What You Don’t Know Can Destroy Your Writing Career
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 7th, 2005 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
We all recognize the adage, “what you don’t know won’t hurt you.” Well in the language of publishing that is absolutely not true! During my long career it was the exact opposite that rang true. If you’ve read my book or any of my articles you will know that my central theme is, writers need to understand the basics of the business to improve their chances of a successful career as a writer. In the world of publishing there is only one thing that matters, can the book sell?
How do you improve the chances of your book selling? The first thing, and the one that seems to be difficult for some writers, is recognizing the importance of learning the basics of the business. When I speak to groups I hear such comments as, “your information is for writers who are closer to being published,” or “I’m not there yet, I’m still trying to get an agent!” Those comments illustrate a lack of understanding of the importance of learning the business side of publishing.
Let’s suppose for a moment that writing is not just a hobby, but the pursuit of a full-time career. Then before you write that first word you should start learning the market for your book. For example, if you decide your subject is to be sailing ships, and you plan to spend any amount of time researching and writing this manuscript, it would be a good idea to know something about other books on the market. Even though your local bookstore may not currently stock books on sailing ships, you need to measure the demand for such books. This kind of information is what I mean by knowing something about your market.
I recognized long ago there was a lack of understanding of the business on the part of authors. My goal is to help writers understand the importance of learning the basics. Recognizing the need to learn more is key to becoming a successful writer. Improving your skills as a writer is very important, but it is extremely important that you also learn the basics of the business. I will share with you all that I know about publishing through my blog, articles, and books. As a writer pursuing a career as an author you need to recognize the importance of understanding the basics of the business of publishing.
Tags: Book Publishing, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing, writing
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Thank you for an awe inspiring read. I really enjoyed this post. I look forward to reading more of your works. If this had a rating I would have to say 10 stars