From Romance Writer to Published Author, What's Your Holy Grail?

When I first became a writer, all I wanted to do was be published. Of course, that many years back, the only publishers were of the New York variety. To get in with one of those major publishers was the ultimate goal if you were a writer. Sadly, you usually needed to have an agent before any of those big publishers would think to deal with you.

Times have changed with the rise of small presses and e-publishing. These smaller publishing houses have opened up the door to many first time authors and brought new and exciting voices to the romance reading community.

With these authors has come an enthusiasm for unconventional romance genres such as steam-punk, shifters and dystopian. Then there is the rise of the paranormal genre where we've fallen in love with demons, not to mention sexy angels that we never knew could be so naughty. 

Lastly, we've seen the securing of a place in book publishing history for the indie publisher. Thanks to modern technology, we all have the opportunity to publish our book and see it distributed around the world. These one ridiculed "self-publishers" are now on the cutting edge of new genres and as their rise to legitimacy gives readers a glimpse at their own possible futures as writers, if they wish to embark on the journey.

The key to a successful book has always been a good story, wonderful characters, and top-notch editing. I mention editing because nothing turns a reader off faster than misspellings, typo, and bad grammar.

This is where the big publishers and smaller presses can stay in business; by maintaining great editors that ensure high standards that don't leave room for sloppy, mass-generated books.

So is a writer's dream still to just be published? Writer's, is there one publishing house that you'd really like to have a book with? What's your Holy Grail of publishing?

Perhaps your dream is like mine…to hit that NYT Bestseller list, someday.

Write on!

NOTICE: Guest Author, Paty Jager, will be here on Thursday, November 8^th and she's bringing a Giveaway for one lucky commenter. Don't miss her post.