The Path to Publication Gets a Little Steeper

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How Does A Book Become A Bestseller? , March 15, 2005

What Factors Determine A Book’s Success?, February 1, 2005

The Making of a Bestseller January 15, 2005

The Path to Publication gets a little steeper in 2005, January 1, 2005

Immediate Release

Contact: Dee Power or Brian Hill (480) 837-9590

(Fountain Hills, AZ – September 14, 2004 – New writers better sharpen their pencils and polish up their manuscripts because getting published won’t be getting any easier.

Over 100 editors and literary agents participated in a survey conducted by Brian Hill and Dee Power. Most of the participating editors were from major publishing houses; however editors from small and university presses participated as well. The agents completing the survey were from well known agencies as well as boutique agencies.

Neither literary agents nor editors see a positive change on the publishing industry horizon; both groups were mildly negative about the environment for new writers for the upcoming 12 to 24 months.

The next generation of bestselling authors begins with those authors struggling to get their first book published. Editors feel it will become a bit more difficult for new writers to break into publishing for several reasons including:

Past Track Record of Success Is Becoming More
Important to Editors

The Fiction Market Has Always Been Hard

Impact of Retailers

Proliferation of Titles, Manuscripts, Authors

The National Economy

Literary agents are the people who make “deals” happen on behalf of their authors. That of course is their objective. But before the negotiations can begin with a publisher, the agent has to decide which writers to represent out of the hundreds or thousands of authors who contact them every year. Agents perform an important screening function for the publishing industry, keeping editors from becoming even more inundated with manuscripts and proposals to read than they already are.

The most common reasons behind the agents’ somewhat pessimistic outlook for the next year or so in order of frequency of mention were:

Industry Consolidation, Changes (Or lack thereof)
      Within the Publishing Industry Itself

Changes in Book Retailing

Publishers are Becoming More Risk Averse

The Impact of the National Economy

But there is a bit of silver lining, several editors are, almost encouraging in their responses:

“… it's less about the published/unpublished status, and more about relevance of subject and quality of writing.”

“While it's never easy to get a first book published, I don't feel that the coming two years will prove any easier or more difficult--the old adage that no great book goes unpublished still strikes me as true.”

“Publishing is a fickle business, if you have a great book and you are an unknown you will get published. I don't think new authors are necessarily discriminated against if they have a great book. Everyone is looking for the next big seller. The difficulty lies in getting someone to look at an unknown author's work.”

“Our company is very open to new writers, always have been. We don’t deal in name authors, so content, rather than previous sales is most important to us.”

“I've been seeing some really great proposals from first time authors in the last several months and even when we can't publish them here, they're selling elsewhere, and they're selling fast. Changing genres, the economy...these are all factors. It's a good time for first time authors with good ideas to get out there.”

So while it may be more difficult to become published in the next two years there is hope.

Additional results from the survey are included in Hill and Power’s upcoming book, “The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Authors and the Editors, Agents and Booksellers Behind Them,” Dearborn Trade, ISBN 0793193087 to be released March 2005.

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About The Making of a Bestseller

The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories From Authors and the Editors, Agents and Booksellers Behind Them” by Brian Hill and Dee Power

Dearborn Trade, March 2005, ISBN 0793193087

People are fascinated by bestselling authors who have become every bit as much celebrities as rock musicians or film stars. Through some mysterious process, these individuals take blank pages and turn them into gold—many of them over and over again. For authors, earning a spot on the bestseller list is the grand, often elusive prize at the end of many years of work. But what makes a bestseller happen?

Brian Hill and Dee Power interviewed over 50 successful authors, publishers, editors, agents, book reviewers, and other experts to find the answer. “The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Authors and the Editors, Agents, and Booksellers Behind Them” presents a comprehensive look at the publishing process from start to finish.

About Brian Hill and Dee Power

Brian Hill and Dee Power are the founders of Profit Dynamics Inc., a research and consulting firm. They were inspired by their own publishing experiences to research and write “The Making of a Bestseller.” They have also written “Attracting Capital From Angels,” and “Inside Secrets To Venture Capital.”  Several of their screenplays are currently under consideration in Hollywood. They have just finished writing “Inside The Crescent Moon,” a contemporary adventure that intertwines the stories of an 18th century female pirate with a modern day treasure hunt. You can reach Brian and Dee through their website, http://www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com or email mailto:Dee@BrianHillAndDeePower.com