I’ll just write a bad book.

Said no one ever, right?

Wrong.

I had an entrepreneur tell me that once.

He was going to invest thousands in a freelance editor, a copy-editor, a marketing person and a hybrid publisher — all while knowing that his content would totally suck.

His brilliant plan, he told me with glee, was that readers would want — would need! — to buy his higher-priced services.

Because the book wouldn’t be enough.

No one buys books anyway, he told me.

I’m just doing this so I can say I’m an author.

I felt lucky that we were on the phone because: my face.

My face would have totally told the truth.

I was shocked. Then completely infuriated.

I’m not going to work on a book that editorially sucks.

At least not intentionally anyway.

Publishing a great book that doesn’t sell? Fine. Happens all the time.

More often than not, in fact.

But knowingly publishing a book that’s worthless?

That will waste readers’ time and money? No thank you, sir.

Here’s the deal.