There was an interesting article on the BBC news website this week (Click Here to view) all about self-published authors. With the help of the internet and ebooks, writers are now able to publish their writings direct to readers and by-pass the traditional methods of publishing and distribution.

One example provided where the tables were turned was with one writer where their work was doing so well that the traditional book publishers were chasing them for deals rather than vice-versa and the difficult task of every new writer of trying to get the serious attention of any publisher (similar story for other areas like acting).

I personally like the last few lines when it talks about people now have the opportunity to “live out their ream” and publish, and the “lucky few” then getting paid for it. These two issues of the actual writing and then the money for it are separate entities, although when you get the writing truly right and the other will naturally come.

So in short – just write. Write about anything you can and ideally love, whether it is a novel and actual book, or blogging and social media contributions on the net. Quality ‘content’ will never go out of fashion; it will always be needed – something that is fresh, unique, and adds something to the reader.

It’s also applicable to everyone, whether teenagers and students wanting to fine-tune their writing skills, or the elderly simply using their writing skills in modern means of communication. Also business owners who are able to keep their website and online information fresh to directly help people, and in due course see benefits such as social-media favour and SEO progression.

The problem then comes with the money. Well infact, there isn’t really a problem, but we can easily make it problem. In short, quality content will always get recognised and rewarded at some stage – with a gentle nudge and direction from marketing it can simply help jog things along. But marketing written material that is poor-quality will eventually fail, even after any temporary ‘success’.

So maybe it needs simply channelling in the right area – through an amazon ebook, or an online blog or Facebook page. Or maybe it needs packaging in the right form and style to receive people's attention who are genuinely looking for this, even if they don’t realise it themselves. Or maybe just marketing yourself in order to write for a direct payment – there are many outsourced sites where people will pay for good writing and content, and even offering to do for local and related businesses which will eventually pay off and gain you invaluable experience.

So get that computer-keyboard burning rubber.

By Andrew Duncan