The publishing business makes little logical sense. That’s because it’s part of the “entertainment business.” The first word, entertainment refers to emotion, while business refers to logic. Trying to explain how publishing works to someone from another business and they eventually look at you and tell you it’s insane.
But it is what it is. Lots of smart people work in it and have made it as good as possible, but the reality is there is no formula for deciding what books will succeed and which ones won’t. The classic joke is having the new CEO come into a publishing company from a different business background and proclaiming: “From now on, we only publish bestsellers.”
As if.
For writers who are novices in the publishing world, it’s a bewildering place. Agents and editors will help you, to an extent, but they are overworked. And, frankly, they know the odds of a new author breaking out are minimal. Of course, I argue which comes first there? The lack of help or the failure?
Regardless, it is on the writer to become educated. To learn who to run a business in publishing. I’ve been writing for a living for three decades across all spectrum: traditional publishing, indie publishing, hybrid, Amazon imprint, etc. I sat down and wrote Write It Forward as a guide to writers who are entering the world of publishing. There are more free slideshows like it HERE. A number on the craft of writing.
Here is an overview:
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