This article is by T.L. Bodine.
Self-publishing can certainly seem like the easier route to take when it comes to getting your words in front of readers. After all, there are no gate-keepers – no agents to court, no publishers to approach.
With the click of a button, your book can be released into the ether for anyone to come across. And if the traditional path to publication seems daunting, it can be comforting to think that going indie will be easy.
Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. There’s a big difference between publishing a book and actually getting people to read it, and many of the things readers are looking for are exactly the things agents and acquisition editors want as well. As it turns out, most of the key skills needed for landing an agent are very similar to those for hooking readers.
