For writers exploring how to publish a book, the publishing landscape has never been more open—or more overwhelming. Since Amazon revolutionized the industry with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) in 2007, the book publishing landscape has evolved at breakneck speed, and self-publishing has become one of the biggest forces shaping how authors produce and distribute books. In recent years, the number of independently published titles has skyrocketed: in 2023 alone, more than 2.6 million self-published books were released in the United States, while traditionally published titles numbered around 563,000 (Publishers Weekly)—a clear sign of how prolific independent authors have become.

Back in grad school—many moons ago (ha), one of my creative writing professors regularly shared his unpublished work with our class. When a student once asked if he worried about someone stealing his writing, he laughed and said, “Steal it, please. And if you can get anyone to pay for it, tell me how you did it.”

At the time, I didn’t fully understand what he meant. Years later, after my own work was published, I realized the truth behind his words: writing a book is only half the climb. Getting readers to actually buy it is like scaling Everest after you’ve already conquered K2. And if you want to build a loyal readership, you need your own authentic voice—something no one can fake or sustain if it’s stolen.