Realistic Expectations

Let’s be honest.

You probably aren’t going to sell a million copies of your book. The big man upstairs at Random House, or Simon and Schuster, or any other “Big 5” publisher probably isn’t going to call you with a six figure offer. Steven Spielberg isn’t going to direct the film adaptation of your memoir, and Jennifer Lawrence/Leonardo DiCaprio probably won’t be cast to play you.

If you set out to make a million dollars with your book, you’re going to be disappointed. You’ll taint any amount of success you do experience with the thought of those unfulfilled, unrealistic expectations. Making money by writing books is awesome, but don’t let it define your ideals of success.

Feeling discouraged? Don’t be.

You can work hard and make money off your book. If you start with a decent manuscript, you invest in quality services to make your book the best it can be, and you dedicate yourself to promoting it as hard as you can, you’ll probably exceed your own expectations (assuming they’re realistic).

We started Columbus Publishing Lab after seeing too many authors ripped off by book factories encouraging these unrealistic expectations, charging a lot of money for sub-par services, and then leaving the author out a lot of cash and embittered with the entire process.

When an author comes to Columbus Publishing Lab we don’t promise them money, notoriety or any other traditional form of “success.” Maybe we’d make a lot more money if we did, but our authors wouldn’t. Unrealistic expectations aren’t just detrimental to writers’ egos, they’re bad for the industry. If you’re looking for a guarantee your dreams will come true, you might want to look elsewhere.

What we do guarantee is a quality book, and a solid foundation for a lot of future work.

What happens next is up to you.