Even when it’s not our official “Now What?” Months, we’re here to help your novel through the publishing process. Today, publishing sales co-ordinator Ashton Quinn Parker shares some insights she’s learned from managing book sales in a big publishing house:

When most people think about getting their first book published, the checklist of steps to go through often looks something like this:

1. Get a rock star agent.

2. Get an amazing cheerleader editor.

3. Watch all your publishing dreams come true.

However, anyone working in the publishing industry can tell you it’s not quite that straightforward. Sometimes aspiring writers become so focused on the steps that lead to getting their book published they forget one key thing that makes each of those steps happen: sales! 

No agent will look twice at a query letter that doesn’t have a good hook, and no editor will take on a book from any agent that can’t sell it well. Sales is one of the most vital things that takes a book from the hands of the author to the readers. And it’s not only the selling of the book to the agent and the editor but also what happens after they’ve dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s that has a huge effect on how well your book does. 

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