Self-publishing, coupled with Print On Demand (POD) services is quickly becoming an industry standard for getting published, it allows you, the author complete control over publishing your own book.

With many large publishing companies you have to submit your manuscript and wait for a response, this can be very time consuming and it can also be very difficult finding the appropriate publisher. You then face the probability of it not being accepted, this is not to say the manuscript is bad, it simply means you don't have the backing to get your book noticed.

Self publishing in a sense can serve as a great launching pad. Many notable authors have published their own books including John Grisham, L. Ron Hubbard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Henry David Thoreau, Edgar Allan Poe, and Rudyard Kipling.