Written a truly great story?  And now you just bet you're going to be the next J. K. Rowling, because it's such an awesome tale?  You're just positive every editor you send it to will have to love it, because how could they possibly not?  Right?  So, amidst them all wrangling over which one gets the wonderful privilege of publishing your literary masterpiece, you suddenly discover, TA-DA!  YOU'VE ARRIVED!  Right again?

Why is this?

Hey, it happened sort of that way for J. K.  Rowling didn't it, so it could happen for you, too?  Well, not exactly.  First, there are conflicting stories of how Ms. Rowling wrote her first Harry Potter book and under what conditions, but the circumstances definitely weren't that romantic, or nearly so quick.  Ah, well . . . it makes for a good literary legend.  And although legends help us get through our lives, they are not the stuff of life.  Reality is the "real" stuff of life, I'm afraid.

So, wake up my little muffins!  Smell the bitter coffee.  Because, "it's a jungle out there," as "they" like to say.  Seriously, all joking and kidding aside, it really is a jungle or worse and that is what you as an author must face in order to make it "big" or otherwise, if at all. 

It's no longer enough to just write a great story.  Those days for authors are long over.  Writing a marvelous tale and then sitting back and leaving it to editors/publishers to sell your work for you is history.  I've said it before, but it bears repeating.  Now, you aren't just a writer anymore, you have to be a salesman as well, and a darn good one.  More, you have to be a publicist, a personal assistant, a secretary, an editor, a proof reader, and whatever else it takes to break into the writing-world-as-we-now-know-it.

Why is it so tough?

Well, there are thousands and thousands of would-be authors out there, just like you! With e-submissions now common, anyone, anywhere in the world that wants to submit something can, and they do!  That means slush piles are huge and growing all the time.  Editors wade through mountains of the stuff and often will only read a paragraph or two before tossing a story or novel to one side and moving onto the next.  Then there is the cost-of-doing-business factor.  The expenses of producing books in hard print rise steadily even as the market for such novels steadily drops.  That's so not good! It doesn't look pretty for publishing as a whole and certainly not for you as an aspiring author. 

And there are so many e-publishing houses coming and going these days that for a would-be author it's a minefield as to which one they should submit a story or novel to.  "Mom and Pop" e-publishers fail on a regular basis.  So, pick the wrong e-publisher and you can lose the rights to your novel in bankruptcy proceedings, because it is often considered an "asset" of the publisher's.  At the very least, your story may be tied up for months, perhaps even years, before you get the rights to it back again. 

Another problem in this area is that some e-publishers will publish almost anything.  It doesn't cost much for them to do it, and if even a few such novels are sold it is extra money in their pocket.  They "pad" their literary stable this way, as it were.  This is just business, it's nothing personal.  But this also means there are tons of badly written books and/or stories out there.  Readers now must swim through a deluge of such books to find ones that are good, ones they like.  It makes it that much harder for a good book to stand out in such a crowded field. 

So, you say hard print then is the answer?  Well, as I've already mentioned, hardcover readership is declining, and has been for years.  This is a long-term trend, my little cookies.  It is going to continue for some time to come, I fear.  That's reality again. 

So, here you are, an authorial voice crying in a vast wilderness of writers, unheard, unloved, and so unpaid.

What can you do about it?

Well, here is an approach that seems to work.

1.  First, practice your art of writing.  Make sure you truly have written something worthwhile.  Then,

2.  Research the publishers who might publish your work.  Just because they publish science fiction, doesn't mean they publish your style of science fiction.  Some prefer dark; some prefer technical/hard SF, etc.  So dig into it.  Make sure you are targeting the right publishers with your work.  That's a must.  If they want a query letter, look up on the internet how to write a good one.  It's amazing how such things can work and work well.
   The movie Alien is said to have been sold as "Jaws in space." The original Star Trek series was said to have been promoted to television executives as "Wagon Train in space."  (It seems westerns were big at the time, I guess.)  If this is true, then your query letter should incorporate this sort of thing.  You must sell your work to the editor/publisher.  See?  Already you're a salesman as well as a writer.

It doesn't stop there, as I've already said.  Now the real job begins.
  

3.  Your must market your work.  You may have sold your work to an editor, but now you have to pitch in and help sell it to the readers.  Did you know many editors will Google you to find out what you've done?  It isn't enough to send them your resume; they want to know more, as in how big a name you really are, what your track record is.  Lots of links to you often seems to equal lots of popularity in an editor's eyes.  At the very least, they want to see how and if you are promoting your own work.

4.  You must market yourself as well as your work.  Editors Google to see if you are marketing yourself, as well.  There are lots of ways of going about this.
   Firstly, it is imperative you have your own webpage.  That's an absolute must nowadays.  You can also attend conventions; hand out personalized bookmarks, flyers, etc., all promoting yourself.  Do book signings.  Even buying books and selling them to bookshops yourself is something many authors now do.  Reviews of your novel/story help.  The more and the better they are, the better for you.  They generate more links for you if online.  So, you may want to send out or inquire of many reviewers and review sites on the internet if they will review your work.  Some authors have their book covers designed and paid for by themselves.  This is to control the first thing the reader sees, the cover.  (You'd be surprised how important that can be.)
   Having interviews done is another good way to go.  Getting yourself on podcasts is another.  Some writers do lectures at schools, libraries, anywhere they can.  Some charge for this.  Others do it for free.  There are lots of ways to market yourself.  Some ways will work better than others for you. 

5.  Announce yourself.  Let everyone know you are an author!  Sign all your letters, emails, etc.  with your name as being an author.  Include your website address, email address, blogs, and/or book trailer sites, as well.  Get it in there.  You can even add short blurbs about a new novel or story being published.  And do blogs!  Get your face and name out there.  Do book reviews if you want.  You'll learn quickly this way what makes for a popular and good book versus a bad one, believe me!  Do a newsletter, online or off, they help to announce who you are, what you are doing, what is available from you, etc.

Is it a tough world out there for authors?  Oh, yeah!  The publishing world has chewed up many a promising author and spit them out, and often over trivial things.  SO, PROCEED INTO THE PUBLISHING WORLD WITH CAUTION! It's a dangerous place for newbies, and even oldbies.

However, if you do most of what I'm advising here, and if your stories are actually good ones, you'll start to rise in the publishing world.  When I first started, I wrote for the lowest paying magazines, anyone actually, that was kind and generous enough to publish me.  That got my name out there.  Now, I'm getting published in so-called "pro" markets, but it is the low paying markets I owe my sincere thanks to.  They are the ones that were willing to take a chance on me.  And remember, just because they were low paying doesn't mean they had less to lose.  Being smaller publishers, for them, that "low pay" was still a lot of money to come up with, proportionately-speaking. 

Am I at the top or even near the top of my profession?  I WISH!  But I'm climbing steadily, making headway each month and each year.  You can, too.  My work is getting sold more often and for more money.  You can have that, too.  Be positive!  Be persistent and persevering, and above all, work at it!  Get off your butt and take an active role in marketing your own work and yourself.