The Crapshoot

Did you all see this aticle in the NY TIMES this Sunday?

I know an author who, by virtue of a huge promotional push--one of the biggest I have ever seen among authors I know--and some luck, a great cover, and a healthy dash of talent (because I never fail to recognize other people--jealousy is a no-no)--had a good seller. Not a best-seller. Didn't make any lists. But did well enough for her to earn out and get a pretty fat royalty check. And, like the author of PREP in this article, her subsequent books--without the publisher's huge promotional investment, and most definitely the timing of the chick lit market--have done modestly at best.

The thing is . . . when I would talk to her, she would not talk TO me, but AT me. Because by virtue of her sales, she had a LOT to say about the book biz, about being a success, about what a talent SHE is (but not, I was amazed to find out, the talent of ANYONE else out there in her genre), about many, many things--including knocking other authors (in front of editors, no less). She was, to all around her, a diva. One person in the biz called her "psychotic." And I had a tendency to be bemused. Because, I have been at this long enough to know that a lot of this is a crapshoot. You write the best book you know how, you promote yourself as much as possible within the confines of your budget, you have your agent push for promotion, you send out your press kits, do all that . . . . and then roll the dice.

Anyone who tells you they have the secret of publishing success has loaded dice. Talent is a component. But so is timing. And be careful who you knock on the way up . . . because the mighty can fall far.

It's a strange biz. That's the other really wonderful aspect of the article. It's unlike any other--even Hollywood.

So what do you think?