For the most part, success depends on your definition of “success” and your perspective on life. Some authors are thrilled to have a printed book to give or sell to their family and friends. Others feel successful when they sell a few copies of their books on Amazon.com, or at area stores, or at a seminar. Then there are authors who measure success in terms of revenue. If you’re a professional author, then you may need the book sales to keep a roof over your family’s head and food on the table. In that case, actively selling your book is critical.
Success, no matter how it’s defined, starts by making sure each stage of the publishing process is done right. However, your journey doesn’t end when you sign off on the last proof before the book goes to print. After the book is printed, consistent, deliberate effort needs to be made to generate sales. If it’s in your contract, then your publisher will be working on publicity, marketing, and promotion. Also, your personality, talents, and skills will have a lot to do with how you promote your book. You may want to solicit book reviews or do book signings, radio interviews, or television spots.
A good publisher will stick with you and support you throughout each stage of the process. A good publisher wants your book to succeed. Sometimes mistakes are made, deadlines are missed, and promotion opportunities are mishandled. You’ll make some errors, so will your editor, so will your designer, so will your publisher, so will your distributor. But most errors are solvable. More importantly, problems are easier to cope with and fix if you remember that you are all on the same team.
Before you get too far down the line with a potential publisher, ask whether you can count on support beyond the contract stipulations. The author/publisher relationship can last for years, and there’s a lot of handholding and massaging of egos in the publishing world. (It’s basically the managing editor or publisher who holds your hand and massages your ego.) A friendly publisher with a service-oriented philosophy about business can make your rise to success a very enjoyable one.
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