78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published...
71. Pat Walsh, 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published and 14 Reasons Why It Just Might
Editor Pat Walsh provides a snarky yet ultimately helpful list of the biggest mistakes first-time authors make in trying to get their books published. Chapter titles include such encouraging words of wisdom as “Your Book Is Not Good Enough” and “You Are Kidding Yourself If You Think You Are Not in the Slush Pile.” Despite the sometimes-abrasive tone, however, Walsh delivers commonsense advice to writers who aspire to break into the extremely competitive publishing industry.
Most of this book doesn’t have particular relevance for me; I’m still in the group of people Walsh addresses in Chapter One (“The Number One Reason Your Book Will Never Be Published Is Because You Have Not Written It”). However, his tips seem like they would be helpful in alerting writers to common mistakes that cause editors and agents to pass on a manuscript. I also enjoyed the book’s humorous and entertaining style. I did find it strange that Walsh doesn’t even mention the Internet as a potential tool for writers to promote their books. Aside from that, though, I think this would be a good read for its target audience.