The barriers to becoming a published author were broken down a little further Monday as a traditional book publishing giant invested in an online publishing services provider.

Random House Ventures, a division of New York-based book publishing giant Random House Inc., announced it has taken a significant minority stake in Xlibris.com. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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Philadelphia-based Xlibris, which currently offers services for authors to publish e-books, hardcovers, and trade paperbacks, also announced plans for an author-centric website. The site will provide writers with member home pages, chat rooms, forums, message boards, and writers' workshops. It will also help writers find freelance editors and extensive design services.

Xlibris also said it will offer its services for free and with no restrictions on exclusivity of rights.

"Because of this investment, we will now be able to take care of authors at a level that no one ever dreamed of before," said John Feldcamp, CEO of Xlibris.com.

Random House officials said they will not be mining the offerings at Xlibris for undiscovered writers. And Xlibris will continue to work with other publishers.

"We are currently in talks with several major traditional publishing houses. When we have a special book we are going to get it to the right people. That’s something we owe our authors," said Feldcamp.

Book industry estimates claim that half a million books will reach the market in 2001. Online marketers, authors, and publishing companies are now looking for new ways to introduce those books to the reading public.

The Internet book explosion is fueling some of the growth. There are now books available in every format, written by every kind of writer, covering every topic.