Sandy Nathan's YOUR SHELF LIFE

I sat down this morning to write an article about how to obtain testimonials and endorsements and how they can help sell your book. That led me to think about what does sell your book. Are testimonials all that count? Not by a long shot. Here’s my list of things that sell your book, in order of importance: 12 fascinating points follow! Conclusion: Point 12. Your book. Notice where I place this on my list. That’s because I’ve seen books that would make the professor who ran my writing group vomit become major bestsellers. I’ve seen books that would make people in MFA in writing programs gag succeed like crazy. I’ve seen lots of books like this. It’s a mystery why people buy books about werewolves, zombies, vampires, mayhem, and mawkish drivel. But they do. A book needs to hook something in your buyers. It doesn’t have to be their higher Self or even a good part of their character. Alas. The subject needs a fast moving story around it and a very good editing and proofreading job. That’s all.

Author Sandy Nathan has just won the the 2011 IPPY (Independent Publisher) GOLD MEDAL FOR VISIONARY FICTION for her sci-fi /fantasy / visionary fiction novel, The Angel & the Brown-eyed Boy. The IPPY Award Contest is one of the largest and oldest competitions for independent presses––in fact, it may be the oldest and largest.

Sandy says, “Winning this award feels very good. It marks almost four years of work by myself and my publishing team at Vilasa Press. I want to thank my content editor, Melanie Rigney; my book designer, Lewis Agell; and Kathy Grow and Kathryn Agrell for copy editing and proofreading assistance. Many thanks also to my husband, Barry Nathan for keeping Vilasa Press organized and moving forward.”

The much-in-demand executive leadership coach with impressive and impeccable references—let’s call her Diana—wanted to put some of her wisdom down on paper. She hoped not only to bring in additional dollars, but also (her real goal) to help clients and other readers benefit from the tough life lessons she had learned.

So, Diana wrote a book, a good one. She was an excellent storyteller, able to pull persuasive and universal messages out of her experiences.

She began with an epigraph, a quotation from a major writer with whom, for many reasons, a person in her position should have been very familiar.

And Diana misspelled that writer’s name.

Fortunately, she had decided to spend the money to have her book proofread before sending it on to a publisher. When I returned the manuscript, her reaction was immediate: “Just your catching the misspelling of that name was worth every penny.”