Never Say Never

One of the great risks in writing books is that the time and money you invest will not generate any income and end with a financial loss. This is more often the result  for new writers developing the skill and experience necessary to produce that next great book or series. Every author hopes that their work will be the next Harry Potter or Gone With The Wind. The hard truth is that these types of super successes are rare.

A few years ago, I read that about 1,000 new books are published per day in the United States alone since the advent of self-publishing. I was unable to verify that but do not doubt that the number is at least in the hundreds. 

The competition is fierce because there are many good writers and thousands more untrained amateurs with good stories but unknown names, unrefined skills, unable to face multiple rejections from publishers, or too impatient to withstand the long process and expense of building a repeat audience and reliable market. 

Being a writer is not for the faint-hearted, impatient or easily discouraged. It is definitely easier for those with a built-in audience because as stars in other media such as movies, television, politics, finance or sensationalist publicity.

Also unseen by inexperienced writers are the unseen land mines and whims of publishers, readers and the market place. Publishing has undergone a dramatic consolidation over recent decades. with only a handful of major publishers left — each with many different subsidiaries for different genres. 

These well known “houses” receive thousands of unsolicited manuscripts, articles and novel proposals, movie suggestions, and scripts each day. Most are not even glanced at because the author is an unknown and publishing is an expensive venture. Few of us are successful David Baldacci’s waiting to be discovered. 

There are also pitfalls in picking a publisher. Many are poorly financed, or are scams offering to publish for a fee or payment for publishing related services like ghost writing, editing —  which can be expensive depending on the amount of work your masterpiece needs or the honesty of the provider. 

My first novel was a fantasy fiction for teens and preteens who are the most bullied age group. It received Honorable Mention Awards at book festivals in San Francisco, Hollywood, Boston and Chicago, all of which had entry fees, none of which boosted sales as far as I could see. But awards are supposed to generate reputation, reputation means sales Attending book fairs at county and state fairs by renting space to promote and sell your works is supposed to do the same and sometimes they do. The key word is sometimes.

Then there are the under-financed, unscrupulous, scam or well-intentioned publishers whose business fails and so does your hard earned investment, usually thousands of dollars. Thus was the fate of my first Honorable Mentioned novel. 

Several years later I saw an article that the owners of the company had been found guilty of embezzlement and ordered to pay restitution. I would like to believe they were illegally borrowing to keep their personal finances above water while they tried to save the company but have no proof of that. Nevertheless I was out the thousands I had paid for services that had not ben done, or done poorly. So I appealed to the Attorney General of the State involved. An author acquaintance who was a retired law enforcement officer told me that I would never see a dime of the money I had lost. 

For the last five years I have received about $200 in restitution each year and by court order this is supposed to continue for a total of 20 years. I will never receive the full amount I lost but some is better than none, and I have used it to develop other books.

Writing and publishing is risky and hard work but if you have a worthwhile message, or good story to tell for entertain, do not be faint hearted, but be careful and do your due-diligence homework.

Never say Never.

~ Ray Blain