Life seems to be full of these strange coincidences, these wonderful moments of pure chance. The fate of a book very often depends on these little moments of magic. The job of the author is to make the book as good as it can possibly be, to take the idea that has come to her and use whatever skill she has to turn it into the best book she could write. After that the publisher has to present it in the best possible way - provide the best cover, lay it out as they think will make it shine. Then the marketing department has to step in and get it out to as many people as they can.
In the case of an author publishing through LULU, there is no separation of these jobs. He/She must do them all. Up until a certain point the author/publisher/marketing director can do a lot, ensuring that the finished product is well crafted and readily available. But then there is this beautiful moment of letting go. Sending it out and waiting for that moment of magic. More than any other book the POD book lives and dies on these moments of magic.
Will the right person, someone who can help your book, find it? Will that person read it when they are in a frame of mind to actually be affected by it? Will they decide that they can actually help the book or will they dismiss it, forget about it? The author has no way of knowing. She can put the book out to as many people as possible but this moment of magic is out of their hands entirely. People talk about timing all the time. Timing is responsible for the success of so many books, and conversely the failure of a great many others. Is this timing purely random? Could it be that it is just arbitrary, a fluke? Or could there be more to it than that?
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