5 keys to getting your book published

Publishing is becoming more business-oriented each day with an increased emphasis on the bottom line. Thus, it's harder to break than ever to break into the business. Most publishers have one thing primarily on their minds: material that sells. This doesn't apply to all of them, but most. It would be great if the majority of companies produced products from their love of books, but they do not. Bookstores are the same. They want your book to sell early, sell often, and to make money for a very long time. Editors and bookstores rarely pay much attention to a book they don't think will sell.

What can aspiring authors do to overcome these high hurdle? Here are five keys, drawn from my experience as a published author.