Bill Ruesch thinks not.

Today’s publishing reality is that approximately 4% of manuscripts submitted to publishers ever become books. If you have written a book you need to face the truth. The odds of getting your book published through traditional methods are slim to none.

Recently a self-publishing author of my acquaintance inked a deal with a major publishing company for some very large bucks, maybe the largest in history for a new author. How did he do it? I’ll tell you.

The March/April issue of Writer's Digest contains an excellent series of articles under the featured header "Everything You Need to Know About Self-Publishing." Everyone's writing books these days, so the world of self-publishing has suddenly become a busier and more interesting place.

Writer's Digest explores the pros and cons of self-publishing, as well as advice on using professional editing and design services to give your book a marketing edge.

Two Peas Publishing was profiled in the Lifestyles section of the Columbia, Tenn. Daily Herald recently. We were on Page 5C of the Sunday, March 15, 2009 issue. Unfortunately, the article is not on the newspaper's website. You can see a scan of it on Two Peas' Facebook page.

Two Peas is also mentioned in the April issue of Her Nashville magazine. Check us out on the "Her Favorites" page.

I would like to announce the formation of Two Peas Publishing, a new self-publishing venture started by my wife and I. Two Peas' main focus is on talented unknowns who may need a little "spit and polish" to get their work up to market quality.

Visit Two Peas Publishing online to get started.

It's been ten years since I last submitted a paper-and-envelope style manuscript to any publisher of a fiction magazine. Building a technological career and writing columns and articles for newspapers kind of stole away my desire to sit down in front of the glow of a word processor and imagine different worlds, mainly because I was too busy trying to build my real one.

But in 2007, a story idea popped into my head while I was running on my treadmill, and I could not ignore it.

The 2008 Southern Festival of Books is scheduled for Oct. 10-12 at War Memorial Plaza in Nashville, Tenn.

Details are available at the Tennessee Humanities website, as is this year's schedule.

An A-level In Harry Potter -

Harry Potter has taken his place alongside such greats of English literature as Shakespeare's Hamlet and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and is required reading for A-level English students. via Book trade news from Book2book

There was a time, when I was much younger, that I fancied I would like to become the “next Stephen King.” In other words, I wanted to be a rich and famous novelist who made huge advances for his work and had a legion of fandom waiting with bated breath for his next word.

As I stepped into adulthood I realized how unrealistic that dream truly is, because, honestly, no one could ever be Stephen King but Stephen King.

One of the most important steps in publishing is feedback, whether it's from an editor or another trusted “expert” type source, which means it's also important for an author to be able to graciously accept constructive criticism.

Sometimes that's really difficult.

It's natural for a writer to develop an emotional attachment to a creative work, and it's hard to listen to anyone criticize your baby.

Still, in the end, the result is a better story. And that's why I'm happy I have an honest person reading my own projects.

Upon reading a private blog on another service I maintain, a friend of mine once accused me of being a prolific writer, someone who writes/posts in large volume.

How I wish it were true.

Frankly, there are times when I feel the same about working on a writing project as I do about getting up at 5:30 a.m. to run on the treadmill: it’s a heckuva lot easier to just go back to bed.