For my entire adult life people have paid me to write. Whether it was for this newspaper or something they put on the television the relationship was simple- you write it, we publish it and some form of currency will arrive in your mailbox after. A year ago after my puppy died unexpectedly I wrote a children’s book and wanted to get it out to the public if possible; this is where my education regarding publishing really began. You see this time I was an unknown among a sea of unknowns trying to tell strangers that what I had in my hand was good and they should like it too. Problem is not everyone likes mushrooms on their pizza and not everyone is going to like what you write, especially when you are asking them to pony up their money to make your dream come true. Since I know some of you dream of publishing your own book I thought I’d share some of the hard truths I’ve learned and offer some advice.
First up, I need you to pretend this is the 15th century and you own armor, the kind knights wore into battle. Nowput it on because what comes next takes some tough skin. Most people in the publishing world won’t believe in you. I know they’ve never met you but every day their inbox is filled with the hopes and dreams of wanna be writers and they assume 99% of it is unmarketable crap. They are not in the business of making your dreams come true, they just want to make money. Period. They will help you if it is in their best interest.
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