My introduction to the realities of book sales came in junior high school. I was one of two finalists for a story contest in Language Arts class, and my competitor’s story was a literary masterpiece. I don’t remember the plot exactly, but her story involved an orange cat and the writing was so offbeat and lyrical and deep that I knew she had a special talent and deserved to win.
My story wasn’t even good enough to be considered ordinary in my own mind. But my characters were named after each student in the class, and I put the girls in situations with their guy crushes and made several of the jocks fall face-first into a pond, plus other giggle-inducing drivel. So when the class voted for the winner, I won by a landslide. Continue reading “Sales Versus Selling Out”
