Your Story Matters
The Long Road to Publication
When I connect with a friend I haven't seen in a while or a new acquaintance who knows I've written a memoir, inevitably I will be asked a variation on one of these questions:
What's happening with your book?
When can I buy your book?
When's your book coming out?
Most people can't imagine why it's TAKING ME SO DAMN LONG TO WRITE AND PUBLISH MY BOOK!
Truth be told, when I started this memoir journey 4+ years ago, I had no idea it would take this long either!
A few months ago, I blogged about my memoir journey:
- 2018 - 2019: 1st draft
- 2019: Revision and beta readers
- Early 2020: Thought I was ready to query. A book coach told me I wasn’t. “You don’t know what your book is about yet.” Ouch. I took a break. Thought about writing another book. Ate a lot of sourdough bread and drank a lot of wine.
- Summer 2020: The memoir wouldn’t leave me alone. I tackled another revision.
- Winter 2021: Drafted a proposal and query letter. Surely my...
Newsflash: People Are Still Reading Books!
Great news for authors! People are still reading books!
Here’s the big picture based on data from 2019:
- Printed books continue to dominate the industry
- Audiobooks are the fastest-growing product in the publishing industry.
- Self-publishing remains hugely popular.
What GENERATION reads the most books?
The answer may surprise you. It's MILLENNIALS, those born between 1981-1996, followed closely by baby boomers.
As the parent of two millennials, this surprised me! All the handwringing my peers and I did, worried that “technology” would be the end of reading.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT GENERATIONS READING?
Gen Z: humor, Millennials: health and wellness books, Gen X: crafts and hobbies, Baby Boomers: cookbooks, and the Silent Generation: biographies and memoirs.
WHAT DO YOU READ?
If you are someone who is thinking about writing a book, may I state the obvious? You need to be reading in the genre that you are planning to write in. If you’re...
