It’s been a while since I updated my series on getting a book published, partly because I’ve been so busy with book-related activity! The publishing industry works backwards. That’s not a slur on their approach, just an observation. They set a publication date based on a number of factors: Is there an event they can associate the book with? If you’ve written a book on space travel it probably makes sense to time the launch to coincide the publication with a large space conference or the intended publication date of the latest Mars pictures, or whatever. There are two reasons for this: firstly, the human brain works by associations and if the media are developing the neural paths to space-related thoughts your book is going to feel more relevant and is more likely to get noticed. Secondly, journalists looking to cover the event will appreciate an angle from you that […]
Getting a Book Published: Friends in a Hostile Environment
Make no mistake, getting a book published is tough. Some of that is for the right reasons; after all there are a zillion people who would like the idea of having a book published and there isn’t a market for that many books – it’s no bad thing that the publishers and literary agents of this world act as something of a buffer between all the prospective junk and the ones that make it into print. And, of course, lots of those won’t sell particularly well. But some of the reasons getting your book published is tough aren’t good ones. One publisher that I sent my book to took twelve weeks to reply (and only then after I had called to enquire about its progress, which is something they say you shouldn’t do). In fact, I would agree that you shouldn’t do it. I happen to know that the rejection […]
Recent Comments