How many novels do you need to publish to replace your paycheck?
Every writer dreams about writing books for a living. After all, it’s the perfect job. You can do it in your underwear or in your pajamas. You can still be writing at 3 a.m. if the muse strikes you. You actually don’t have to leave your house for as many days as you can live without going grocery shopping.
The best part of it all: You get to write. And write some more.
Now how do you accomplish this in real life? After all, before you can become a full-time writer, you need to make sure your bills are still getting paid.
Only few authors become millionaires
Yes, there are some authors who become millionaires. Names like John Grisham, Nora Roberts, Janet Evanovich, James Patterson, and Stephen King come to mind. We hate to break it to you, but it’s not very likely that you’ll join their ranks. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t make a living as a writer.
It’s going to take some time
While the term overnight success exists, we wonder if there is really such a thing. In fact, it’s more likely that you’ll work hard, write a lot, edit more, and market your book. Then you repeat the process over and over again until you have several books available that have received some good feedback on major book-selling sites. But it’s quite possible that it will take you years to become an overnight success.
Can your first and only book become a bestseller?
It’s not unheard of. Margaret Mitchell only published one book. Still, most authors earning good money from their novels have written several of them. You don’t have to write a series of 25 books or more. It’s okay to write several stand-alone novels or a trilogy or two. Most readers will look for additional books from the same author if they like the novel they just read. It’s much easier than trying to find a new author. But even if you find a publisher, you still have to do the legwork yourself (aka marketing).
More books make you stand out
One of the reasons why you can potentially earn more money when you write more books is that it makes you stand out. If your books take up an entire bookshelf at the bookstore, then it’s difficult for potential customers to ignore them.
If you self-publish, you still benefit from writing additional books because your loyal fan base will be ready to get the next book as soon as it’s hot off the press. Additionally, sites like Amazon do their best to encourage their customers to buy more books by showing them other titles they might like to buy (a.k.a. other titles by the same author – you!).
You have to be good at writing
There’s no question about it, as a general rule, you have to be good at writing fiction in order to make a living as a novelist. At the very least, you have to make the majority of your readers think you’re good at writing in order to get them to buy your books. This brings us to the next criteria.
You have to love writing
Since it’s not easy to make a living as a novel writer (much less become rich), you have to love writing in order to embark upon this career. In many other careers, you can be mediocre or truly bad at your job without going hungry. Writing is different.
How to survive in the meantime
There are lots of things you can do right now to keep bread on the table while you’re building up your career as a serious fiction writer. These suggestions are not in any particular order of preference nor are they meant as serious career or lifestyle advice.
Encourage your spouse to pick a “rewarding” (well-paying) career
Moonlight as a waiter/waitress
Get a rich relative to name you in their will
Live frugally to keep costs down
Spend your vacation time writing
Become an expert at marketing your novels
Learn to like Ramon noodles
Why you’ll never reach your dream of becoming a bestselling author
Let’s assume that you manage to do what many people won’t: you write a novel. You should be proud of yourself. That’s a huge accomplishment. This is especially true if you get your work edited and published, too. But one thing you shouldn’t expect: becoming a bestselling author.
“Nielson Bookscan reported in 2004 that of 1.2 million books tracked, only 25,000 — barely more than 2 percent — sold more than 5,000 copies.” Those are pretty dismal odds. But if you look at it from a different perspective; at least you still have a higher chance of becoming a bestselling author than of winning the lottery. So stop buying lottery tickets and get back to writing!
How to improve your odds
Even though it’s difficult to become a bestselling author, it’s certainly not impossible. And there are things you can do to improve the odds that your books will sell thousands or millions of copies. For example, you can write a lot of books, start with a plan and stick to it, and write what you’d like to read. Of course, you need to improve your craft along the way and stay away from people who’ll promise you the stars.
Write a lot
Most bestselling and successful authors have written and published more than one book. This is especially true for fiction writers. If a reader likes your book, they’re pretty likely to get another one of your books. So the more books you have, the more books you’re likely to sell. The bad news is that this means you’re going to have to write a lot.
Of course you don’t have to write all of your books at once, but you definitely shouldn’t wait too long in between. If you want to increase the odds of readers buying another one of your books, then you may want to consider writing a series, too.
Don’t Fall for Gimmicks
On your quest to fame you have probably come across a few sites that promise to turn you into a bestselling author. Some sites promise that they can help you get on the bestseller list for Amazon or another major retailer. Don’t fall for it. Being a bestseller on Amazon doesn’t necessarily mean anything, especially not in terms of real revenue. And it’s certainly not something you should pay anyone for. It’s along the lines of paying people to clean up your credit report for you. There is no guarantee that it will work, and there is a risk of making things worse than they already are.
Write What You Want to Read
If you’re writing a book just to become a bestselling author, then you might as well stop now and find a new hobby. If you’re only writing to achieve fame, then you haven’t picked the quickest way to get there. Writing should be something you want to do. And you should definitely write about something you’d like to read.
There are two reasons for this: If you don’t like reading what you wrote, then why would anyone else do so? And if you don’t enjoy reading the genre you’re writing for, then you probably don’t know if your writing is any good.
Is there a story that you wish you could read? If there is a book that you’d like to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you need to start typing. The more you like your story, the more likely you are to finish it.
Start with a Plan
Sitting down to write every day can be difficult. Staring at a blank screen won’t make the words come no matter how hard you stare at it (but it might give you a headache). So it’s best to start with a plan for your book. You should probably come up with a general outline for your story first.
Stick with It
One of the hardest parts of writing a book is to actually write the book. Profound, isn’t it? If you want to get your book done, then you need to stick to your writing schedule. You’ll have some difficult days where you feel like you’re stuck with your story, but there will be even more of those days when you just don’t feel like writing. Serious writers don’t wait for inspiration to strike them, just as serious athletes don’t wait to go running when the mood strikes them. So quit whining and write your book!
Don’t Write for the Money
If your only goal for writing books is to earn a lot of money, then you might want to become a freelance writer instead. You can definitely earn a good living with writing, but most writers don’t make a lot of money from publishing books. So don’t write your novel for the money, but write it for yourself instead. You can let other people enjoy what you’re written, too. And even if you only get one enthusiastic review, that will make your day and could be worth months of slaving away at your desk. Writing brings its own rewards, and they’re not always monetary.
Become a Better Writer
If you want people to read what you’ve written, then your books should be well written. It goes without saying that your book should be free of spelling errors and typos, but using correct grammar is important, too. Sometimes the only way to get better at writing is to have someone else help you improve. Whether that means taking a writing course, hiring an editor (highly recommended), or getting lots of Beta readers, you should always be working on improving your craft.
Incidentally, one of the ways to get better at writing is to keep writing more. Over the years, you’ll probably look back at some of your early works and ask yourself why you thought it was good at the time. But to get there, you need to write.