More Secrets Revealed
This time with a cover
Secrets. Secrets. Everyone loves a good secret.
Today, I’m sharing another secret from my essay. It’s featured in HIDDEN WORLD: A LOWER COLUMBIA COUNTY WRITERS ANTHOLOGY, which is the big collaboration I’ve been working on for most of this year.
But I’m most excited about the non-secret that I’m also sharing today. That’s the cover for this book.
Photo credit: Traci Wolfe
Here’s something that might shock you: anyone can publish a book. If you wanted, you could jump on KDP, upload a document, and make it available for purchase within hours.
But those wannabe authors are so busy wondering if they can do it, that they don’t stop to ask if they should. (Echoing the sentiment of Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park here.) Like those genetic geniuses who shouldn’t have cloned dinosaurs, people should think long and hard before publishing their first (or even second) draft of a book.
Secret #7: Anyone can publish a book on Amazon (and boy, do they ever).
Those writers that give self-publishing its somewhat disparaging reputation don’t care about professional hoops. They’re in a hurry to see their book in print and start earning (they hope) royalties. Amazon’s self-publishing platform KDP accepts any manuscript, formats it automatically, and provides cover design tools. Just upload and publish with the press of a button.
Voila! It’s magic. Except it really isn’t.
While the digital age of publishing has leveled the playing field for a diverse array of authors, the lack of gatekeepers for quality control is one of its biggest detriments. Not that I want someone to decide what tropes and themes are selling (because who doesn’t want another vampire romance?), but the traditional publisher’s restrictive selection serves a purpose.
Some books need gatekeepers to limit access to publication because they are not ready for readers.
I don’t know about your experience, but I’ve picked up some books that weren’t ready for public consumption. Grammar and typographical errors aside, some of them sounded like they were written by a third grader.
Nothing against third graders writing books. That’s when I wrote my first book. But I wouldn’t share it with the world for anything.
But maybe that’s just me.
Have you ever come across a book that wasn’t ready for readers? What bugs you most about books like that?
Watch this space for updates about the anthology. It’s releasing into the world on March 13, 2026.