Publishers Don’t Want to Steal Your Ideas.
I was on a call recently with a lovely entrepreneur who asked me about some very common assumptions about traditional publishing. The first, I hear all the time. So let’s be clear:
PUBLISHERS DO NOT WANT TO STEAL YOUR IDEAS.
(News flash: They don’t.)
However, her next assumption is thornier because it’s partly true.
Publishers expect you, the author, to market, promote, and sell your own book.
The fact that authors bear the responsibility to market, promote, and sell their own books is often seen as a bad thing. It’s no coincidence to me that the self-publishing industry perpetuates the idea that sales and marketing is difficult and an undue burden on authors. (Spoiler alert: It’s not.)
Truth is, not every book is the same.
While it’s true that fiction books and narrative nonfiction books (like memoirs) have historically been supported by publisher-driven marketing and PR, prescriptive nonfiction — the how-to books y’all are writing — have always been driven by the author.
That’s because you are the experts, the creators, the generators.
You know who buys books on your topic — not the publisher, who works on thousands of books every day if not every week, month, and year.
For example, when I worked on a book called The Complete Guide to Wood Finishes at Simon & Schuster I definitely did NOT know who would buy that book.
I could guess — contractors, carpenters, woodworkers, maybe some flippers or hardcore DIY home restorers — but I didn’t know how to reach that audience. As the editor, I just knew how to make it a good book. It was the author’s responsibility to promote that book to their network of folks who would be interested. Publishing is a team sport — those of us in traditional publishing bring our book expertise, and y’all bring the content and the audience.
My point is that you need to understand what you’re selling whether it’s a coaching program, a course, a 1-on-1 offer . . . or your book. And it’s always been that way.
Don’t believe anyone that tells you different.
