Write A Good Book

So by now, you may have heard of JK Rowling's latest book, The Cuckoo's Calling, which was published under a pseudonym and sold a mere 1500 copies before the true authorship was revealed yesterday (and sales, consequently, skyrocketed.)  More on that, here.

I think this says so much about the industry. That beautifully reviewed, starred books, can still suffer from poor sales. That celebrity names sell books. That the quality of a book has little to do with it's success.

I find it all so fascinating.

Advice for new writers is always the same.  Before you think of finding an agent or a publisher, write a good book. It must start there.  And it must. But I think there's an important lesson here. That it's not everything.

What are your thoughts?