I am delighted to welcome back a valued friend, Karen Charlton, from my Authonomy days. Her  little piece is so, so true. And the strange thing is, we all have to learn every one of these lessons by personal experience; sometimes more than once.

In a recent survey carried out by YouGov and published in The Independent newspaper, 60% of UK adults declared that being a writer is their ‘dream job.’  14,294 adults were interviewed for this survey. I can only assume – that they all assume – that being an author is both stress-free and lucrative.

In response to this article about the YouGov survey I stuck my tongue in my cheek and jotted down a few observations about the truth behind a publishing contract – especially with a small publishing house. This list of observations is gathered from my own experience and that of fellow authors. I…