Is Courage By Authors & Publishers Needed In Order To Publish Great Books?

 

 

At a Friendsgiving gathering (friends came with their holiday leftovers) last week at my house, there was a brief discussion amongst two friends, one a self-published author and the other on the verge of becoming one. They lamented on the state of book publishing.

One said publishers don’t have any real clue as to what will sell or why one book is more deserving of being published over another.

He has a point.

There are, however, some great, passionate and intelligent acquisition book editors out there who can recognize a gem and who can polish it further, but the bosses may believe it is not as marketable as other less-qualified manuscripts. The brass may believe an author brand is lacking for the superior book, and would rather align with a good but not great book if it meant more book sales, translation rights deals, or streaming opportunities.

That is the book world today, one increasingly driven by predictive profit metrics and less so by literary standards or the sense of an obligation to serve society. It is greenback analytics.

The other friend said he wonders if most would-be writers won’t even try to write and publish a book if they know in their heart there are so many other great books or classics out there.

I can see the intimidation factor being present but I would also relish the competition. It is a game writers play with themselves. They may ask if they are as good as, or better than, specific great writers, but the only question to ask is: How do I write my best book possible, emanating from my imagination, knowledge, experiences, abilities, opinions, beliefs, and observations?

As for whether new books deserve to be published when matched against the all-time greats, I would make the argument that if everyone stopped writing books after the Bible, there would be no Aristotle, and then no Shakespeare, or Dickens, Orwell, Austen, or Rowling. In other words, you won’t experience greatness unless you and everyone else tries. Every generation produces great writers.

Though it could take a lifetime of intense reading to even chisel away at all of the recommended books by scholars, bestseller lists, and book awards, the world must make room for new books.

Through the competition of ideas, research, experience, and writing styles, we will continue to find great books that are relevant and interesting. Everyone should write their greatest book and not concern themselves that something else exists that may be perceived as being better.

Even when a writer is competing against a genre’s best writer, I say:

* There is room for more voices. Not everyone likes or even knows about the so-called genre leaders.

* We need an update for our times on classic themes, meaning someone can write a classic-type book by incorporating contemporary examples and add in ways of implementing more recent ideas and discoveries. New writing styles or plots will develop, especially as language, technology, and new historical events develop.

* Some books should appeal to a targeted segment of society, too. This means we may need versions of classics that appeal to women, blacks, etc, — the unrecognized and unvoiced of centuries and decades past. I am not saying we need woke classics or that classics aren’t without universal appeal in some respects, but I do recognize that every group needs its cultural heroes and models.

* We also need a variety of thought coning from our books. So, everyone merely reading the same classics — and little beyond them— may put society on the same wavelength, but we will stunt or shun thinking outside of that box unless we each supplement with dissimilar books.

* We ferment new inventions, laws, and ways of doing things by having a mixture of books engage us in a multitude of ways. The book world has room — and a need — for new great books.

Look at other industries. Sports has its underdogs and favorites, but they still have to play the games to see who really is the best. Investors in new companies find Cinderella successes, even when going against industry-leading Goliaths. And, today’s celebrity may just be an answer to tomorrow’s trivia question, giving way to an up-and-comer from nowhere. The book world will have its share of surprise hits this year, as well, so no need to sideline your book.

The world changes and books will need to evolve as well, meaning at some point, some books do become outdated. The imagination has no boundaries and new writers will craft something great for their time, if not for all time. My money is on a newly minted book becoming a classic in the near future.

Readers of today are different than those of yesteryear. In fact, the past, and our awareness and understanding of it, plays a big role in what we read and how we experience a book today. The next great book may become just that, in part, because a changed world now can embrace something it was never open to before.

So, does publishing fail to publish some great books for the wrong reasons? Absolutely.

Do authors fail to write or seek to publish a book because they fear they can’t be as great as the all-time classics? Definitely. 

What’s the antidote? Courage. 

Writers need to write — and publishers need to stand up to publish great books. 

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over 3.9 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Brian Feinblum now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).  This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, he has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.