There Are No Guarantees

I think there are a lot of authors out there who have the belief that there are magic solutions in publishing. This thought that, if you do something a certain way, you will find success immediately. I am sorry to say this, but there isn't anything out there. There are no guarantees. 

I saw a post from one of my agent colleagues earlier this week about this same idea. She was addressing the idea that even if you have an agent, there is no promise of getting published. Of course, hearing this, the "anti-agent" publishing people immediately jump up screaming, "I told you so!" The reality is, when we sign an author, we find something we really do love about your writing. We see a spark of something and we fell we have a way of getting that story to a publisher. But even then, things change. Every agent out there has faced this same situation. I would also add, that agents have also found success with stories that others simply thought had no potential. 

We see this same thinking when authors take workshops or read blogs on "the perfect query letter" or "the synopsis that promises getting your book published." We have to remember that everything is subjective and everything faces a being at the right place at the right time. 

With that said, I always have said that there are certainly things you can do that can increase the chances and the opportunities for your novels. We see the same thing in the real world when we are applying for a job, or presenting a proposal to our companies. In an interview, we can do all of the things recruiters and HR people would proclaim as being a guarantee to getting hired, but if during the interview, the employer is thinking a different way, those techniques simply do not matter.

As you think about your stories, or think about how you want to market you book, it all comes down to thinking what is going to work best for that story and that situation.