"Becoming a book publisher combines 2 dreams I have into one. Becoming an author and starting my own business. I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Book publishing allows me to put my creative side and business side to use. But boy it hasn't been easy. I've been working on this dream off and on since 2008. So it has been a long time coming. I am still no where near where I want to be. But that should change soon. I expect 2015 to be the foundation for my publishing company Sky Blue Dragon Publishing to flourish into many great things.

In 2008, when I made the commitment to become a publisher of my own work, I did quite a bit of studying the industry to see what it will take to become successful in it. One of the most common quotes I read was "The publishing industry is dying". I never bought that. It was hard to when books like Harry Potter and Twilight were turning into multi-billion dollar franchises. But in those years since, the publishing industry has definitely evolved.

As traditional publishing and digital publishing find ways to co-exist, audio books have also become more popular and are another valuable revenue stream for the industry. Wattpad, the Youtube of writing, and websites like it have given writers a platform to share their work. Some of those writers have even been able to secure lucrative deals based off of the strength of the fanbase that they have built off of their Wattpad and social media networks.

It seems like it has become simultaneously harder and easier to be a professional author these days. There are so many outlets and tools at cost effective prices that anybody can write and produce quality books and distribute them digitally and physically to a world wide audience. On the other hand, the market is so saturated that traditional publishing companies still reign supreme with their immense resources. For everyone else, it has become harder to get noticed in the sea of people trying to get noticed. That sea grows exponentially each day and now I'm diving in too.

Inspite of it all, people are finding success by staking out their niches and providing consistent content to their fans. That gives me motivation to strive forward and work towards becoming the next success story. It has been a humbling experience so far, but I relish the challenge.   

I want to grow  to become a major player in this industry and provide young people with iconic titles that they will remember well into their adulthood. I guess every writer dreams the same thing. I believe my determination and creativity will make it a reality, though. I'll guess we find out sooner or later."