By Roslyn Ryan
Editor

Call it a sign of the times: when Daniel Shearin began writing his recently-published novel, No Good Deed, he wasn’t toiling away at a typewriter like authors of old. He wasn’t propped in front of a computer, or even sitting at a desk. Instead, Shearin tapped out the first lines of his book on his phone.

What may be more noteworthy than his book’s hand-held beginning, however, was Shearin’s somewhat unlikely path to becoming a published author.

A self-described daydreamer, Shearin says he initially shrugged off the idea when it began to take shape in his mind. He wasn’t the author type, he says, pointing out that the papers he wrote while attending Powhatan High School, and then John Tyler Community College, were typically pretty succinct—nothing to suggest a budding author behind the words.

Adding to his self-doubt was his idea of just who a “typical writer” is.

“People with real pedigrees write books,” he remembers thinking. “Not some kid who didn’t finish community college.”

Shearin says he spent three weeks telling himself that the plot points floating around in his head would never amount to anything more. But then, when he started to lose sleep over them, he started to think maybe, just maybe…

“I finally said to myself ‘There is something good here,’” says Shearin, and began to write a rough sketch. He would wrote on his phone during lunch breaks at the car dealership where he worked, and then flesh out the story further on his laptop at night.

He didn’t tell anyone he was working on a book, fearing nothing would ever come of the project. “I didn’t want to be that person who says they’re going to do something or write something and then never finishes it,” he explained.

A few months went by. Chapter by chapter, the book grew, and with it Shearin’s belief in the possibility that he could see the project through.

“It became one of those tests… ‘Can I do this?’,” he remembers.

A year and a half after he tentatively tapped the first few lines on his phone, after countless revisions and many long nights in front of computer, he had.

* * *

The fact that Daniel Shearin can now autograph copies of his very own novel (see box, front page) is a testament to both his writing ability and his persistence. It is also an example the ongoing shift in the publishing world from the traditional model—where authors, usually represented by agents, work with established publishing houses to get their work in front of readers—to a system in which authors publish their work themselves.

The self-publishing model, made possible by firms such as Create Space and Author House, has gained popularity in recent years as a means for unpublished authors to circumvent the time-consuming process of traditional publishing and its somewhat discouraging odds of getting a book to print.

In 2008, more books were self-published than were published by traditional presses.

In fact, according to a Publishers Weekly, a publishing industry web site, 76 percent of all books published in 2009 were self-published.

When Brad Luxford recently finished his first novel, Green Dawg, he wanted to prove to himself he could see his project through.

“I didn’t really go into it with any dreams of grandeur,” he says. And though he says he was happy with the finished product – and has finished a rough draft of the sequel – Luxford cautions other first-time authors to make sure they do their research before choosing a publisher to work with. They must also bear in mind, he says, that they will need to do plenty of legwork in terms of marketing and promotion if they ever hope to see their investment pay off.

There are other challenges as well: while self-publishing has soared in popularity over the years, the initial cost may be tough to swallow for some (Shearin paid approximately $2,000; Luxford says his total payout was $3,100). Editing services can also vary widely in terms of quality, and writers should be prepared to check behind even the professional proofreaders.

Despite the obstacles, both Luxford and Shearin say they are glad they took the route they did.

Shearin says he’s already gotten plenty out of his investment, including what he considers his newfound calling.

He’s planning a sequel to No Good Deed, and even started to envision a full-time career as an author someday.

“If I get up in the morning and my only obligation to the world is to write,” says Shearin, a broad smile stretching across his face, “I’ll die a happy man.”