So you want to be an author?
You think you have a book inside you...several even...and you need to fulfil the desire to become famous/rich/creatively fulfilled (so few people seem to focus on that last one...hmmmm).
Well, it's doable, but it's hard work. And we're not just talking about the writing bit.
There are many roads to publication, some rockier and more circuitous than others. I know people who have known people and for them that has been enough - knowing the right agent, publisher, or publicist has catapulted them to publication with nary a complete manuscript in sight, just the whiff of an idea.
Others have stumbled accidentally into the world of publishing - they've survived or achieved something extraordinary - and been chased by agents and publishers eager to sate the public's need for more knowledge.
The publishing game itself is almost as challenging as writing a book.
Most books are published by a small number of very large book publishers, but thousands of smaller book publishers exist. Many small- and medium-sized book publishers specialise in a specific area.
Every year thousands of books are printed and, when you review as many as we do, you can't help but be gobsmacked at some of the things that trees are sacrificed for - but someone, somewhere, has gambled on it selling, and selling big, else why would it be sitting on shelves around the country?
And let's not forget the thousands of authors have created their own publishing companies, and self-published their own works (the good, the bad and the very ugly) - why let a few rejections stand between you and the printed word?
This page is incomplete and will be added to often in the coming months, taking you through the steps of book publication, so check back often for advice on writing, polishing, pitching and publishing.
Thanks for visiting!
