This week marks the 55th anniversary of the launch of the infamous Apollo 13 mission to the moon (April 11, 1970). Two days after the launch, an oxygen tank exploded, jeopardizing the lives of the astronauts and scrapping the mission. Their ingenious solutions and subsequent safe return on April 17 were later portrayed in the award-winning 1995 film Apollo 13.
I couldn’t help but think that the event is an apt analogy of the publishing experience. Granted, it is not a perfect comparison, but stick with me for a moment.
The astronauts spent years learning their craft. They studied, trained, and were chosen for the task. In a similar way, a writer is picked as the best-of-the-best, often after many years of working at the craft.
The author is quite excited about the book launch. They and their publisher work to get as much media attention as possible, hoping to attract buyers and readers.
All is well … until it isn’t. The unexpected happens. For Apollo 13 it was an oxygen tank explosion; for an author? What if one of the following things happened during your launch?
Your book is scheduled for release on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 (aka 9/11).
You flew to a major market for a TV interview and were bumped from the show because Michael Jackson died.
Your publisher insisted that November 6, 2012 was the perfect time to release your book. “The election will be over that day,” they said. Unfortunately, the publisher was wrong, and no one in the media selected you as a guest on their show. Not one. The media wanted to talk about politics. Your book was not about politics.
You spent hours putting together a launch party to have everyone buy your book on Amazon on the same day, “Launch Day.” This would guarantee it becoming a Top 100 bestseller! The day arrives, and hundreds of your fans are poised at their computers to click “buy.” Unfortunately, the publisher decided, without telling you, to make your ebook FREE on “Launch Day.” Those hundreds of fans clicked “Free.”
A major Big Box retailer bought 8,000 copies of your book. (Hooray!) Six months later, the retailer returned all 8,000 books to your publisher, with the boxes unopened. They “forgot” to put it into their inventory, and now it is too late; another book has taken the space.
Every one of these examples is real. I know each of these writers who experienced the unexpected.
The good news is that, like the astronauts, these authors are professionals. They knuckled down and worked within the unexpected. Despite a problematic book launch, they didn’t stop. Each one continued to write and subsequently published another book.
The other day, I was talking to a client about all the things that went wrong during the editing and publication of their last book. I remarked, “A book is never a perfect or ideal process. We’d like to believe it will be, but something, somewhere, seems to always go wrong.” If there isn’t any trouble, then something must be wrong; we just can’t see it!
It is a bit like life in general. We have idealistic expectations and seem surprised when life throws us a curve. As the saying goes, “Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes” (attributed to Zig Ziglar).
Before you go away depressed after reading this, realize that part of the journey to publishing success is learning about the potential challenges ahead of time. And thus being prepared. Talking about the negative things that happen is for a positive reason.
We could write about the joy of a brilliant editor, the gasp of delight when seeing the beautiful book cover for the first time, the stellar reviews that are posted by readers, the letters of changed lives from readers, and the oodles of cash that flow into your bank account. But then one might think I’m being unrealistic.
Your Turn
Those of you with publishing experience (either traditional or indie), tell us, without naming names, of the one or two things that went “wrong” with the publishing of your book.
[An earlier version of this post ran in 2016.]
Well, I got a traditional contract from a ‘vanity’ publisher…they set up interviews and book signings (which went well), placed the book in Barnes and Borders (which was COOL to see, on central tables, no less)…but kinda forgot to pay any royalties (yes, there were significant sales). I didn’t really care, the ride was so fun, but some other writers did, and the principals of the company eventually ended up in the slammer.
But anyway…
It’s 4 am and I’m in trouble,
an elephant is on my chest
to try to pop Hope’s fragile bubble
while telling me it’s for the best
that I just go on, give up;
I gave it the old college try.
Now it’s time to take the cup,
drink the hemlock, and then die.
Now elephants, they’re prideful sorts,
and wave their trunks and tusks around,
ignoring pleas and mild retorts,
but in fighting them I’ve found
that a thing they understand
is the African rifle in my hand.
Why, yes, I DO have an African double rifle. I built it myself. Read too much Robert Ruark and Peter Capstick, I guess.
