Along comes the Internet and the monsters out of the cage. You now have the ability to self publish your work. You can throw up a Blog, hook up to an RSS feed and syndicate your writing.

You can form online communities with other writers. Readers can give immediate feedback on your work. You can promote your work in the virtual book stores such as Amazon.

The Internet has become a writer's paradise. With the advent of the Internet, you no longer are limited as a writer,. With a little research you can become a writer/publisher. Think of the possibilities. Every word you write can travel the globe in the blink of an eye.

*Why would you want to be a publisher?

You can make money before your book is even written.

Before the Internet, writers had to find ways to support themselves while working on their novels or stories. Now if you've got a book that will take any length of time to complete, you can still make money by joining affiliate programs for books by other authors.

*You can start an online newsletter.

What an advantage you have over writers of the past. With your newsletter, your readers get to know you and your work. You have a waiting audience for the day your book is released.

* You can start your own Blog.

You can plug your Blog into an RSS feed and your work can be accessed on the entire network.

* You can start your own affiliate program.

Sites such as Clickbank take the hassle out of having an affiliate program. They process the orders and pay commissions to your affiliates. It is a turnkey system for under $50. Your affiliates are an army of salesmen ready to promote your work around the globe. They can reach more markets than you could on your own. It's leverage in action.

* You can build a theme oriented site drawing readers and writers from around the world. It is like having your own Disneyland for writers.

* You can set up your own autoresponder course geared to your market. Educating and selling on autopilot.

* You can create free ebooks. Take a few of your chapters and create the book as a preview. You're giving readers enough information to decide whether they want to buy your book.

You can also add links to your website, Blog and other books in the free book. .

* You can write for the online newsletters in your target market.

* You can allow webmasters to host your articles on their site.

Imagine thousands of websites promoting your work.Think it can't happen. Think again.

Without even realizing it was happening, my articles are published on 4000 websites at any given time. Most of those articles are there for the duration.

Imagine what you could accomplish if you put some effort into self promotion.

I've just scratched the surface of the possibilities. The difference between being a writer or a writer/publisher is just a shift in mindset. If you're willing to get out of your comfort zone, the sky's the limit.

A cartoon illustrates the mindset of a winner. There's a little boy throwing the football with his father. His father looks at him and says, ?Son, with a little practice, you can be making the big money they're paying professional football players.?

The little boy smiles and looks at his father and says, ?Dad, I don't want to be a football player. I want to be the man who can afford to pay all those salaries.? From the mouth of babes.

It's in your hands. Do you want to stay in your comfort zone and limit your possibilities, or do you want to expand your thinking and build a publishing empire? In the immortal words of Shakespeare,

?Why, then the world's mine oyster, Which I with sword will open.? Is the world your oyster? If not maybe it's time you expanded your thinking.