So now what do you do? You are not going to get an acceptance from the New York houses. You are also not going to spend any money on getting published, because that would tremendously cheapen the dream that you had back when you started to write your book. Let's face it, isn't it much more rewarding to be able to tell your friends that you were actually paid to be published? That some publisher out there actually read, judged, and accepted your book?

Of course it is, we all know that it is. There are 56,000 publishers in the U.S. Somewhere, someone would want to take a chance on you, right? A publisher who wants your book, not your money. If it's not one of those five mega powerhouses that account for 80 percent of all book sales (Bertelsmann (Random House, etc.), Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, Time Warner, Disney and Viacom/CBS), or even one of the top 20 publishers who together account for 93 percent of all book sales, somewhere, someplace, there must be a publisher who is willing to let your book take a shot at the remaining 7 percent. Seven percent of a $26 billion market is still close to $2 billion. Couldn't you have at least a few bucks from that piece of the pie?

The answer is, "yes, you can." All those 56,000 publishers combined are publishing 145,000 new titles per year, and there is room there for your book as well. Once again, stay clear from the vanity publishers, unless you are totally, hopelessly desperate, or unless you have written a flawed book that you want to see in print no matter what. We are not discussing the untalented here. What we are talking about is seriously written books by serious and talented people. Folks whose works are not any better or worse than the majority of what you find in today's bookstores, and who by sheer lack of luck have not caught the eye of the New York elite.

There is a variety of options for you. First of all, check out one of those publishers listings. Your local library carries them. Focus on finding very small publishers only. Their listing will tell you if your book fits their niche. Remember, to the bookstore it makes no difference whatsoever if your publisher is large or small. As long as they can find your book in their computer system, which is fed by industry sources, they don't care if your publisher hails from New York or Topeka, Kansas. Get one of those small houses interested.

Another option, used by a growing number of authors, is to go one step up and aim at one of the 350 midsize publishers. Most of those will prove to be impenetrable, but some you will actually find open for business. A good place to compare is www.publishedauthors.net where thousands of authors are showcased. Last time we checked, their most favorite midsize publisher with an open-door policy for new quality talent was PublishAmerica. You can find their website here.