Friday, February 23, 2007

Life Lessons

Those who have succeeded at anything and don't mention luck are kidding themselves. ~ Larry King

So... American Idol last night proved one thing to me (aside from the fact that America is apparently tone deaf):

You never know what's going to appeal to masses.

Seriously. I had it all figured out... I knew who was going home on AI. I was absolutely wrong. Clearly, this isn't just a singing contest, which I should have known all along.

And, honestly, publishing isn't just a writing "contest" either. Not that you shouldn't write the best story you can, using the best grammar and spelling. Still, that's just not enough.

It's about hitting the agent/editor on the right day. It's about writing the right story for the moment (kinda like choosing the right song on AI). And even if you're published, who knows how many books you'll sell?

It's about public perception and word of mouth.

I spend a lot of time blog-hopping, and I find many of the books I read via recommendations from other sites. I've discovered some really great new authors this way. I've also occasionally slapped my forehead and thought, "What was that person thinking when she called this the best book of the year?"

There's simply no pleasing everyone all the time. You just need to find a way to please enough people and the right people and you're all set.

Ahhh... life lessons from American Idol. Who knew?

In other news, Syl has a book trailer for her soon to be published novel:



Book launch date is May 19, 2007

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree. I should have stopped watching AI long ago, because it always ticks me off.

The other lesson is...if, like Paula Abdul, you can't talk without slurring and confusing your words, maybe you should find a less-public career.

Judy said...

Y'know... I think Bob and I are the only people in America who have never watched AI. It just never appealed to us. Of course, we don't watch hardly any of the reality shows... and definitely none of them religiously. When I stayed with my mom, she liked Fear Factor, so I saw some of them. When I stayed with my friend, Tina, she and her husband LOVED Survivor, so I watched those with them. Once in a while, I'll tune in on one of the "self-help kinda shows"... Flip This House, or whatever that one is where the girl and guy tell you just how awful your style of clothing is and send you shopping. But, that's about the extent of it.