Let’s get something straight.
Publishing is not a fairy tale.
It’s not a mysterious door that opens if you knock politely enough. It’s not a benevolent industry waiting to discover your genius while you sip coffee and wait for the phone to ring.
It’s commercial.
I’ve been around this industry for long enough-ghostwriting, editing, pitching, publishing-to know how it really works. I’ve co-written more than thirty books, it’ll be closer to forty by the end of the year, so yes, I’ve seen the hopeful faces, the bruising rejections and the projects that could have worked if only someone had been honest at the start as much as I’ve seen the ones that have been quiet successes-and, in one case, won an award.
Here’s the truth.
The industry doesn’t owe you anything.
Not because it’s cruel. Because it’s a business.
Publishers answer to numbers. Sales projections. Margins. Risk. If your book doesn’t clearly fit a market, it won’t matter how heartfelt it is.
‘Good enough’ is not a strategy.
‘I’ve always wanted to write one’ isn’t either.
Another common misunderstanding? ‘Once I get a deal, they’ll take care of everything’.
Sometimes. If your name is Julia Donaldson or Richard Osman-who is, incidentally, one of the very few UK ‘celebrity’ authors whose names are attached to a book who actually crafts and writes it himself.
There are many who don’t. Some of them might not even know they’ve written a book until they get the royalty payment.
Another blog, another time.
But no. If your book is published then please don’t think the hard work is over.
Because you’ll be expected to market it yourself. Build your audience. Do the heavy lifting. Budgets are tighter than people imagine. Attention spans shorter. If sales wobble, focus moves on.
Then, when you are trying to promote it, there is, from some quarters, still some quiet sniffiness about independent publishing.
As though it’s somehow inferior.
It isn’t.
It really isn’t.
Infact it’s proliferation over the last couple of years has got quite a few traditional publishers running a bit scared.
But here’s a thing.
Yes, done properly, it’s powerful. Very powerful, very effective, very highly regarded.
But…
…done badly, it can be appalling.
The difference is professionalism.
Writing a book is creative.
But publishing a book is strategic.
Before the first chapter, you need answers.
Who is this for?
Exactly who?
What does it do for them?
Why would they choose it over everything else on offer?
If you can’t answer those questions clearly, the market won’t answer them kindly.
But look. This blog isn’t meant to be a ‘downer’ on you, your book or the industry. I say all this not to dampen your ambition, but to sharpen it.
At Couzens-Lake Media, we don’t just “get your book out there”. We shape it. We position it. We build it with purpose. Whether that’s through traditional routes or professional independent publishing, the focus is the same: clarity, quality, commercial sense.
I know the pressure points. I know where manuscripts sag. I know where authors overestimate the market-and where they underestimate themselves. I know how quickly romantic ideas fall apart when they meet reality.
Hope is lovely.
But hope is not a plan.
If you want your book to build authority, generate income, or leave a proper legacy, it has to be treated like the serious project it is. That means structure. Audience thinking. Honest conversations.
No illusions.
No vanity badges.
No chasing hollow “bestseller” labels for 24 hours of applause.
Just a well-built book with a clear purpose.
The dream’s fine.
Just don’t turn up without a plan.
And if you’d like one, you know where to find me.
