Everyone I know thinks that once you have your name on the front of a book, you have it made. Fame? Fortune? I think not. And yet there is something about seeing your name on the front of that first book. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment but…it’s not fame; and it’s certainly not fortune.
“Rich and famous and writing books are only linked when they’re in that order.” This really resonated with me when I read it in the Guardian book blog a while ago. I’ve often said that books don’t sell themselves unless your name is Oprah (or a reasonable facsimile). And yet we keep doing it. Why?
There’s a great deal more to life than being rich, and if Andy Warhol was right, we all really do get that 15 minutes of fame — but that’s all most of us get. Just ask all those so-called reality TV stars! We still hope that the next book will strike a cord and really take off. After all, writing a book is like opening your mind to an audience and inviting them in. Sometimes they come in and sometimes they don’t. Despite it all, I still have stories left to tell and I’m going to tell them.
Patricia J. Parsons 
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