Alan Sepinwall

Alan Sepinwall's "The Revolution Was Televised." / What's Alan Watching? Journalist and author Alan Sepinwall joined a group of select few self-published authors whose books have been picked up by a major publisher. Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, acquired Sepinwall's book "The Revolution Was Televised," it was announced on Wednesday..

If there’s one thing every self-published author yearns for, it’s to be reviewed alongside traditionally published books, but for most that’s a dream that is unlikely to come true. Book reviewers, whether for traditional book review columns or book blogs, frequently don’t accept submissions from self-published authors. Instead, there’s a web of professional relationships between traditional publishers and reviewers which keeps the books and the reviews flowing.

But this week, the New York Times published a long and enthusiastic review of a self-published book, Alan Sepinwall’s The Revolution Was Televised.