How do they do that?

So today I was thinking about books and the difficulty of going and getting one published. I have been lucky enough to witness first hand the process on how this gets done and it is overwhelming, not easy, and at times insane. No I don't have near the talent or patience to be the good writer to write these books but I do travel in circles with many writers and have had the honor of watching my wife work on her first book.

I used to think that writing a book was hard but the process was not. Oh my heavens was I wrong. It seems that we all take for granted that these books just appear on the shelf and by some miracle we just buy them. Do we ever stop and think what goes into the process? I know growing up I didn't and the older I become the more I marvel and the strength and fortitude of those who manage to do this.

In a short version it is very subjective. Once and if you convince an agent to help you then you hope the agent is willing to work with you to sell it to a publisher. This is a very hard process often taken many years and lots of luck, hard work and persistence. If a publisher wants it then they may have numerous changes that they want done to fit in their particular style or format. Then there will be copy edits and advance reader copies. Then if you manage to push through all of that it hits the store and the hard work of pushing it to the market and the customers begins. How does this book stand out? How can you advance the sales and make it successful? Not everyone is a Stephen King that can sell on name alone and that is something earned, not handed too you.

I want you you think the next time you walk into a book store, take a minute, look around at all the books that surround you, and realize that there are people behind those books. Realize the amount of work that went into the book you are looking at and the effort and time it takes. Ask yourself a question, can I do that, or do I think it is writing fairy that comes down and fills the shelves. I promise you there is no writing fairy there is a hard work and effort and time.

So walk into the bookstore and thank those authors and appreciate the effort because it is their passion, drive and effort that is filling your store and we need to remember that.