Alan Sepinwall inks book deal for his self-published TV work

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.

Sepinwall, a blogger who has made his name as a television critic for hitfix.com, looks at the impact of shows like "Breaking Bad" and "Friday Night Lights" and how they changed the TV drama.

Because he was a TV critic, he was able to get others to review his book, a feat that is hard for many self-published authors to do.

A Touchstone spokeswoman said Sepinwall was unavailable for comment until later this month, but the author told the Chicago Tribune recently that he felt he could use his social media presence and friends, who are fellow critics, to help get his book out there.

"I figured I could go to [fellow TV critics] and see if they could mention it at the end of a column or something," he told the Tribune. "A bunch of them ended up writing these really complimentary, very long reviews of the book."

When the New York Times, who doesn't traditionally review self-published books, reviewed his book in December, Sepinwall told the Tribune it caught him completely off guard.

The Internet has made it easier for authors to try and self-publish with e-books. There were an estimated 200,000 plus self-published books in 2011, reports CBS' Sunday Morning.

Though, it is easier to publish it is still hard to get publishing deals. It was not until Richard Paul Evans' book, "The Christmas Box," made the bestseller list that it was snatched up by publishers.

Sepinwall's book on the other hand has not made the bestseller's list yet, but it had critical acclaim on its side.

Simon & Schuster and CBS are owned by the same parent company.