Visit Eden Monroe's Author Page for details and buy links on her books
It all begins with
the germ of an idea that comes to life under the author’s pen. Creating a
story, plumbing the depths of our imagination, drawing on the complex
intricacies of real life to mould plausible circumstances into sentences that
become paragraphs and pages and eventually a book. The gift of story telling in
motion – and for most of us the realization of a dream to see it between two
shiny covers of smartly crafted artwork. We have written a book.
To the uninitiated
writing a book is a literary lark, a few weeks spent putting thoughts to paper
and then as routinely depicted on stage and screen the money starts to roll in.
Doesn’t a six-figure royalty cheque come inside the front cover of every book?
Many think so. Writers, even the most humble beginners among us, are enormously
wealthy once we create a book. So (a) minimal effort and (b) huge rewards – the
mindset I encounter on a regular basis. No, success for authors is not
automatic. It doesn’t just happen.
Perception is often
wholly disproportionate to reality in that regard. While talent is obviously a
prerequisite to success, so is hard work – both in producing the finished
product – and employing savvy marketing skills to sell what we’ve written, and
the exciting potential is certainly there to accomplish that. After all, a
publisher has very generously brought us into their fold – taken a chance on us
and that opportunity must be rewarded in kind – bearing in mind the financial
risk they take. A publisher is the vehicle that drives our books, brings them
to the masses, and we, the writers are truly grateful that someone saw enough potential
in what we’ve written to take us on. That is the extraordinary golden moment –
that huge step from the hatbox to the bookshelf as the journey continues.
At the end of the
day though, once the offering has been laid before inquiring eyes and all possible
efforts exhausted to send the book on its way, it is the reader who has the
final say. The trilogy of writer, publisher and reader is complete. No one part
is greater than the total sum. Readers can’t read without writers and writers
can’t possibly succeed without readers – and publishers consummate the
experience for both.
A reader who enjoys
our books is a traveler who has chosen to share this journey with us, and
without a doubt makes any and all of our sacrifices worthwhile.
Why do writers
write? Because we must, to satisfy the figurative call of the sea within us.
Bad or good, it is our destiny, the drive that sees us fill another page, and
another, and another….
