No one likes to hear that publishing is a tough business.

We didn't when we first poked our heads out of our writing holes and took a look around. We had unrealistic expectations of what it would be like to break the publishing barrier. Those expectations included being showered with money and adulation.

It would have been easy for those expectations to give way to discouragement when we got a dose of reality.

Ask anyone in the business and they'll tell you that you'd better love writing or find something else to do. This isn't a business for the faint of heart.

One of the problems with publishing is that the "product suppliers" (i.e. authors) are more plentiful than the "product producers" (i.e. publishers). Even small press publishers are buried in submissions from hopeful authors. Competition for every publishing slot is keen.

It doesn't help that the definition of a "good book" is subjective and ever changing and that being "good" isn't enough. A book must also be marketable to survive the submission process.

You'll quickly realize that most of us don't go into publishing because it was a wise business decision. We're in this because we love writing. And because we can't stop.

Just because this is a crazy, random, flawed business doesn't mean you can't run your part of the business in a professional way. In fact, because it is so random and crazy, it's more important to be business-like. It helps to control what is under your power to control. And it helps to be realistic about what to expect.

So what can you expect from this business?

What to expect

When you put fingers to keyboard and finish a project, you've created something called an "intellectual property."

Whether in digital format or handwritten--no matter what the format--it is protected by copyright from the moment of creation. For extra protection, at the time of publication either you (or your publisher) should officially register the copyright with The U.S. Copyright Office, but regardless, at this point you are an author.

When you try to contract your book to a publisher or become a publisher yourself, you become a small business owner.

Learning to hone your writing skills, learning how to edit and polish your work and how to tap into your creativity is very important to your business, but it's only one part of the business. The other part involves the business side. It involves effectively managing your business resources.

You will be in charge of contracting and promoting your product. You'll need to manage your revenue stream--incoming and outgoing. You'll have to deal with customer relations, networking, advertising, product placement and market research.

About now you're probably thinking, "But I just want to be a writer! And besides, I'm not published. Why should I worry about this now?"

Unfortunately, too many new authors neglect their small business until something goes wrong and by then decisions have been made that can't be undone--you could lose rights to your book. Problems may have been created that can't easily be solved (someone has reserved your domain name and wants a chunk of money to transfer it to you.) Bridges have been burned that can't be rebuilt (the editor or publisher won't work with you again). Worse case, intellectual property rights--rights to your book--can get tied up so that you, the author, can no longer benefit from them.

"If only I'd known..." are the saddest four words from an author's mouth.

While this guide can't protect you from every publishing problem known to authors, it can help you come up with a plan to manage your small business and hopefully help you avoid some common pitfalls waiting to trip up the unwary new author.