Santa Cruz man Helps Other To be Their Own Boss - Central Coast News KION/KCBA

Michael Ashley helped to found Fastpencil.com in 2009 after helping his mother try to publish a children's book for his daughter. After many hours and a lot of money he knew there had to be a better way.

 

Ashley's brainchild website is helping to revolutionize the publishing industry and self-publishing is up 181% from the previous year. Fastpencil.com provides writers with a service to create and write a book, easily share their work with trusted friends, and publish instantly as traditionally bound books or paperless e-books. Through a process called Guided Collaboration, FastPencilers can connect with like-minded people, pool resources, chat, gather feedback from reviewers and collaborate with other authors.

 

Fastpencil.com has also been featured in several well known publication such as The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.

 

Fastpencil.com is an affordable and easy way to become a published author. "Somebody, especially in an economy like today, who has always dreamed of publishing a book, can have it for sale over the weekend and do it for literally under $200 dollars," said Ashley.