My goal is to be an ally to authors on their own self-publishing journey. I'm one of those people who is energized by the fact that anyone can publish a book. I've done it, and I want to help anyone else who wants to do it make their dream happen. The growth of online and print publishing tools means that it's more possible now than ever.

But it's still not easy. In the traditional model, the challenge is getting past the "gatekeeper." That means getting an agent to represent your book, then sticking with it through the years it takes to get your book accepted and produced by a major publisher. With self-publishing, there is no gatekeeper, but there is a whole set of new challenges.

A self-publishing author needs to navigate the editing, proofreading, formatting, distribution and marketing of their book, all of which were handled by the publisher in the traditional model.

I intend to examine these new and different challenges and offer tips and tricks about how to make it happen. I'll offer insight into how I've done it for my books as well as stories and examples of what the authors I work with are doing. At the same time, I'll take a closer look at how new online tools can benefit any self-publisher and talk a lot about how the whole process comes together.