Editor Peggy Tierney says she receives thousands of manuscripts per year, reads perhaps fifty, and publishes only one or two. With publishers consolidating and purchasing fewer books each year, advances shrinking, and legacy contracts becoming more restrictive than ever – and with breakout self-publishing successes like Hugh Howey, Andy Weir, and Amanda Hawking making headlines – self publishing is no longer a marginalized zone for writers not talented enough to get a “real contract.” It’s a practical approach to to making real money through writing and reaching actual readers that’s so much more fun than sending endless queries into the void.