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It’s written. It’s edited. It looks great. Now what?

It’s time for that behind-the-scenes tour at the sausage factory you’ve been avoiding. Long gone are the days when you could leave this mess to “the professionals”. We call it digital PUBLISHING for a reason. Time to unleash your baby to the wild. Hope you taught her to swim.

In the world of digital publishing, the term “publishing” has a simple meaning: getting your work in front of an audience. Very few people will find it buried on a shelf with thousands of other titles, but nobody will find it sitting on your hard drive.

But don’t fret. There exists nearly unlimited channels and platforms to take your digital books to the masses. Some you probably know. Many you probably don’t. And too many to write about here, because new marketplaces and ecosystems are launching almost every single day. Even the big publishers are coming around, tossing out their own ideas pools for you to splash around in.

Encouraged? You should be. It’s a great time to be a digitally published author. You know, just like everyone else. For many authors, all these new properties will just be one more place where their book is listed but never sells. That’s a sad truth, but it doesn’t have to be YOUR truth. With a little guidance, loads of understanding and a solid and well established plan, you can position yourself better than the rest.

And here’s the best news of all: you get to be creative again! Because there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to publishing. New marketplaces require new innovation. New risk-takers. And a new approach to finding success. You can learn much from those that came before, but there’s plenty of room on the bleeding edge. Welcome to digital publishing. It’s about to get interesting.

Publishing is the third phase of our Digital Publishing Lifecycle. We’re covering a different phase each day, and welcome your thoughts and input.