I very nearly got published with Christian Faith Publishing O.O. THAT would have been a mistake XP thankfully a girl at my church had done it and warned me that it was a scam, but JEEPERS!
I returned the favor by warning some fellow writers who thought they had an “agent” interested in their book from them. I hate people who take advantage of writers like that, it’s just so cruel.
I worked for 12 years on a fantasy novel (I’m more of a picture book writer, so there was a lot to learn!) and when it finally got picked up, my agent and I were delighted.
Then came the edits. Oh boy. The editor was downright cruel. She hated my main character, calling her stupid more than once. She hated the plot of the story. She hated my secondary characters. She questioned my faith. And more. MORE! In the almost 400 page manuscript, she only said 2 nice things.
I asked my agent why in the world did she even accept it? It wasn’t my first time working with an editor. I had been published traditionally before. I knew this wasn’t right.
We arranged a conference call and tried talking through things, but the editor became a screaming harpy. It was awful!! I utilized the termination clause in the contract, paid the fee, and got everything back.
Whew!
The good news was that I met another editor from another small traditional press 2 years later and she accepted my manuscript. The first thing she said in the acceptance email was, “I adore your story!” And yeah, I went through the editing process, and we had a great working relationship. The book is now out of print with her, but we’re still friends. And I’m welcome to submit to her if I have anything I think she’d like to see
What I learned from all this (and this is just bare bones of what happened), is how the author/editor relationship should be. Especially with Christian editors!
Pam,
Ouch…
yeah …
I will be coming back to this post as the day goes on… currently in a bit of a dilemma over whether to go traditional or indie (the decision has… not been easy and some days it STILL makes me start hyperventilating over the fact that I have no idea which route to take) and maybe these comments will help me…
Lovely post, overall, I feel awful for those poor people who had their book set to launch on 9/11
Allie,
I cannot speak to your decision as that is entirely up to you.
Both are fraught with potential challenges.
Self publishing means you own all the problems and shoulder the costs and acumen to fix them.
Traditional publishing is a term loosely defined. There are small presses that are “traditional” meaning they pay royalties are not not paid to package the book. But small presses are small businesses that the word “small” describes their resources. Nothing wrong with that! Simply adjust expectations accordingly.
“Big” publishers have “bigger” resources but as such are quite selective on what they will publish. Often the financial return on the investment is a key metric in deciding whether or not they will publish a particular author.
I’ve definitely taken both into account. I just… I’d like to choose the path that will allow me to bless my readers the most. I have a very small platform currently, just a core support email list of a little over 200 and a website, but I do love them dearly and I want to choose a publishing route that will allow me to use my gifts to the glory of God and bless the little reader tribe I’m growing to the fullest extent. I’ve never wanted to be an author hanging out in the shadows watching people cheer about my books– I want to be cheering with them about the books in my genre, whether mine or a fellow author’s.
I guess I’m just going to have to keep on following God. Like the Tobymac song, it’s “way beyond me” XP
I have a contract for my first novel (I started my dream of being an author late when I retired). It has been almost two years since signing with this small non-Christian publisher. They do not communicate very often, when one of them does it is a bit hostile. They keep putting me off saying it needs remedial editing, and another one said the contract publishing date of at the most two years was just an estimate. I rewrote the book in third person limited as they requested last fall, but they did not give me the editing slot of January as indicated.
I feel like finding another publisher (they were only the second one I sent the manuscript to). When we spoke at length before signing, I was so impressed with them. Women only publisher, wanted to do right by authors because she was an author and had been hurt by a company. Great attitudes. Now this…
Susan,
Not a very happy experience. After two years, based on the scenario described, it may be time to consider terminating the agreement and go another direction.
Steve, this post had a real impact on me, and I thank you deeply for it. It gave me some much needed perspective. My second book went through a nightmare. The great marketing director of the publisher left, and the position was “filled” by a very young inexperienced person. I believe an intern or volunteer was chosen to set up the Amazon page. A disaster. Several errors (including labelling the book as a Large Print edition) took months to fix. And one serious error, using the terribly wrong category (actually the name of a slightly strange Christian cult) is still there. Sales started great through launch, (when people who knew me or my first book bought it), and then crashed to nothing. I know I can’t blame the Amazon page completely, but there is evidence that it played a major role. I didn’t know what to do.
