Many of us have thought we have a book in us somewhere, with a little extra time and some luck. In my case it is a children’s book about the invention of the light bulb, complete with hands-on activities so can kids invent along with Edison and the men at Menlo Park. I got bogged down upon learning of all of the stumbling blocks to being published, including the self-promoting and personal financial investment.
Laurie Lynch, a wonderfully talented writer with many tales to tell, whom I met when she rented out chicks at Easter time, has just returned from a writers’ conference in San Francisco.
What she learned is that 80% of American families did not buy a book in 2011, and 57% of new books are not read to completion. These are very sobering thoughts for any of us who dreamed that someday….
And yet, she says, a writer cannot NOT write.
And so we have faith in that 20%.