A book recommendation for writers.

In preparing for the upcoming trial of submission and rejection, I've been trying to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible.  I just finished reading a very fine book called 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published, and 14 Reasons Why It Just Might by Pat Walsh.  At times the author is a little too much of a clever smart ass, but I also had several laugh out loud moments.  So many of the reasons why the book may never be published should be painfully obvious (reason number one is "you haven't finished writing it"), but he gets at the very heart of the hopes and illusions that aspiring writers fall prey to. 

In the end, his advice is very practical, and very doable: write the best book that you possibly can (which means check spelling, grammar and do a rewrite), be professional in your approach, don't resort to stupid tricks to get the attention of an agent or editor, know your market and make it clear in your query letter that you know your market, and be patient.

As a professional editor, the author speaks from a position of experience.  He doesn't try to dazzle you offering the "secret trick" that will get you in the door, nor does he give advice on how to write a super mega blockbuster best-seller, get yourself on Oprah and land a million dollar movie deal.  This is a dose of reality, a bit harsh at times perhaps, but necessary in bursting some of the bubbles that people like me get stuck in. In the end, it would seem that editors want the same thing that writers want: to publish really great books that prove to be successful.     

Currently Reading 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published and 14 Reasons Why It Just Might By Pat Walsh see related