No matter what you write, you have plenty of options to publish your writing, so you don’t have to be limited by traditional publishing methods.
Publishing comes in many forms today, from books and magazines to websites, blogs, and social media.
Whether you’re a budding author, poet, short story writer, or online content creator, you have a lot of opportunities to share your work with the world. The best part is that most publishing options today are usually free and easy to use.
You can start a blog or website with just a few clicks, and many self-publishing platforms make it easy to publish your book in ebook and print formats.
How to publish your writing
You have a lot of choices and many different ways to publish writing, so let’s look at each one in detail.
All of the options in my list are free, except for publishing print books. But the costs are not that expensive if you want to take that route.
For the rest, though, all you need to do is invest your time.
Whatever you are writing, hopefully, you will find some of the choices below that will be right for you.
1. Online writing communities
For new writers, joining an online writing community is a great way to start your new writing and publishing journey.
Many of them will help you with tips, advice, and the support of fellow writers.
Okay, it’s not strictly publishing, but your work will be available online for people to read and critique.
Popular sites include the Young Writers Society, the Writers Chat Room, and the Internet Writing Workshop.
You can find a full list of communities on Writer’s Digest.
2. Publish your short stories
Another excellent option for new authors is to publish short stories online.
It’s a terrific way to get feedback on your writing and get a feel for what readers like about your writing.
Check out our listing of sites where you can publish your short stories quickly, easily, and for free.
3. Social media stories
Many social media platforms now offer you the possibility to publish stories.
It’s probably the easiest way to publish your writing online.
You probably know about Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories. But there’s also LinkedIn and Pinterest.
If you want to find more options, this article has a complete list of platforms that offer social media stories.
4. Social Publishing
If you are looking for a free way to publish your book or your writing, this option might be for you.
A lot of readers now like to use apps on a phone instead of visiting a website or using a Kindle.
Reading is changing, and social publishing is increasing in popularity, especially with younger people.
The following two platforms are ideal for new writers and authors.
So take a look and see if it’s a good option for you.
Wattpad
Wattpad says it is a storytelling platform with 90 million readers and writers.
That’s a lot of people, so it has to be one of the top platforms for publishing your writing.
Wattpad offers you a lot of options, so you are sure to find one or two that will fit your aspirations.
You can publish any genre of stories, such as an essay, romance, teen fiction, fantasy, or literary fiction.
With so many active users, it’s a great platform to start publishing your writing.
Tumblr
You can think of Tumblr as a cross between a social network and a blogging platform.
However, it has a large community of writers sharing their stories online.
One big advantage is that it is easy to set up an account, and you can start posting your stories in a flash.
You have no restrictions on your word count, genre, or even how often you post.
But like any social network, you should follow other users on Tumblr and interact a little to help you gain some traction.
If you are a new writer, Tumblr is one of the easiest ways to publish your writing online.
5. Start a new free blog
It’s so easy to start your own writing or author blog.
There are many free blog platforms that you can choose from to start blogging.
The best part is that you are in charge of what and when you publish.
You can publish chapters of your new novel or posts about your writing journey.
For a new blog, the best way is to share your latest posts on social media to attract readers.
It takes time to find regular readers. But a blog is always yours, so you are in control.
6. Publish your writing on popular blogs
If you don’t want to start your own blog, you can always try to find popular blogs that are looking for guest writers.
The advantage is that these sites usually get a lot of traffic and regular readers.
But you have to do your research and find sites that will accept the type of content you are writing.
For example, if you want to write and publish an article about family pet care, there is no point in asking a photography blog to publish your article.
7. Publish your articles online
There are probably more writers than there are authors.
Content writing is very popular, and for new writers, it can sometimes lead to a way to make a side income.
You have lots of options to publish articles on any topic.
There are many sites where you can publish your articles online quickly and easily.
8. Publish your poetry
This list wouldn’t be complete without giving some help to new poets.
Publishing poetry is usually for a niche readership. But that doesn’t mean it’s difficult to find readers for your poetry.
There are plenty of ways to publish your poetry online.
So, there’s nothing holding you back from finding readers for your new poems.
9. Self-publish an ebook
Self-publishing is booming in popularity.
The reason is simple. It’s so easy and free to publish an ebook.
The most popular choice is Amazon KDP, but you can also use Smashwords or Draft2Digital.
All you need is your manuscript file in docx format and a book cover image in jpeg or png.
Most word processors can save or export in docx, so you don’t need to use Microsoft Word. You can use any free word processor to write a book.
For your book cover, there are lots of choices of free book cover creators.
All the tools you need are at your fingertips, which makes self-publishing an ebook so easy.
But if you need some guidance, you can read how to publish with Amazon KDP.
10. Self-publish a printed book
If you want the satisfaction of publishing a real book in either paperback or hardcover, you can.
There’s nothing more fulfilling for a new author than to hold a book in your hands with your name on the cover.
You don’t need a publisher. But you will need to spend a bit more time preparing your book than you would for an ebook.
Your book’s interior and book cover need to be in pdf format. You can find detailed instructions on the publishing service you select.
While publishing a print book is free, you will have to pay for shipping and a cost per copy. You should check these costs before you publish.
The best options to self-publish a print-on-demand book are Amazon KDP, Blurb, and Lulu.
Summary
For new writers, there’s nothing to stop you because there are so many ways you can publish your writing today.
All the options I have included in this list are free, except for publishing a print book.
It doesn’t matter if you want to write novels, nonfiction, self-help books, articles, content marketing, or poetry.
You have a lot of options to publish any kind of writing.
Good luck with your writing journey, and I hope these tips will help you on your way.
Related reading: 10 Helpful Tips On How To Write Well For New Writers
