“We all want progress,” wrote C. S. Lewis, “but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.”

If you as a writer pursue getting published with false ideas about how to get there, you only make your journey more difficult.

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The purpose of this blog post is to explain some little known facts about getting published and clear up some common misconceptions along the way.

1. Content is important, but it’s NOT the only thing that’s important to publishers.

Novelist Bill Mayer said, “Content is king. Promotion is queen.” Publishers care deeply about content, but good content does not by itself create a saleable book, unfortunately. Publishers are looking for good content that is attached to some sort of engine—some driver of promotion and sales. Usually this is an author’s own ability to get the book in front of readers.

2. Who you are as a person matters to publishers.

Publishing is a business, and businesses are only as valuable as the quality of the relationships that make the business possible. Even if your book is successful, if you’re a pain to deal with, eventually a publisher’s enthusiasm for working with you will wane.

3. A great concept can win you a contract regardless of whether you currently have an audience.

Great book concepts, usually encapsulated in a great book title and subtitle, can sometimes be so witty or compelling that a publisher will take a chance on them even if the author doesn’t have a platform. A publisher that does so believes it can get enough distribution for the book that it will market itself. Examples of especially strong concepts include How to Win Friends and Influence People, I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt, and 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

4. Many (perhaps most) authors secure agents via referral.

Referrals often come from an agent’s current clients. (They come occasionally from publishers.) With this in mind, one way to increase your chances of getting represented is to follow and nurture relationships with authors who are represented by literary agents you have in mind to represent you.

5. The author is a book’s #1 marketer.

Some writers believe it’s their job to write the book and the publisher’s job to market it. This belief is harmful to your career as a writer because if you don’t help promote your book, it will very likely flop in the marketplace. Publishers usually have some amount of money to use for marketing your book, but honestly it’s usually not enough to sustain ongoing sales. Publishers rely on (and try only to work with) authors who are motivated marketers for their books.

6. Books are experiences.

Books are not primarily a means of information transmission or self-expression or income generation. They are experiences, and I like to think of writers as experience architects. For more on this idea, see my post and presentation titled “Do You Make This Mistake as a Writer?”

7. The doors to publishing are always swinging open or closed.

This one comes from my old boss and Baker’s former publisher Jack Kuhatschek, an author in his own right. He used to tell authors, “The doors to publishing are always swinging open or closed.” When it comes to choosing a topic, writing your book, or marketing your book, you are making choices that will impact whether or not you will get published. Choose wisely.

8. It’s easier to be a first-time author with a great concept than a second-time author with a lackluster sales history.

This fact is perhaps the cruelest of them all, but it’s true. It’s good news for unpublished writers who have a strong concept, good platform, and writing skills. It’s inconsequential for published writers whose books have sold well. It can be devastating to the careers of writers who have published one book that has not sold well.

9. A shorter book proposal is a better book proposal (with one exception).

Lengthy book proposals are usually lengthy either because they’re confused or just not very strong overall. You can’t make up in length what you lack in substance. It’s far better to get crystal clear on the need your book is addressing, the audience, and the concept. Make your bio and chapter structure sing, not ramble. Do the work necessary to create a brief but powerful proposal, and you’ll stand a much better chance. The one exception to this rule is the marketing section. Publishers appreciate hearing how you plan to help market your book, as long as it’s genuine. (To download a copy of my book proposal guidelines, click here.)

If you dream of getting a book contract, I want you to know it is possible. You just need a good plan and a lot of determination. Hopefully this list of little known facts helps you with both.

Question: What surprised you in this list? Which fact do you find most helpful? You can leave a comment by clicking here.