Am I excited? Am I thrilled? Oh yes indeed! My latest book, Mary Magdalene, Her Legacy is the recipient of an Independent Publisher Book Award 2008. My first book, Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls was an Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY Award) Winner 2006. I am delighted beyond words at this time, because 3,175 entries were submitted from 49 U.S. states, 9 Canadian provinces, and 16 foreign countries. The Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards) were created in 1996 as a broad-based, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the independent publishing industry. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles produced each year, and reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing. I have become aware that the publishing world has been changing since I first began publishing in 2005. The major publishing companies have been purchasing smaller publisher companies and incorporate them under the umbrella of company holdings. Some of the prominent publishers are now requiring that an author's manuscript be edited before it comes to the publisher. This places more responsibility on the author or the literary agent. Regarding the literary agent, some of the major publishers are taking over the foreign rights and this leaves the literary agent without that financial aspect. There is a movement now among authors to self-publish and retain their full rights, which is what I have done. Yes, it is work. However, many well-known authors have to promote themselves as well as their books once the bloom is off the first six months of the book's release. Yesterday I was speaking with an acquaintance who told me of her nephews experience. He had two of his sci-fiction books publish by a prominent publisher. After the second book, he was told to write more and given an outline of what was to be written. Her comment, "It's as if he is as employee and has to do the publisher's bidding." It is a personal choice whether to self-publisher or work through the ladder of rungs to secure a contract with a major publisher. I am only happy for my choice.