As most of you know, I'm trying to find an agent for my book right now. It's a tough climb, but I'm going for it anyway. To give you an idea of odds, top agents receive something like 5000-7000 query letters a year from people like me. But they only take on 5-7 new clients a year. So, yeah, it's brutal.
But that's okay, because that prepares you for the brutal realities of publishing in general. I've seen publishing stats before, but these are the ones I've come across most recently (thanks to a random blog I stumbled onto):
* Number of different books (titles) sold in the U.S. last year: 1,446,000
* Number of those that sold fewer than 99 copies: 1,123,000
* Number that sold over 100,000: 483
Egads. That means the VAST majority of published writers, far from being the next JK Rowling, are going through something like this guy in the video.
Pretty funny.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The truth about publishing
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7 comments:
Oh my goodness, gracious! What an uphill climb! I've always thought about writing a book, but never had anything important to write about. What is your book about?
Oh, and GOOD LUCK, by the way. :)
By the way, I tagged you...it's a "Seven Fun Facts About Me" meme (whatever a meme is). Check out the rules on my blog. Can't wait to see your answers. :0)
How did Jodi tag you? I was going to tag you. That is if I ever get around to posting my answers.
Okay, I need more details here. . . maybe I'm a latecomer. What are you publishing? Have you ever read Stephanie Meyer's story about how she tried to find a publisher. I think I read it on her website at one point. She basically didn't think she would ever get someone to give it a go. And even when she did it was still such a process. I had no idea the stats are that low for publishing and selling books. . . BUT now having said that all. . . it wouldn't surprise me at all to see you defy the odds.
Okay I just watched the video--that was too funny. Ohhhh, the world we live in. Half of that conversation wouldn't have made sense ten years ago.
The song "hold on, the light will come" comes to mind for some reason. I would have to agree with Julie- I wouldnt be suprised if you defy the odds either.
That video is hilarious... I had no idea about a book...hello... what boook? That is so cool... I love it when people actually like fulfill a dream... GO FOR IT!!
Smiles,
Sean A'lee
P.s. So like when is your video going to be on you tube! Wasn't that one of the requirements.. Hee hee... :)
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