Publishing a book is something like running a marathon with no water stops and no one cheering you on. The road is long, fraught with pitfalls and traps. This is not to say you are foolish to attempt literary immortality. Quite the contrary. There is always room in the marketplace for another good book.

Your book reveals your voice. Your book is filled with your own blood, sweat and tears. Your questions are many:

• How can you find a publisher, or publish it yourself without losing control, input, or influence on how your work is presented to the world?
• What are your responsibilities?
• How much will or can it cost?
• Who will you trust?
• What is printing?
• What is publishing?
• Will you want a publicist?
• Will you go for high tech digital printing or old-world offset printing? What is the difference?
• What about designers? Editors? Proofreaders?
• What about websites and internet marketing?
• Will your book ever show up on the shelves in bookstores?
• How will you get it there?

In these pages, you will find answers from publishers who appreciate their authors. From authors who followed their dream. From experts in publicity, the Internet, writing, editing and graphic design.