This isn’t complete, and I’ll try to keep adding to them, but here are a few of my favorite rules:
1. You may get what you pay for, but you rarely get much more.
Great, cheap alternatives usually have a catch.
2. Crunch your numbers.
If you’re making a decision that can have a major impact on your results, always test the alternatives, and compare the changes in your bottom line. (If you don’t know how, read the rest of my blog, take a seminar I offer at one of the publishing conferences near you or ask a question in the comments!)
3. It depends.
You’ll hear a lot of general rules pronounced (including this list). Most of them are true for at least some circumstances. But all of them have exceptions. Look at the situation in front of you, and think it through, rather than relying upon a rule.
4. There are NO shortcuts in this business.
There are, however, a large number of very attractive routes leading to heartbreak.
4A. Those dinosaurs, the “big NYC publishers,” are run by some very smart people.
If they’re not doing something that seems simple and obvious to you, the chances are pretty good that you’re missing something.
5. Success at self-publishing is harder than getting published by a mainstream house.
(IF you define success in terms of exposure, fame or profit.)
6. I repeat: crunch your numbers!