Aspiring authors often spend years stumbling around in darkness trying to find a publisher. If writing a book is one of the hardest endeavors anyone can undertake, attempting to publish one must be the hardest. There are not only rejections and delays, but countless detours in the wrong direction too. I'll be the first to admit keeping a sunny disposition isn't always easy. I literally received over 600 rejections for Battling The Corporate Giants: The Ultimate David and Goliath Story. Instead of letting it dim my spirits though, I made a game of it. I imagined one day I would wall-paper my future office with all the refusals. I told myself the rest of the office décor would be the most tasteful money could buy with fine paneling, beautiful oak desks and leather back chairs. I saw it as something right out of a Charles Dickens novel: the ultimate in Victorian elegance. Keeping this mental picture in my mind sustained me through these dark times and gave me a few laughs as well. Those seeking the literary limelight must face this awful truth: quite simply, if it's not a sequel, a prequel or a celebrity book most publishers won't even look at your work. It is extremely important at this stage that would-be writers focus on a positive outcome from all this constant negativity. My remedy was to ask publishers why they rejected Battling The Corporate Giants. Most wouldn't take the time to respond, but a few offered some constructive criticism. For example, my original idea was to take all the underdogs through history and use them in my book. One editor pointed out this confused readers because I was leaping from one time period to another and never establishing a setting. Not all the editor's instructions were this useful. Some would tell me to drop all anecdotes that weren't from the last 20 years. Since the bulk of the story takes place in ancient times this really didn't make much sense.

Others would say something like, "Add more mythology!" So, I would spend several months complying with their request by doing copious amounts of research and rewriting and then after all that work they would pass on it anyway. There were also publishers who said they loved Corporate Giants, and would sing its praises for several months, but when it came time to sign the contracts their offers were so ridiculously low it wasn't worth doing. As bad as these people were, by far the worst were businesses that operated in the shadows of the publishing industry. Most of these spurious companies are referred to as self-publishing firms, writer's work shops and so-called book doctors. While there are probably some legitimate operators in these fields, often they are filled with con artists that are only too willing to cash in on the dreams of aspiring authors. Like a moth to the flame, novices are frequently drawn to someone who shines a little praise on their work. Unfortunately these charlatans issue their flattery at a high cost. They take hundreds, if not thousands of dollars from neophytes yearning for literary fame every year. Most of the products and services they offer do nothing to help manuscripts see the light of day. A sure sign they are illegitimate is when they refuse to give you a list of their current clients for reasons of confidentiality. Since the whole purpose of publishing is to get the word out about books, anyone claiming a desire to remain anonymous isn't sincere. Perhaps the most detrimental part of this is how much time this consumes. Months roll into years and many potentially great books just gather dust on shelves. No wonder so many writers remain unpublished obscurity. It's tough not to get gloomy through all this, but would-be writers should constantly seek the silver linings in their dark clouds. For instance, even when I got a rejection, I would take the time to thank publishers for considering Battling The Corporate Giants. One managing editor was so impressed with my attitude he offered me some work reviewing manuscripts. I did the absolute best job I could with these assignments. My diligence paid off brilliantly. One author whose work I reviewed ended up writing the forward for my book. The managing editor later became the senior editor and gave me the names of some prominent writers that happily endorsed my book. These endorsements provided the spark that led to the eventual success of Corporate Giants. They ultimately opened the doors that got my book the exposure it needed. It never would have happened if I didn't see a few glimmers of light through all those dark days. For more information about "Battling The Corporate Giants: The Ultimate David and Goliath Story" go to http://www.pdbookstore.com/comfiles/pages/DanielLLowery.shtml


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About the Author

Daniel L. Lowery has over 17 years experience in sales. He spent the last 11 years operating a cellular phone franchise in Southern California. His experience competing and working with giant corporations gave him the inspiration for this book: a work truly written from the trenches of corporate warfare.