One thing I haven’t done on my blog yet is discuss why I chose to independently publish my work. I never submitted Rise and Fall to agents or publishers. I’m not ready to get into all the ins and outs behind how I reached my decision, but I wanted to share some thoughts on the common view that traditional publishers know talent.

“Publishers can spot a good story better than anyone else.”

“If your story has been rejected, it’s because you can’t write.”

“Independent authors just don’t put as much effort into a book as traditionally published do.”

“Traditional publishers know what kind of books readers will enjoy.”

Contrary to popular belief, traditional plublisher cannot pick the next big bestseller any more than you or I can. They get it wrong much more than people assume they do.

Have you ever heard of any of these books? Harry Potter? Peter Rabbit? Twilight? Carrie? Animal Farm? The Hunt for Red October? These titles were initially rejected by traditional publishers. Many times more than once! Click here for a list of 40 famous manuscripts and you’ll be appalled at some of the big name books and classics that were turned down repeatedly before someone took a chance on the manuscript.

So what does this mean? It means that traditional publishers make a lot of mistakes and they aren’t always the best judges of talent. Trust me, I’ve read plenty of AWFUL traditionally published work. Traditional publishers can simply tell if a manuscript is right for them.

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