
7. Using BookLocker , you can have a quality book in print in about a month. With a traditional publisher, after you sign the contract, you will have a wait of a year or more before you see the book. BookLocker provides an informative newsletter, and a short story contest, and authors have access to numerous articles regarding the craft and business of writing.

I want to encourage you to finish and edit your book, learn the craft, learn about the book business and find your book a publisher home.  The investment you make with BookLocker will be so worth the work and the small financial investment. When you have your book in your hands, and you learn how to promote and market your book, you will gain valuable battle experience that will speed up success with your next book. Whether you use BookLocker as your publisher or not, I wish you great writing success.

Rickey Pittman is a storyteller, a songwriter, and author of fifteen published books. You can email him at: rickeyp@bayou.com