If you want to get rich, pick another industry. Seriously.

 

Do not write about your dog, your grandkids, horses, rainbows, puppies, feelings, or fairies. Be careful about wizards too.

 

Get a [good] agent.

 

Work with a professional editor.

 

Work with a professional book designer.

 

Assume the publisher will assign the illustrator.

 

Know that it’s a numbers game.

 

Writing a book is much harder than you think.

 

There is no such thing as a shortcut that works in children’s publishing.

 

Get comfortable with rejection.

 

When you think you’re finished, cut 200 pages.

 

Understand the difference between guerilla marketing and gorilla marketing. The first is okay; the second is not okay.

 

Seek to broaden your understanding beyond writer’s societies.

 

Become a prospective bookseller.

 

Become a prospective publisher.

 

Know that the market over-publishes, and only the strong survive the first printing.

 

Understand the difference between frontlist, backlist, and midlist.

 

Don’t call yourself a publisher unless you have more than six different books by different authors in print and you own the ISBNs.

 

Present yourself professionally.

 

Don’t try to start a viral campaign under an assumed name.

 

If you self-publish, expect skepticism.

 

Invest in professional design for your website.

 

Even award-winning authors have trouble moving books.

 

Publishers and booksellers talk; your reputation for difficulty will precede you.

 

Stop reading bestsellers if you want to write.

 

The way to the universal is through the deeply personal.

 

None of this $#%@$! matters unless you write a good book.