A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: Expectations that inflate the soul; realities that deflate the heart
It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. This week's conversation addresses the hopes that authors bring to their writing and the realities they get handed. Perhaps some of those hopes should be called delusions (too harsh a word for sure, but the kinds of expectations -- I have written a book that is going to make me rich -- some authors bring with them in seeking publication really do not match reality, and it is sometimes hard for publishers to help them understand objectively how difficult book sales are. When authors find out the reality, many give up, which hurts authors and publishers alike. Let's take a look at what is really going on. Marketers claim that authors a