I am a writer, and yes I have a novel which has been published. Unfortunately, in the profession of writing, the competition is high and very few writers will become famous literati. This fact is nothing short of frusturating, as I'm sure other writers are well aware of.
The hardest part about being a writer is having to deal with the rejection that comes along with it. Most, if not all famous writers have what's called a "literary agent." Literary agents are the people that take a writer's manuscript and pass it out to various publishing companies with the hope that it will someday become a book available in all bookstores, nationwide. I have received more rejection letters than I can count from literary agents. I used to have a folder full of them, but threw it away.
Once a book goes to print, that dosen't mean it will end up on the shelf. There is still a lot of work to be done to get a new author noticed, and depending on how the book was published means a lot. The spots on the bookstore shelves are usually reserved for books which have been published through big-name publishers. Self-published and "print-on-demand" books will hardly ever see the inside of a bookstore. Although not impossible, it is rare. Books published by the author him/herself and "print-on-demand" publishers are good resume builders, but won't bring an author fame or millions.
It took me four years to write my first novel, and another two to get it published. That's six years! I ended up working with a "print-on-demand" publisher, which wasn't a dream come true for me, but it sure was a good start. I'm hoping that my second book will be more attractive to literary agents and bigger publishers, especially now that I have one out in print. Novel writing is no easy task, and not everyone can do it. I have found various resources that have helped me along the way when it comes to organizing a novel in progress. I know that my second book won't take four years to write!! The following link has helped me greatly.
http://saturnufo.easynovel.hop.clickbank.net/
