It bothers me when authors produce one book and then sign up to become a book shepherd or an editorial or publishing consultant.
I used to be involved with horses. When my daughters were young, we bought a horse and then another… Soon, we each had our own steed and we were involved in local horseshows. We spent weekends trail riding and many of our family vacations were enjoyed on horseback.
There’s a lot one needs to know about horses in order to properly care for them and to keep from getting hurt. When you go from knowing nothing about horses to suddenly owning several, you really get a crash course in horsemanship. Within a couple of months of riding, feeding, saddling, grooming and getting to know our horses, I had learned so much that I thought I knew practically everything I needed to know. I was even trying to teach others about horses, by then. But it wasn’t until we’d owned horses for a couple of years that I discovered how little I actually knew about them.
Today, even after years of owning horses, I realize that I probably didn’t know one-tenth of what is possible to know about horses.
Like horses, each book project is different. Authors don’t truly appreciate the scope of publishing knowledge out there until they produce book number two and book number three. That’s when they begin to realize how much they don’t know about the industry.
That said, I also believe strongly in the value of networking with authors at all stages of publishing. Why? Because we have each had different experiences. We’ve all followed slightly different paths in order to reach our goals and we can learn from the first-time author as well as the seasoned professional. I’ve produced 31 books and I still learn important lessons and useful tips from first-time authors.
I am against the first-time author hanging out his/her shingle with the idea of shepherding others through the process of publishing. There are too many variables, too much that they still haven’t experienced.
If you are seeking assistance with your publishing project, consider hiring someone who has had many varying experiences.
Contact me for a FREE editorial evaluation of your manuscript. PLFry620@yahoo.com.