“Some writers will be horrified by this, but for me, selling a book is like selling a bar of soap. There’s no point publishing a book if only your mother is going to buy it.” – Marisa Mackle, Irish novelist, in an article from Independent.ie.
Agree or disagree?
Which is not to say, there’s no reason to write it anyway. The art is in the writing.
Once published, it becomes a commodity like any other.
Does a writer ever believe only their mother would read it? If so, the writer could just hand over the manuscript for mom to read. So what Ms Mackle is saying, is there is no point if the readership will be limited.
I disagree. If only ten people read it, but those ten people love it, if it changes their world, or makes the world seem less harsh, or however they perceive the book, then yes. There was a point.
Not everyone is out to make money or bestsellers lists.
One can publish a book for the sheer joy of storytelling. But if one wishes to be a professional career author, one aims to make a profit. And if this is so, writing is a business and marketing your product becomes critical. That’s the difference between a hobby and a career.
Not sure a soap makers pours much creative energy into making his product. But once a book is finished and produced, yes, it does become something of a commodity.
So I would say that the writer should get a handle on his or her “expectations” for their book as soon as possible. And then proceed accordingly.
On another subject that’s completely different. How about going back to black?? I never found the black background to be difficult reading. I thought black was really appropriate to TKZ. It gave a certain prominence to everything that I liked.
White is kinda bluch.
What kind of soap?