There has always been, and continues to be, an innate human need to document thoughts and ideas and share those thoughts and ideas with other humans.
Sharing written information with others is publishing. Humans have effectively been publishing ever since the first time a cave man drew a rough drawing on his cave wall to share his personal interpretation of the day’s events with his tribe.
Today, the desire to publish is as strong as any other time in the history of mankind. It is estimated that over 500,000 new manuscripts are compiled each year. Thousands of poetry manuscripts, children’s book manuscripts, essays on contemporary society, how-to thesis, autobiographies, etc. are completed each day.
Anyone, no matter his or her’s socioeconomic status can author an original work. In most cases, when starting to develop a new work, authors are simply motivated by that basic human need to communicate a unique thought without regard for the ultimate distribution (or publishing) of the finished product.
Sure, thoughts of fame and wealth---and the mysterious path to achieve both-- sometimes enters the author’s thoughts, but the insistent need to simply transfer original thoughts from the brain to the paper is pressing for most authors.
When completed, many ask: What’s next?
Today’s authors have more answers to that question than ever before.