Why Steemit is an Amazing Platform for New Authors to Self Publish

I joined steemit a few months ago back in July, at first I really wasn't sure what I was doing let alone what to write or how it would be received.

I had been messing around with an idea to write a story for a few years, but is was only a few months before joining steemit I had started to write down some notes and ideas - but at this stage I had no clear picture, of what the story was going to be about.

Finally I decided to write something, but at this stage I was unsure of what steemit was and if I should risk writing my BIG theorised novel on here.

So I compromised and decided to use the fantasy world I had already started to build, and set it sometime in the future from my main story.

I got started and I received a $13+ payout for my first ever self published piece of fiction and I was sold, never before had I heard of an unpublished author receiving any money for the first draft of a story.

I have to point out I am not writing this story to make money I have been thinking about it for years and now, I need to write it and the books that follow.

But as a mum of two severely disabled kids every cent counts and if I can somehow earn some extra funds, to help make ends meet by doing something that I love - why wouldn't I keep it up?

There are so many reasons why I have grown to love steemit and have chosen it as the platform to release my story, so here is my list about why steemit is a truly unique and amazing opportunity for new authors.

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The Financial Benefits:

One thing that I have to say first is you shouldn't come on steemit with the idea that you will get rich quick, I am not trying to suggest this in any way.

What I am trying to say is, how many unpublished authors ever receive a cent of funding to support them in completing a book?

I haven't researched the numbers but one can assume from the limited number of new authors signed and published these days, that very few if any of them have or do receive funding for writing the story.

It seems after you have managed to beat the odds and write the story then, you need to find an agent, editor, publisher and convince them to sign you.

Then if you're lucky you might get some funds directed towards sales and marketing (to cover their investment in printing and making your book)- and all of this is still before you're likely to see any money for all the work you did writing it.

Then you need to get your book accepted in bookstores then if your book actually manages to sell, you might eventually see a fraction of what each copy sells for in a store - because you now have to share all those profits with your agent, editor, publisher and the marketing team that got you noticed in the first place.

Your other option is to self publish but even here most who plan to self publish, never put any of their story out into the world before it's a finished polished masterpiece and most importantly complete - and then hope it gets noticed and you can finally make some money from all your hard work.

steemit has made a third and far more appealing option for all authors, they have made it so if you write a post and it receives enough votes you will receive a financial reward.

These rewards vary greatly and for some posts you may not earn anything or just mere cents, but the important thing to realise here is with the other two options for writing your story there's very little chance of you receiving any funds - and cents add up.

Steemit has even introduced voting guilds with high valued votes, that are dedicated to regularly finding and rewarding quality original content.

Having even a small reward is better than none, and your getting paid to do what you love - and it all adds up in the end!

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Your Work is Protected by the Blockchain:

One of the MAJOR benefits of writing on steemit is that by submitting here, you instantly protect your work in a couple of different ways.

• Simply by posting your work (and not deleting it or removing it yourself) your work is saved across a massive network of servers - this is a better backup than most writers have access to.
• The blockchain also provides you with a way to prove WHEN you posted something and that it was indeed YOU who posted it, this could be invaluable evidence if you found someone had plagiarized your work.

Most websites people use to self publish don't offer the protection of a blockchain, not to mention you are often relying on a single or small number of servers for your work to be stored on - and quite often smaller sites with no income stream shut due to lack of funds, with little to no warning.

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You can Interact with your Readers:

Steemit allows you to interact with your readers, while you write your story. I am publishing my first draft on here and I reserve the right to change things, when I return to edit the story as a whole.

In truth there may be many things I change when I look back at the finished story, being able to discuss the content with the readers provides you as a writer with a unique opportunity.

You can now hear from your actual audience on what they liked and what they didn't, if they didn't like it did they still eventually understand why it needed to occur.

Hearing from your readers early on, allows you a rare glimpse into how your work may be perceived on a larger scale if it were to become successful - allowing you a chance to change anything that might not have been received, the way you intended it to be.

This also allows you to start building a loyal following for your story, today there are huge online communities that spend countless hours analysing stories, movies and tv - by putting your work out there now, you give people a chance to really be there from the beginning.

There is a demand for quality content so why wait to get yours out there, being on an active site where people interact can help you start to build a platform to present your work to the world - and not just the local bookstore, or disappearing in the blur of amazon and other online bookstores.

There is nothing stopping you from posting your work on other sites as well, steemit provides you with a place to safely save your work - and provides you an easy way to share your work with other online communities like twitter etc.

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I have been active on steemit now for almost 6 months, in that time I have written and posted my story on here.

I have even almost finished a smaller book about the world I have created, in this time I have had many conversations with different people who have read my work.

I have received hundreds of votes on single posts and have earned over $50 for some of my stories posts, but as I said before I have also had posts that earned nothing at all.

The fact remains steemit not only protects your work in multiple ways, it allows you to get paid to do and you have a unique opportunity to interact with your readers and start to develop a fanbase.

These are the main reasons why I will stay here on steemit and why I will continue to recommend steemit to all other new authors I come across.

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All images are either created by myself or available in the public domain and are linked to my steemimg gallery with all source information

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