By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It’s rare that I see this perspective but, in this article, I want to give you a reality check. From my decades in this business, I understand book publishing is filled with possible pitfalls and errors.  I witnessed another one recently. One of my best-selling author friends was about to release a new book. This new book was from a major well-known publisher. The book was designed well and edited and included endorsements and practical information. I’ve supported this author in the past, so I was on the list of people who got a pre-release copy of the book. This pre-release included a personal handwritten note from the author and information about the date of the book release.

It was a push for my schedule, but I managed to quickly write a review and be ready to post it on the launch date. Then I noticed the page on Amazon. It was not the typical pre-release page. Instead the book had already been released a couple of days before the launch date. The book had zero Amazon reviews on the page. How did this happen? Someone at the publishing house set up the wrong Amazon date for releasing the book (my guess).

This author has a launch team and other elements in place to promote her book. I was not surprised to learn this team was in place since she is an experienced author and knows the elements of launching a new book. It is important to have a launch team because there are over 4,500 new books being released every day. I regularly hear that most publishers are selling about 50% of their books through Amazon, that leaves another 50% for brick and mortar, other online retailers, and other places. Still 50% is a large number at Amazon for the book sales.

I’m writing these details about this cautionary tale which contains a number of lessons:

1. Details matter. The release date of your book should match up on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other places. As an author, you can check some of these details but depending on how you publish, they are usually handled internally inside the publishing house.
2. With a launch or book, things can go wrong. When this happens to you, acknowledge it and keep moving forward.
3. Nothing is fatal in this process—unless you quit. Even when something goes wrong or doesn’t happen, you can still recover from it and sell books. The only way for you to be stopped is when you give up and quit. Almost anything can be overcome with action.
4. Marketing is an ongoing process for every book. Recently one of my books got a new review. I was interested in reading it. When I looked, it was a one-star review with hardly any information. If you only have five star reviews for your book and then someone gives you a one-star review, it validates all the other reviews for the book. In other words, there is nothing to do about the negative review but keep moving forward. In fact, if you get enough five star reviews, the one-star review will have little or no impact. I encourage you to do the same.

I hope this story helps and encourages you with your own marketing efforts for your book. It is not easy for anyone, even people with a lot of experience in this area. The key is to keep going and keep moving forward no matter what happens.

From the stories that I hear I understand authors are trying to find the magic bullet or the perfect place to tell people about their book. The reality is success and book sales are not based on a single event or single television appearance. Instead, success comes from continual and steady efforts from the author to promote their book. Your publisher may be able to get the books into the brick and mortar bookstores. It is the author who drives people into the bookstores to move those books into reader’s hands and not be returned to the publisher.

As the great hockey player Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  Opportunity is around us and you need to keep seizing it and going forward even with the pitfalls. The authors who continue are still writing and still touching lives. I want you to be among this distinct group. Your publishing pitfalls will be different from mine or those possibilities that I detailed in this article. When they happen (and they will happen), it’s critical to not give up and keep going.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s newest book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com