Thank God for my agent, who got me a contract with a new publisher for my third book. (release this August). And of course, you know who that is. Thanks Dan.
Sy,
An unfortunate story, repeated more times than any would wish to admit.
Note that it might be that Amazon added the category to your book. A publisher can choose three BISAC categories when creating the metadata. Amazon extrapolates from that using mysterious algorithms. One idea, for all authors reading these comments, is to consider using your Author Central account on Amazon. (https://author.amazon.com/home)… claim your book…send a customer support ticket to them and request the correction.
I received a contract from a traditional publisher for a novel published in 2023. A second contract was awarded for book two in the series. This one they published in 2024. A third contract with the publisher led to the first book of another series (published in February 2025) and acceptance of book two set for release in late 2025.
In March, I received word the publisher will close for business this summer. Great publisher. Fantastic executive editor with whom I enjoyed working with. A promising future until this major setback.
Options: find another publisher for the three already published novels or self-publish.
Will I let this stop me? No. I will press on and thank God for the opportunity to share my work with others and hope for the best.
Small presses can be a risk. I’ve seen dozens start up and then shutter. Like any small business venture it can be started with passion and often considerable skill. Unfortunately, unless the owner has deep pockets the financial realities of a start up in publishing can be challenging.
Finding a new publisher for books already released with be quite difficult because they have been in the marketplace for some time.
Great analogy, Steve. So much of the Apollo 13 experience applies to the publishing business as well as to life in general!
(Btw, the date of the Apollo 13 launch was April 11, 1970, not 1979.)
Thank you Kay. Typo fixed!
Great subject, Steve! At a time when I needed guidance and direction from my agent, she’d become extremely ill (eventually passing away after a brutal two-year battle). During that time, I didn’t want to be the rat that abandoned ship — I hoped and prayed she’d get better. I loved her as a friend. She was able to sell one of my books, but my other unsold books and ideas backed up, and my writing went on hold. I just kept writing and praying for answers, certain that God would sort things out in His timing. When the agency called and said my agent wasn’t going to recover and I should make other arrangements, my moral dilemma was resolved, but I now had a new challenge–find a new agent and pitch to publishers, something I hadn’t had to even think about for many years. As I was sharing my story with a few close friends at the American Christian Fiction Conference, I looked over at my dear friend, Lynette Eason, and the solution appeared. I’d forgotten she’d become an agent. I signed with her (and your agency) and I couldn’t be more blessed.
This was so inspiring to read (also, hi, I used to be an ACFW member as well XD)
My book PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength and Discipline (WaterBrook) actually WAS released in September 2001.
BUT . . . it was an Amazon bestseller. There may have been at least two factors that affected these sales. First, a Health magazine editor did a nine-page story about prayerwalking that primarily focused on my prayerwalking practices (she followed and interviewed me and people in my little town for three days). She had learned about the book’s release and so her article landed as the September 2001 issue’s feature. The other factor was, I believe, 9/11 itself. People were drawn to faith, the Bible, and prayer during that very hard season.
PrayerWalk is still in print and propelled my writing career in the area of prayer.
Janet,
Great reminder that sometimes a great book survives for 24 years despite the world’s chaos surrounding its release!
The example I used above was a major author’s new book with a ton of media booked the two weeks after pub date on 9/11. None of the PR happened and the book died a painful death. Author is still successful and writing, so, like you, didn’t let circumstances derail anything.
For those of you who may not know Janet’s work, her book Praying Personalities: Finding Your Natural Prayer Style (Kregel – https://amzn.to/3GbW3WD) was just name a finalist in the ECPA Christian Book of the Year Awards in the Christian Living category.
Publisher changed the title of my book from “PARENTING HACKS” to “QUICK TIPS FOR BUSY FAMILIES.” Crashed and burned.
