Myths of Getting Published

It is true that some authors have a hard time selling one hundred copies of their books, while others make $100 000.00. The main problem starts with the author, and they way they see themselves. Some, writers expect to invest ten years of their lives learning to write, and then hoping they will become successful. Others start writing and make a living within a couple of year.

Beliefs that sabotage an author's careers are varied:

It is someone else's job to sell their books
A book is art. No, it is a commodity. It is something that needs to be sold.
It is the publishing companies job to sell books.
The only 'real' place to sell books is in bookstores.
Real authors sell to a publishing house, even a small one.
E-books and self-published authors are not real authors.
It costs thousands of dollars to be self-published.
It costs more than $1500 to have a book edited by a professional.
An author needs to be paid for every word they write.
An author's job is to write.
Being an author is a hobby.
All authors are entitled to an advance.
Writers are not self employed
An Advance is payment for a book. No, it is just a loan
Writers are special people with a unique talent
Writers need a university education.
A publishing company can help me earn a steady income.
Writers need to write for themselves instead of writing to make reader's happy.

A problem arises when authors do not take the time to learn how to steer their own ship. Many authors ruin their careers because they spend all their time trying to get into bookstores, or the 'right' publisher, or they write to impress people. Their mistake is focusing more of their efforts in feeding their ego than their bank account.

Authors need to look at themselves as having value and skills that are valuable, and something people will pay for. They need to 'brand' themselves. They need to act like professionals, learning, training, and promoting instead of blaming their failure on a lack of talent, opportunity, and money as the difference between rich and poor authors.

All authors start with the same problems. It is how they solve their problems that divide the successful and unsuccessful.