The book publishing industry is a peculiar duck.  To the surprise of most writers--and nearly all neophyte scribes--getting a book published rarely has anything to do with the quality of a work.  Or the strength of a story.  Or even the uniqueness of its characters.  No, it has to do, instead, with marketing.
 

For the past several years, my agent has had a nonfiction book of mine bouncing around Publisher's Row.  It was called Building Backyard Ponds and Streams or something to that effect.  It was a solid proposal with a carefully conceived outline and synopsis.  It was also universally ignored.

It wasn't until I decided to change the book's title that it stirred even mild interest.  I renamed it From Desert to Oasis--Zen and the Art of Pond Building.  I wrote and re-wrote the first three chapters.  Within a couple of months, my agent received a request from an editor at a major publishing house for a closer look.  Within a few more weeks, we received word that the publisher's editorial board had reviewed the

proposal and loved it.  Since then, an offer has been extended, a counter-offer was made, and a contract is underway.

Now, I'm not naive enough to believe that the change in the title is the sole reason the book is getting published.  Hardly.  But it was enough to get it read.  That, combined with some solid marketing ideas I had for promoting the book, did the trick.  It didn't hurt, either, that I let the publisher know I'm something of an expert in pond building.  Book publishers like those sorts of things--especially nonfiction book publishers.

This one, it turns out, has some solid marketing plans of their own for the book.  They know how to spend promotional dollars to make a book a success, and they're committed to doing so, which is good news for me.  And that is what it takes to get a book published today.  Effective marketing.

Marketing from the writer's standpoint means presenting a professionally prepared package that tells an editor at a glance that there is a strong market for the book.  Marketing from the publisher's point-of-view means they believe that they can promote a book effectively enough so that it will earn back their initial investment and then some.

Of course, every writer strives for quality, and I'm no exception.  But marketing is what every publisher believes in--at least if that publisher hopes to be in business for more than a few years.

So remember that the next time you prepare to send a manuscript off to a publisher.  Do you explain the marketing and sales potential of your book in your cover letter?  Are they legitimate (a jaded editor can spot a snow job a mile away)?  Are they strong?  If so, it's only a matter of time until your book, whether fiction or nonfiction, gets picked up for publication.  If not, you can be the best writer in the world...and never live to see your own by-line in print.

Think about that the next time you set out to write the Great American Novel.  And, while you're at it...

Smoke if you got 'em. 

D. J. Herda                        President

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