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Dear Lee

Dear Lee

Dear Lee,

I wrote a book, had my best friend and my mom edit it, and had it self-published. Why am I not a bestseller yet?

-On my way to the top
Dear On my way,

Every year more and more books are being published, and only a microscopic amount of them become bestsellers. Although I’m sure your mom and best friend are delightful people, they are by no means qualified to edit and judge the merit of your work. And those self-publishing deals that get your book online? You’ve probably noticed by now that they just put your book up on a web page with hundreds of others and wait for people to buy it--no advertising, no fancy cover art, no display in Barnes and Noble. You’re waiting for people to come to you instead of reaching out to them, and quite frankly, nobody cares about buying a book online from a total nobody. Some good advice for the future: get a proper editor, research self-publishing if that's the route you'd like to take (talk to authors who’ve successfully self-published and learn how to do it right), promote your work on social networking sites and/or create an author website, and don’t expect to make it big overnight (or ever, because, well, sometimes it just doesn't happen). When you write a book, do it right and, while you may not become a bestseller, you'll likely gain a group of loyal fans and a sense of real accomplishment.
Dear Lee,

What are the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a professional editor? Can’t I just get my English major daughter to edit my work instead of hiring someone?

-Go pro?
Go pro,

An editor is there to do more than just catch typos. Your English major daughter may be able to help you find grammatical errors, but using family members to edit your work is a big no-no. Not only will it be impossible to get an impartial judgment from her on the overall quality of the work, she may also be tempted to go easy on the edits. If you intend to go pro with your book, you have to do it all the way, so get yourself a professional editor.

Submit Your Questions to: dearlee@writersnewsweekly.com.