Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

If you’re going to get bigger cash advances you have to prove to the publishing world, agents, editors, publishers, distributors, booksellers and book buyers that your manuscripts are worthy. That LOTS of people will buy them. Not hundreds of people or even thousands, but tens of thousands. That’s when publishers will sit up and take notice.
Other arguments I frequently see are: I’ve done the hard stuff, the writing, now it’s the publisher’s turn to print and promote my masterpiece; Even if my first book doesn’t do that well, there’s always a second book and other publishers. Besides, I already have the cash advance.
If you sit back and wait for the publisher to promote your pending masterpiece, it’s virtually guaranteed to go nowhere in sales, perhaps not even breaking 100 copies sold. If that happens, your publisher won’t even consider a second book. After all, if you were a publisher, would you consider a writer on whom you’ve already lost a bundle of money? I doubt I would. Of course, that leads to the third part of the vicious cycle I described, that of no further advances. Excerpt from Self-Promotion for Authors

Thanks, Larry. So, once the book is written and accepted for publishing, the hard work really begins, huh?

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but - yeah, afraid so. There is an exception. If you just wanted to see your name of the cover of a book, then you don't have to work at all. But, if you're a meat and potatoes kind of person like me where writing is a livelihood, yeah, you'll have to work at it. That's how successful authors become, well, successful authors. :-) Granted, some people have it easier than others. For instance, they get a major publicity hit early on and parlay it into a string of other publicity. Publicity begats publicity which in turn converts potential customers into buyers. Best of luck.