All those books - and why it doesn't matter
Today is a rather scary Thursday. Whether you’re a ghostwriter, or publisher, or author of your own book, if it’s coming out today, you’ll be even more nervous than usual.
Why? Well, with the small matter of over 600 books being published, the chances of success will seem tiny to most. Bookstores are saying that they simply won’t have enough room for them, which will drive more people to Amazon at a time when physical book-buying is already in a precarious state. Newspaper and magazines will only be able to review a select few - and it’s not just that there are so many, it’s the fact that big names are hitting the shelves too.
A lot of this is due to covid-19. Festivals have been cancelled – even moving them to online events has affected book sales. No more wandering around Edinburgh, buying books from the Waterstones tent before listening to your favourite author and getting that brand new hardback signed in person. No book rush at similar events, making you pick up three, four, five titles that would never have caught your eye but which offer a new perspective when you have the opportunity to browse amongst others who share your passion. Most of that atmosphere has been lost. Added to that, lots of publishers moved publication dates, not knowing when the pandemic would be over, leading to a glut of books coming out at the time when we thought it would be over.
Does any of that matter if you’re self-publishing? Well, yes and no. It’s good in that it brings a sense of reality to the world of books. When Richard Osman, Ant Middleton and Caitlin Moran are fighting over chart places, when Matt Haig and Stephenie Meyer aren’t sure whether they can hang on, when you have Ant and Dec wading into things with Pinch of Nom hard on their heels, will your book even register?
Of course it will – because it’s yours.
Success means many things, and, for most people that won’t involve selling a million copies. Everyone has a story to tell – only you can tell the one which is your life. If it is time for you to get that business idea out there or finally talk about what you have been through, it really doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing. In fact, in many ways, you will have more control over your book than any of those celebrities or household names. When you work with me, your words belong to you and we work together to ensure that every aspect of your story is authentic. Whatever you have endured, whatever you have created in life, will be written in a way that has no involvement or interference from anyone else.
And that is success that can’t be measured by sales figures.