By Giles Pettingell

In terms of book promotion, there is no singular path to success. There are innumerable methods that exist to promote books, and exactly zero that can guarantee absolute success. In a business of seeming uncertainty, two nuggets of advice are generally agreed upon: don’t expect anything from your publisher, and don’t expect sales without tireless self-promotion.

Most of us can’t help but wonder what it’s like to publish a book. When we meet someone who has published, there’s an aura about them, an admiration for having taken the time to write (much less publish!) an entire book. The questions are unavoidable: What does it take to publish a book?