If you believe you are terrific writer
and are astounded that you haven’t been signed by a major book publisher yet…
Welcome to the club!
But… there is one thing you
should know. Odds are you aren’t very good. This is not to say you couldn’t
BECOME very good but unless you’ve been writing faithfully every day for about
a decade, your work could probably stand some improvement.
Here’s the thing. If you are
indeed a talented writer you are probably a little nuts. Well maybe not nuts, I
think delusional is perhaps the better word. The noticeable flaw almost all
talented people have is that they believe they have the talent to write great
stuff, ergo, anything they write must be great. Makes sense right?
Unfortunately, that isn’t true.
Here’s what IS true. Like a
talented kid on a baseball field there are various phases a writer must go
through before he/she attains any real level of ability. The minor leagues is a
great place for an emerging baseball talent because it gives him the
opportunity to evaluate his talent against his peers.
This is often where kids who
always believed they were destined for the big time discover that they simply
aren’t good enough. It’s heartbreaking but often a good thing because they can
stop chasing a dream and start creating a reality.
As a published novelist I’m often
asked what college I attended and what courses did I study that taught me how
to write professionally. The truth is I
didn’t go to college. Right after high school I started playing in a rock and
roll band and spent the next decade doing just that. But I grew older and rock
changed and I came to the point where I didn’t like doing it anymore.
But I always loved writing. And
as a creative person I needed an outlet and the idea of writing novels suddenly
caught fire with me.
So I began writing books and
short stories. Wrote like a maniac, figured it would take about a year before I
got a book deal and two years tops before my first best seller.
It took twelve.
Oh there were some ‘almost deals’
in between, interest from agents, publishers requesting a second look but it
took 12 years before I actually signed a book deal.
And looking back it’s obvious
why. Yeah I had talent but my skill level screamed amateur, which is why I
believe the ‘almost deals’ fell through.
I needed to spend some more time
in the minor leagues.
And the minor leagues for writers
are called writers groups. So if you aren’t already a member of one, then join
one. If you are any good, it will be noticed and if you aren’t, well that will
become obvious too. This is where you
get ready for the big leagues.
Here is delusion #2. Once you’re picked up by
an agent and publisher, and once your book is published and hits the shelves it
will rocket to the top of the best seller list.
No. It won’t.
In today’s society we are spoon
fed fairy stories to avoid facing the grim realities.
When books like Twilight
and 50 Shades of Gray take off like rockets it’s plastered all over the media,
so much so we’re led to believe that’s what happens all the time to authors in
every genre. Same deal with the lottery. Joe Schmoe from Idaho wins 50 million
dollars with his last buck and millions go running to the store to buy their
lottery ticket because if it happened to Joe Schmoe, who is just like them,
ergo, it should happen to them too, right?
Nope. Here’s what really happens.
You spend a decade honing your craft, building a small following, finally you
are offered a deal by a national publisher on a YA book you’ve written. You
sign, begin the re-writes, are assigned a publicist, a marketing campaign is
created and all is going well when, famous actor comedian Jim Carrey announces
he has written a YA novel and is shopping it around. Your publisher signs him
after a protracted bidding war at auction.
Suddenly, you advertising budget
is slashed, your publicist is in meetings with Mr. Carrey’s people. You're
informed that some ‘adjustments’ have been made to your book launch.
In other words, you and your
novel are being given cab fare and so begins your walk of shame. Oh they will
live up to every word on the contract. Your book will be published, it will be
shipped to the stores, it will be featured in various newspapers and magazines
for the first week of publication.
And then you’re on your own.
Now what? Carrey’s book is due
out in two weeks with a full blast publicity campaign and unless you do
something his YA book will BURY yours.
“But I was assured…” “But I was
promised…” “I was led to believe…”
As predicted, you fail to act and
Carrey’s book roars to the top. Yours dies a quick death. Your agent drops you. Your publisher’s legal department sends you a letter informing you that, because your
title did not perform as expected, the publisher WILL NOT be publishing
that 2nd novel.
And because your first book
tanked, no other publisher wants any part of you.
“But that’s not fair...!” “Carrey’s
book got a lot more publicity…” “I received no support for my agent or
publisher…”
Yeah, that’s unfortunate and often that's what happens. However, if you had taken the time to learn book
marketing, you would know enough about it to go toe-to-toe with Carrey’s book
and win the industry’s respect by showing you can hold your own.
It IS that important. So when you
wonderful folks out there ask why I’m suddenly writing so much about marketing
and starting your own business instead of my usual light banter, it’s because
it’s stuff you need to know.
The world is changing. The
publishing world in particular. So if you want to avoid running into a buzzsaw
like the Carrey story with your novel, give a look at the Kindle Bestseller
Roadmap on the top right. It contains a lot of very useful information on how
to get you book before the public without spending a lot of money on
advertising.
Speaking of advertising my very
popular short story collection, Storytime will be a FREE download on Amazon
starting Monday June 3, 2013. Make sure to get your copy, you won’t regret it.
P.S. Stop by here tomorrow and get a sneak preview of the story 'Sea Cruise"
