..:: Written .:. Off ::..

I’m still in the midst of organizing my ideas for the sequel to my first book. Since I’ve decided to write a sequel to my first novel, I’m doing a reread/rewrite of the first book.

I’m planning to have the book 100% completed in the next 2-3 months or sooner. I’ve been doing a lot research on both traditional publishing, and self-publishing.

Here are the results of my research:

• I have as much of a chance of getting published, as I have of being struck by lighting twice, while sitting on the toilet reading a copy of “O” magazine.
• If I self-publish, no one will take my book seriously, and it will die a quick death shortly after my friends and family buy up their copies.

Pretty grim, huh?

I swear, if I didn’t love to write, I would have given up a long time ago.

I have to admit that I’m a bit of a hard head when it comes to statistics, and being told that certain things are impossible.

I think that there are a few reasons that most writers fail to get published:

• They send their book out before it is 100% publication-ready
• They become discouraged by the first few rejections
• Their work does not stand out from the crowd
• Their book stands out too much

But even if you do get published, there is no guarantee that your book will sell. Even books that are published by traditional means may not sell more than 2000 copies.

The most important thing that I’ve learned over the past few months is that if you want to sell books, you have to be a salesman, and be willing to promote yourself. Most writers (including myself) cringe at this thought.

Why?

Because we want to sit at our desks and write. We don’t want to be bothered with things like promotion, publicity and marketing. The sad truth is, no matter how you publish your book, you will have to deal these things. The publisher may assign you a publicist, who is more than likely working on 10 other books including yours. And if you are self-publishing, it’s all YOU.

I’m currently working on my plans to promote my book. I want to have a marketing plan in place well in advance. I have some basic ideas, but I’m really trying to think out of the box. Most of the success stories that I’ve read about are about authors who tried new and creative ways to market their books. Once I get my plan together, I will share some of them with you to get your feedback.