The Publishing Trap: Best First-Time Author's Guide
Wow! What a tremendous journey for the author, Sir William David and for us as a publisher to claim his masterpieces in our numerous anthologies. Moving from engineering to poetry may seem unlikely and unconventional, but for William, writing has brought its own astonishments, discoveries, challenges, and hard-earned lessons. Having contributed to numerous anthologies over the years, William's journey through the publishing industry taught him that getting a book published is merely the beginning of a much larger voyage, with plenty more wind needed to fill an author's sails.
In this conversation, he opens up about the realities that first-time authors often misunderstand or overlook, the importance of understanding the business behind publishing, and the predatory practices that can leave aspiring writers financially and emotionally vulnerable. He also reflects on how anthology contributions can help emerging writers build confidence and credibility, why writing, audience-building, and publishing knowledge must go hand in hand, and what he wishes he had understood when he first entered the industry. Never say never, It's never too late.
Honest, candid, and grounded in personal experience, William's insights serve as a timely reminder to aspiring authors: don't let the excitement of seeing your name on a published book overshadow the importance of knowing what you're signing up for.
William David's Advice for First-Time Authors Publishing
William, you've experienced two very different worlds—engineering and poetry. What surprised you most when you entered the publishing industry as an author rather than a reader?
ANSWER: How much an author needed to know and how much I didn’t know. There is so much one needs to know to effectively get your book published. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way.
Many first-time authors dream about seeing their book on Amazon. What are some of the realities behind publishing that nobody talks about enough?
ANSWER: Probably that getting published is only step one. All the publishers I’ve dealt with will list your book on Amazon and several other big book retail sites. But that’s not all; no promotion or marketing, and so even though you’re published, no one knows about it, and if the readers don’t know about it, they can’t acquire a copy. Without promotion and marketing, no one besides maybe some friends and members of your family will ever read what you’ve created.
3. What do you think is the biggest "publishing trap" new writers fall into—whether financially, emotionally, or creatively?
ANSWER: I’m sure all authors are passionate to get published and therefore share their work hoping it’ll find good favor and obtain a readership. Whenever you start looking for a publisher you’ll encounter many of them, many will almost promise you the moon. They’ll say they think your book is a book that should be published and all kinds of stuff. They’ll tell good things about their company and how much they’d like to publish your work… for a price. Keep in mind there’s many of these self-publishing companies that practice what I consider to be predatory practices, I could go in more detail but that would take too long. Just remember, buyer beware. Always check the company out, their references, etc.
You've contributed to numerous anthologies over the years. How can anthologies help an emerging writer build confidence and credibility without feeling overwhelmed? (Heyzine)
ANSWER: It demonstrates that someone, besides yourself, a professional, likes your work and likes it enough to publish it. The more times that this happens, the more confident one becomes. It establishes credibility in that other publishers can see that other editors and reviewers thought your work was good enough to publish, so maybe they should publish you too.
In your opinion, what matters more for a debut author: writing a great book, building an audience, or understanding the publishing business?
ANSWER: Sorry, I’m going to kind of cop out on this one. For me the answer is very easy; the answer is; All of the above. I believe they’re all equally important and interdependent.
Many other first-time author's guides promise instant success. Amateur writers get tempted by it. How can writers distinguish between genuine publishing opportunities and services that may not have their best interests at heart?
ANSWER: Unfortunately, it’s been my experience that regardless of what they might say upfront, basically they mostly just care about the money they want from you.
7. If you could sit down with "First-Time Author William" on the day he published his first poem, what advice would you give him that could save years of frustration?
ANSWER: Unfortunately, it’s been my experience that regardless of what they might say upfront, basically they mostly just care about the money they want from you.I don’t know if there is any good advice to be given that would have personally saved me those years of frustration. On one hand I kind of think I more or less had to go through those years to become as well educated in all the facets of writing, getting published, and where you go from there. If there would have been anything, I guess it was if I was serious about being a successful poet, I should learn everything about the publishing industry.
⚡ Rapid Fire Round: "Choose Your Publishing Fate!"
William, you can only pick one!
1. Your manuscript is finished. What's your celebration?
A. Fancy dinner
B. Buy more books you don't have time to read
C. Stare at the Word document for three hours in disbelief ✅
2. An editor sends revisions. Your first reaction?
A. Excitement ✅
B. Mild panic
C. "Did they actually read the same manuscript?"
3. Which mythical creature best represents publishing?
A. Dragon guarding royalties
B. Unicorn promising bestseller status
C. Phoenix rising from rejected submissions ✅
4. You're stranded on a desert island with one writing tool:
A. Typewriter
B. Notebook ✅
C. A coffee machine that somehow writes poem
5. Worst author nightmare?
A. Accidentally publishing the first draft ✅
B. Forgetting your own book title during an interview
C. Discovering your cat edited Chapter 7
6. Every writer secretly needs:
A. More coffee
B. More patience ✅
C. A magical "Delete Self-Doubt" button
7. If publishing were a theme park ride, it would be:
A. Roller coaster ✅
B. Haunted house
C. Bumper cars driven by deadlines
8. The most dangerous phrase in publishing:
A. "This will only take five minutes."
B. "We're almost done editing."
C. "Your book will sell itself." ✅
ABOUT WILLIAM DAVID
William David after a successful 40+ year career as a Senior Architectural & Engineering Designer working with international mining companies, designing Gold, Silver, and Copper processing plants all over the world, including the first SX-EW copper processing plant in Asia, located near Monywa, Myanmar. William is retired now, and living with his wife of 38 yrs. in Tucson, Az. He likes spending his time now devoted to his passion, reading, reviewing, and writing poetry. William writes for his pleasure, and for the pleasure of those who might read his poems. He has been published in three journals by Underwood Press, the flagship journal Underwood, also True Chili, and Rue Scribe. He is currently an invited reviewer for that publisher. His poems have appeared in online journals, Bluing the Blade, Elevation Review and Sheepshead Review. He also has had poems published in 13 different anthologies by Wingless Dreamer Publishers.
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