One thing I especially like about this book is that it’s like having a conversation with Terry. I know him pretty well, and his kindness and compassion come through in every paragraph. He wrote this book to help authors at all stages of their writing and publishing processes, and that motive is obvious.<\/p>\n

About self-publishing . . .<\/h2>\n

Terry addresses the self-publishing option in myth eight, “Self-publishing is the best way to get my book out into the market.”<\/p>\n

This one is something of a Catch-22. I wish he had hit harder on the fact that in spite of this myth, self-publishing is usually the only option for most authors-to-be.<\/p>\n

To land a traditional nonfiction contract today, you usually need a marketable concept and a significant platform. If you can’t write well, the publisher will find you a ghostwriter. The path to a fiction contract is different — platform is much less of a factor, for example.<\/p>\n

In either case, there are often so many obstacles in your way that most need to at least start with self-publishing. You can then leverage your book’s quality and sales success to open doors to a contract for your next book.<\/p>\n