Writing Novels as a Career

My husband, Stefan Bourque, had two books published before I met him. When I heard that, I was completely in awe of his accomplishments. Since the completion of his latest manuscript, I am even more in awe than I was before. Writing has got to be one of the most torturous career choices out there. Here is why.

First of all, if you are writing a novel, you are nobody unless you have a published book. Even then, you are nobody. If you tell a new acquaintance you have a book out and they've never heard of it, you can palpably feel them forming an opinion as to why they haven't heard of you or your book before. And that reason is: you must not be very good. This is a real shame. The bookstores are filled with miles of books by unknown authors. Some are brilliant; some are not. Some should definitely be on the best-seller list, but never will be. It all comes down to the contract the author inked with the publisher. If the author agreed to have the book published but the publisher has not budgeted millions of dollars to advertise it, then the book will never even see the front of the bookstore. It has nothing to do with how great the book is. It all has to do with how much the publisher is willing to spend advertising the book. And if the choice is to take the deal offered or not be published at all, it's easy to see why an author would agree to a less than savory contract.