When I taught at a Michigan State University study abroad program in London, guest author Val McDermid surprised my students when she talked about luck.
Luck/Timing is unpredictable. Like when a book with a similar plot or subject comes out with much more PR than yours and yours gets swamped which it might not have, if it had been published in a different season.
"and there are hundreds of people willing to sell you a book (or their consulting/publicity services) that they promise will reveal the secret to success."
And a whole lot of these are bots preying on authors who want to believe their fabrications.
The ones that crack me up are the ones that pick a book I wrote over 20 years ago, for example, and promise to get it wider recognition. Well, duh. It's *been* recognized and reviewed and I've moved way on. Clearly the bots are picking titles at random.
I agree with you about the role of luck in a writer's career.
Luck/Timing is unpredictable. Like when a book with a similar plot or subject comes out with much more PR than yours and yours gets swamped which it might not have, if it had been published in a different season.
"and there are hundreds of people willing to sell you a book (or their consulting/publicity services) that they promise will reveal the secret to success."
And a whole lot of these are bots preying on authors who want to believe their fabrications.
The ones that crack me up are the ones that pick a book I wrote over 20 years ago, for example, and promise to get it wider recognition. Well, duh. It's *been* recognized and reviewed and I've moved way on. Clearly the bots are picking titles at random.
The ones I REALLY crack me up are the ones that promise to help me promote a book I didn't write.
Come on, now, where's your team spirit? 😁