Just because you have a computer, you can string words together to create sentences and you can produce a book doesn’t mean that you can write.
When I was in the early stages of honing my craft (so to speak)—I was writing articles for magazines and continually studying the publishing industry. I came across a statistic that said, “Over 81 percent of the population believes they have a book in them.” At that time, very few of you were actually doing any writing for publication.
It wasn’t until the advent of the home computer that teachers, homemakers, attorneys, physicians, nurses, pilots, grocery clerks, ministers, dog walkers, postal carriers, etc. and a whole lot of retirees and disabled folks began putting their stories on paper. And the huge trend continues. Every year hundreds, if not thousands more ordinary people become authors, whether deserving of that title or not.
Few of them have paid their dues. They decide in March that they are going to write their memoirs or a children’s story, a novel or, perhaps, an informational book on a topic dear to their hearts. Today’s typical author has never written anything before—except maybe letters to the editor, a contribution or two to his church bulletin and/or technical material at work. He has time now to write, as he recovers from knee replacement surgery or now that he has retired. So he sits down and writes nearly every day for three months and finishes a book.
He shows the manuscript to his wife and sister (who is a high school English teacher). Once he incorporates their suggestions, he begins the search for a publisher. Wow! With one click of the mouse, he has found a goldmine of them—all eager for manuscripts. And the cost isn’t much, when you consider the potential for earnings once the books start selling.
A year later, this author and many, many like him are wondering what went wrong. Oh so many things. The book isn’t selling. The reviews are either negative or non-existent. So what went wrong? For starters:
• He didn’t take any time to hone his writing skill.
• He didn’t hire a qualified editor.
• He didn’t check his competition.
• He didn’t study books like the one he wanted to write.
• He didn’t study the publishing industry.
• He knew nothing about book promotion.
There’s more—oh so much more. If you’d like additional information on this topic—if you’d like to enter into the world of publishing with a more professional approach—download my FREE ebooklet, “50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book.” At http://www.patriciafry.com