I suspect I am like many aspiring authors. I overindulge in research on how to  get published, lessons learned by established authors and the like.

So when I came upon Curtis Sittenfeld‘s post on BuzzFeed entitled 24 Things No One Tells You about Book Publishing, I immediately read it and liked it.

She focused more on human behavior and less on nuts and bolts. Which is not to say she didn’t touch on a few nuts, like these two.

• Blurbs achieve almost nothing, everyone in publishing knows it, and everyone in publishing hates them. [I knew it. I just knew it. None of my favorite authors seem to share my taste in books.]
• But a really good blurb from the right person can, occasionally, make a book take off. [So, I guess she’s thinking Oprah or Stephen King.]

But what I really liked was her attitude:

• Sometimes good books sell well; sometimes good books sell poorly; sometimes bad books sell well; sometimes bad books sell poorly. A lot about publishing is unfair and inscrutable. [Emphasis mine.] But…

• …you don’t need anyone else’s approval or permission to enjoy the magic of writing — of sitting by yourself, figuring out which words should go together [I love that.] to express whatever it is you’re trying to say.

  Brava, Curtis. Useful and comforting at the same time. Just what aspiring authors need.