Have you noticed that most authors make publishing decisions based on their perception of the time element? We may come up with all sorts of excuses during the writing phase—“I can’t write today, I just had my nails done,” or “I don’t feel like writing this evening; let’s watch The Bachelor.” Many self-imposed deadlines may pass before the writing of a manuscript is finished.
But, when an author decides that it’s time to publish—when he turns the manuscript over to a publisher or printer—he gets in the biggest rush of his life. He insists, “I’ve gotta have my book for the event next week,” or “I need copies for Grandma’s 80th birthday party.”
It may have taken the author 23 years to write a 125-page book (or even 18 months), but he must have it published right away. Now, he’s in a hurry. And it is this hurry-up frame of mind that can interfere with the success of a book.
Some authors admit to choosing the first pay-to-publish company that approaches them just so they’ll have books quicker. They don’t take the time to learn their options, study the possible consequences of their choices or even to understand their responsibilities as a published author. And most of these authors are either immediately or eventually disappointed.
The thing is, publishing is not an exact science. You can’t randomly choose one of the three main publishing options and experience success. Nor can you turn your manuscript over to just any pay-to-publish company and expect the same results. Successful publishing requires the author to be present, knowledgeable, discriminating and patient. Rush in unprepared and uneducated and you’re apt to run into major (and usually, expensive) obstacles.
Let’s see if I can paint you a clear picture depicting the dangers of rushing your publishing project. Okay, here’s one—you want to have a baby, but you have no wife or even girlfriend, so, around Halloween, you randomly approach a woman at a diner. You ask her to have your baby. You tell her that you live with a group of guy roommates in a small house at the moment, but that you think it would be nice to have a child by Christmas, so you can surprise your parents.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Because you know something about having babies, caring for one, preparing for the birth and planning for a child’s future, you realize how absurd this is. Well, although you’re not dealing with a human life when you publish a book, I can tell you that the way too many authors’ approach publishing is almost as absurd.
Here’s another example: You decide one day that you would like to be a chiropractor. You use a chiropractor, so you know something about what they do. So you go out and rent an office, purchase some equipment and start promoting your business. It’s laughable, isn’t it? But that’s because you know that chiropractors must be educated in the anatomy and structure of the human body…there are requirements for becoming a chiropractor. There are standards in place.
While there are no rules for entering the world of publishing and no real standards in place, common sense tells us that publishing is a business and one should understand something about it before getting involved.
The problem is that too many authors look at publishing as an extension of their writing. They see people they know getting books published. They hear stories of successful publishing experiences. But, unless an author takes the initiative to find out something about the publishing field, he or she knows nothing other than, “publishers produce books and I want my book published…whatever that actually means…”
The fact is, it is relatively easy to get published. Being successfully published is the challenge because publishing success depends on the author making educated decisions.
Make your decisions based on knowledge not on emotions. If you hear nothing else before you start scrambling to get a book published, hear this! And if you read nothing else, read this, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html
I wrote this book for authors who are entering their first publishing venture. It is designed to give you exactly what you need in order to succeed with your publishing project.