I’m not even a parent and I like “Parenting Hacks” more XD
I had two signed contracts; one manuscript was in the publishing process, the other being expanded, and a study section added. I was to receive the galleys to approve, but never received them. Many emails exchanged between the publisher and me, and *poof*, the earth was flat again.
Attempts to reach her and searches for others connected with her after several months revealed no one had had word from her or about her.
It legally took a year of waiting because of the contracts before I could attempt to find another publisher. (Possibly, a Breach of Contract could happen.) Over two years after the contracts, to sigh and take courage to try again.
Definitely a good reminder to take everything in stride. Thank you for this timely message. Sometimes…always…it takes longer than expected. Like a pregnant mom getting bigger by the day, we are ready for the book to be out in the world. But time is relative, and God is the boss of time. Good lessons all along. Patience. Perseverance. Suffering——>Faith that does not disappoint. As Christian authors we have the Promises behind us. All things…for His sake and purposes. Even mistakes and mishaps are bundled into the deal. Your words and encouragement are a blessing to all of us out here, Steve.
I worked on a book for more than 20 years, a promise I made to my then-six-year-old grandson. After several rounds of remarks from my contract offer, we both agreed the book still wasn’t ready. When I finally felt ready, the offer was not renewed, so I self-published. Big mistake. In my hurry to make a promise fulfilled, I went with an unknown indie publisher rather than Amazon because I wanted to use a broader release platform and to include Ingram. Maybe my thought wasn’t all bad, but that publisher was! After 5,000 dollars invested and promises unfulfilled, I came to the conclusion I’d been had. Although, at least the product result was very good. And the effort was a labor of love for children. Added services beyond that were a ripoff. Later, I saw the publisher listed as a predator. I’d published traditionally for over 16 books traditionally before this experience. I should have known better. But the adage, haste makes waste, is true. Always research your publisher before signing any agreement.
One more note if I may. There was something in this post that caught me with a note of recognition. It was this: “the letters of changed lives from readers”. Yes, that is what keeps me going. I have gotten quite a few of those, and they are the fuel that powers my efforts. Why do we write, we Christian writers? The same reason preachers preach, and podcasters broadcast. It’s why Matthew wrote his gospel, and Paul wrote his letters. Its because almost two thousand years ago on a Sunday morning, the world turned around as the risen Savior made Himself known. That single blessed event, that act of God, needs to be talked about, written about, then, now and forever. And that’s what we do, and that’s why we do it. If only one lost soul had written to me telling me my words had helped them restore their faith, it would all be worth it, no matter how many books were sold or languished on the shelves. So yes, we will keep on with this holy work, no matter what happens to our shuttle, and we will triumph at the end, when our Lord returns in glory. Amen
When my debut novel, One Smooth Stone was published, by a small Canadian royalty publisher, I was over the moon and sent out a few copies to those who had been part of the journey. One of them emailed to say she thought I should talk to the publisher about all the mistakes! Mistakes? What mistakes? I immediately opened the book to find all kinds of strange typos and marks that apparently happened when the Word ms. was transferred into the software used by the printer. For instance, my friend said she thought my main character had a stutter that suddenly disappeared half way through the book! I should have been sent a proof copy to check but because they wanted it out in time for Christmas, they decided to just do the print run. My publisher apologized and asked me to cut off the bar code on all the books and send them to him, which of course left me with a few boxes that could not be sold. Sigh! The next run was fine, PTL!
Try indie publishing on the day lockdowns hit in March 2020. I literally hit Send, packed up my stuff with hubby, and “fled” for the shred of vacation we had left at a friend’s secluded lake house. Needless to say, that killed my desire to finish the trilogy.
It was my first book and I knew nothing! My editor went on maternity leave as soon as she finished editing my book. The publisher ‘forgot’ to add my book to their bi-annual catalog. My editor then resigned to stay home with her baby. (Good for her!) The following year was the ‘off’ year for the catalog. By the next year when the catalog was about to come out, they took my book out of print.
One of my books released the same month Covid shut down the world. There was nothing I could do about it but move on. So much is outside our control, but thankfully, it is never outside the control of the Lord!