So why now?

If I've been wanting to write for so long why has it taken until now to get started?  Or a better question would be - what was the trigger to start writing now?

Well, in a nutshell, it's because of Kindle.  I didn't realise until recently that you could just write a book and then publish it straight to the Kindle store with no middle-men involved.  Obviously the editors, publishers etc play a useful role but to me they were a hurdle to be overcome before the adoring masses could get their hands on my masterpiece.

When I discovered I could write whatever I wanted and put it out into the marketplace without jumping through hoops the last barrier was removed.  It now seems like finishing the book is the goal and the publishing is just part of the tidying up whereas before finishing the novel was, in many ways, the easy part.  Or at least the part you had direct control over.

I'm sure anyone reading this knows more than me about how the Kindle program works but for anyone not familiar with it here's a link to have a look at - Kindle.

I don't doubt that for many people and probably for aspiring professional writers in particular, the Kindle method isn't ideal but for people in my situation it seems like the obvious choice.  If anybody has any experience of the pro's and cons of Kindle publishing I'd love to hear about it.