Angela Nicole Parker

It's every indie publisher's dream come true, finding fame and fortune on your own terms. But as exciting as Amanda's story is, we all need to calm down. Amanda is like one of those oil barons who stuck her drill in the ground and found black gold while others just managed to pick up dirt. In other words, she is the exception, not the norm.

When I first read the story my jaw dropped. I have always fantasized about walking into a book store and seeing my books on the shelves and have fought self-publishing, trying to no avail to go the mainstream route fueled by the thought that, "if your stuff was really any good a publishing house would buy it! " I was slow to warm up to self-publishing and it's benefits but there is no denying that with the slow death of book stores, ebook are the future.

 What I really think is important to take from Amanda's story is that writers write and find a way to share their stories. There are no more excuses for why you can't get your stuff out there. Sure, not every book is going to be a success, hell some won't even be as good as others, but what is important is that if you have that thing inside you, that fire that compels you to sit at the computer and tell the story that plays out in your head that you need to tell it and share it with others. If you keep writing some story will connect with people. You just have to keep at it. But it won't be easy. The fact that Amanda sold her new book series to St. Martin Press shows that even the most successful of e-book publishers feel overwhelmed by it. But she did it and changed her life and helped change the publishing industry as a whole. Now it's our turn.