Now VS. Then: Writing and Publishing

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156KB, 750x1193px

What is it like starting off as a book author now, versus seven years ago, or even in the early 2000s? Fashionable book genres of the moment change, at times, but regarding the actual nature of being a published author, how has the work towards that changed? Now, it seems that it's pretty simple to get an e-book uploaded somewhere, but before that became an item, how likely or unlikely was getting a book published if one was just starting off? How about the circumstances of university education VS. none, how beneficial would that be for this field? The picture is somewhat related, as we all have to get our start, somehow.