Thoughts on the Publishing Industry, My Novel and Other Stuff

This post is taken from my website at http://johnraustin.yolasite.com/ :

6/9/09: Although I've had the query letter and book proposal for my nonfiction novel written forever, I have not sent any out due to the upheaval in the publishing industry and the economic downturn.
I have been researching self-publishing as perhaps a maturing industry, coming into it's own as a result of new technology, to get my novel published and keep more of the money in my own pocket. I have been reporting on this a little in previous posts. This throws us headlong into the necessity of then having to market our own books...but, hell, we had to do that as first-time authors with the traditional publishers anyway!

I will send out queries, however, it's just a dream to be published by a traditional publishing house.

Good, reputable Literary agents used to be able to get you better deals, I'm not sure anymore. Some spend so much time on blogs that I don't see how they have any time to properly agent your work...and some have just gotten a little too big for their britches...So, BEWARE of agents that have found new-found fame and followers on their own blogs!!! Could be they are positioning for new jobs in the present industry upheaval.