Self-publishing is not what it used to be. Not so long ago, even reputable self-publishing houses were considered "vanity presses" and an imprint from one of their companies could damage a book's reputation. Today, just about anybody with enough money to get a "doing-business-as" (DBA) license from city can b

Maybe a better way to put it is that the old business model has been replaced by a newer business model for those writers who seek it.

In the old model, writers sold their product to publishers, who assumed all of the risk of publishing. Old-fashioned publishing was never cheap. Publishers paid to print and distribute books, magazines, and newspapers. Besides collecting quarters for newspapers, publishers sold advertising space. It was a risky enterprise but some did well and a few even got rich.

That business model is still going strong. The trouble is that it does not pay writers very well. It really can't. The publisher lays out too much cash and takes on too much risk to pay writers what they perhaps ought to earn.

But the new model-and not that many writers have discovered it yet-involves writers stepping outside their comfort zones and becoming publishers of sorts. The term is content provider. This means they now write, but instead of selling the content to a publisher, they self-publish.

Self-publishing is not what it used to be. Not so long ago, even reputable self-publishing houses were considered "vanity presses" and an imprint from one of their companies could damage a book's reputation. Today, just about anybody with enough money to get a "doing-business-as" (DBA) license from city can be

In the old model, writers sold their product to publishers, who assumed all of the risk of publishing. Old-fashioned publishing was never cheap. Publishers paid to print and distribute books, magazines, and newspapers. Besides collecting quarters for newspapers, publishers sold advertising space. It was a risky enterprise but some did well and a few even got rich.

That business model is still going strong. The trouble is that it does not pay writers very well. It really can't. The publisher lays out too much cash and takes on too much risk to pay writers what they perhaps ought to earn.

But the new model-and not that many writers have discovered it yet-involves writers stepping outside their comfort zones and becoming publishers of sorts. The term is content provider. This means they now write, but instead of selling the content to a publisher, they self-publish.

Self-publishing is not what it used to be. Not so long ago, even reputable self-publishing houses were considered "vanity presses" and an imprint from one of their companies could damage a book's reputation. Today, just about anybody with enough money to get a "doing-business-as" (DBA) license from city can b

That business model is still going strong. The trouble is that it does not pay writers very well. It really can't. The publisher lays out too much cash and takes on too much risk to pay writers what they perhaps ought to earn.

But the new model-and not that many writers have discovered it yet-involves writers stepping outside their comfort zones and becoming publishers of sorts. The term is content provider. This means they now write, but instead of selling the content to a publisher, they self-publish.

Self-publishing is not what it used to be. Not so long ago, even reputable self-publishing houses were considered "vanity presses" and an imprint from one of their companies could damage a book's reputation. Today, just about anybody with enough money to get a "doing-business-as" (DBA) license from city can b

But the new model-and not that many writers have discovered it yet-involves writers stepping outside their comfort zones and becoming publishers of sorts. The term is content provider. This means they now write, but instead of selling the content to a publisher, they self-publish.

Self-publishing is not what it used to be. Not so long ago, even reputable self-publishing houses were considered "vanity presses" and an imprint from one of their companies could damage a book's reputation. Today, just about anybody with enough money to get a "doing-business-as" (DBA) license from city can b

Self-publishing is not what it used to be. Not so long ago, even reputable self-publishing houses were considered "vanity presses" and an imprint from one of their companies could damage a book's reputation. Today, just about anybody with enough money to get a "doing-business-as" (DBA) license from city can be a full-fledged publisher.

But more important than just setting up a business, writers can market their end products.

Want to write a how to book for growing roses? Instead of ink and paper, you can produce an online book (sometimes call an e-book) and sell it directly.

Online products like this are an interesting phenomenon. The more narrow and specific your topic the better. Growing roses in zone 9 (the extreme South and Gulf Coast) is an even better e-book title. Growing white climbing roses in zone 9 is better still.

The reason it's a good business is that production costs are very low and very specialized information can fetch a premium price online.

But what if you'd rather write a lot of short articles about a broad topic, say like a magazine writer? Great! Online magazines exist although they don't call themselves magazines. They're just websites and the articles are content. They often sell advertising or their own products to subsidize themselves. An example of such an online magazine is http://www.thePerfume-Reporter.com. It was started by a writer.

Writers are often puzzled by this turn of events. How do writers make money if they have to give away their writing? What's changed is the business model. Smart writers are no longer selling cont