A Cynic With Hints Of Truth

Steve Weinberg is on a roll with Publishers Weekly. Over the last two months, he had held two of their Soapbox columns with his most recent one, The Reluctant Expert, Being a published author means you can help anyone publish a book…right? He writes, "Those who work for book publishers and booksellers, as well as authors like myself, understand how difficult it is to write, edit and market a compelling volume. Many other people, however, seem to assume that the process is a no-brainer, that surely their book will prove irresistible to everyone."

This article is filled with some great advice that many authors need to process. To write and publish a book is a business but it's not all about the money but about getting your message out into the market. There are many different ways to accomplish those goals as Susan Driscoll told us earlier in the week through iUniverse. At asksusandriscoll.com you can sign in and instead of reaching the page for the interview, you will reach the replay page. Then you can download part or all of the teleseminar and listen to it on your computer or iPod or you can listen to it right on the page.

I was amused with Weinberg's article and the hints of truth which are embedded with a bit of cynicism. For any book to succeed, it is as much about timing as anything. It's been proven repeatedly in these books which had great potential when they were released, yet never realized it. As I've mentioned before, the best scenario is where the author has realistic expectations of what the publisher will and will not do, then actively works to put their own promotion plans into motion. These plans give the book the best possibility and environment for success (however you measure it).