The Wondrous World of Amazon

Amazon is made for Amateur writers.

Not only is it one of the top sites for consumerism in the world, it is also one of the most accessible sites, boasting over 1.2 billion dollars in sales every year.

Along with this are the sales of their books--printed, electronic, and now audio-- Amazon is known as the largest bookstore in the world.

The creation of the kindle, their electronic reader device, opened up the doors for authors to transfer their manuscripts into a mobi format, which is both accessible to Mac and PC users.

Amazon didn't stop there. They also created a way for anyone and everyone to publish a book for the kindle.

This new technology not only will publish a book into a kindle format, but authors don't have to pay a fee to do it and they are entitled to royalties, which range from 35% to 75%, depending on basic or select.  Amazon has given amateur writers the door that they needed-leaving it wide open.

However, there are also some key points to remember for those that plan to go the self-publishing route.

• Publishing on Amazon does not publish to shelves
• The way that e-books become popular is through comments, lending, and purchases.
• Amazon is the largest bookstore in the world
• There are options to publish your book in paper format (for a price)
• There is not a length to your book remaining on its list

Self-publishing, aside from mentioned above, is also based solely on the author's effort to publicize, advertise, and to keep providing more books. If an amateur writer has a book series, this would be the place to think about publishing. More series sell on Amazon Kindle than do single novels, due to the increased popularity.

Despite the flaws of self-publishing, Amazon has become the vigilante against the traditional publishing methods, giving all a means to an end. They also don't keep writers from sending their e-book to other distributors, such as Barnes and Noble, Walmart, and I tunes.

So fear not those that write amateurishly! If you build up a following, a community, or just somehow manage to get liked a lot through kindle, you might graduate from amateur writer to professional writer in no time.

So on that note, I think we've covered a good basis to get one situated in the writing community, how to use various amateur writing sites, and how to get involved in the self-publishing aspect if that's the route one wants to take.

I've discovered a lot myself! I've learned how websites like Reddit and Tumblr break down, and the importance facts to remember when deciding which site to use to reach a demographic audience.

I hope that this information will be helpful to you also, and that no matter what, no matte the struggle, the lack of viewership, the frustration- you will keep writing.

That is the most important component of all. I look forward to meeting you all in the writing sphere, in one place or another.