“As a writer, I know how disheartening it can be to send a manuscript to a publisher and receive a rejection letter.
“The personal computer made it easier to write, but then the onslaught of manuscripts forced publishers to limit submissions to a query first or through agents. The economy made it too risky for publishers to take chances with unknown writers and one-book authors…
“How does a writer build a fan following when it seems impossible to even get one book in print?”
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Self Publishing Advisor 
“How does a writer build a fan following when it seems impossible to even get one book in print?“
by epublishing/self-publishing, social networking, and giving away free content online until you get a following who will buy something from you. then you sell something (and annoy half your followers becuase they were only there for the free content)