Photo credit: “Pack Of Money” by Gualberto107 via Free Digital Photos.net
A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a book on Kindle that promised authors they could make a million dollars selling books on Amazon. A quick search yielded dozens of titles promising writers they can easily become best-selling authors, or promising to teach them how to write a best-selling book in 30 days. There are even books that tell people that publishing a book is “easy money” and good way to generate “passive income” because their published book will continue to bring in a steady income month after month without the author having to do anything at all!
I can already hear the grumbling and grinding of teeth from those of you who know how difficult it can be to write a book, much less publish and promote it. I’ve read many well-written, engaging books (self-published and traditionally published) that were simply phenomenal, but never reached best-seller status. The authors who wrote these books are still toiling away at 9-to-5 day jobs, waiting for their “million dollars” to roll in. They aren’t holding their breath.
I don’t know why I’m still fixated on these self-publishing books that fill writers’ heads with dubious promises and bad advice. I’m sure some of you are thinking, “Anyone who falls for those get-rich-quick promises deserves what they get.” It’s hard to feel sorry for someone who is only writing because they’ve been told it’s an easy money-making scheme. I do, however, feel very sorry for those writers who believe these books are going to help them achieve their life-long dreams. Most of these books that make flashy promises in the title are full of questionable advice, confusing ramblings about algorithms, and outright lies.
One of the things these books will promise you is that you can be a best-seller. Some specifically tell you how to hit the NYT list, while others will tell you what keywords to use so you can reach an obscure best-seller list on Amazon.
How do you become a NYT best-selling author? Well, according to some of these books, all you have to do is write a bunch of books and then release them strategically, utilizing your newsletter (with massive mailing list, of course) and free promotions to push your book right to the top! Easy, right? Not for me. Not for a lot of us. This method of becoming a best-seller only works (IF it works) for certain writers. For example, if you’re a novelist who writes standalone literary fiction, I don’t think this method will work for you. It’s not going to work for writers of historical fiction who spend hours upon hours meticulously researching. It won’t work for writers who have day jobs, children, or who value sleep because in order to write “a bunch of books” in a short period of time, you aren’t going to be able to do anything else but write! The advice in these books does not take into consideration those writers who take years to write one book. It doesn’t take into consideration feedback from beta readers, editing, or any of the other steps I would recommend before sending a book out into the world. Nope. This is strictly an assembly-line type of writing and publishing for short novellas that are part of a series. Sort of limiting, isn’t it?
The assembly-line publishing method isn’t going to work if you don’t have an audience. Most of these book-selling guides assume you already have a massive mailing list or blog following. They don’t tell you how difficult and time-consuming it can be to gain a huge following on your blog, or to grow your mailing list. You don’t make connections in the writing world overnight. All of this takes time. And even then, there is no guarantee that your book (or series of books) will reach best-seller status.
So, let’s tackle the subject of keywords. With the careful use keywords, it is possible to hit a best-seller list by only selling a few books. But how does that help you find new readers? Or generate enough income to quit your day job? While I would love to get the best-seller ribbon on Amazon (I would love it so much!), an even bigger dream of mine is to sell enough books that I can make a reasonable, steady income writing full time. Hitting a best-seller list from the sales of just a few books isn’t going to do that.
Another thing that really upsets me about these “how to be a best-selling author” books is the complete disregard for the craft of writing. Good writing takes time. While there are natural born storytellers out there who ooze talent, they still have to learn the craft. They still have to work hard. Writing is an art and a skill. In fact, it’s a complex, tangled collection of skills we learn and practice. For some of us, this takes years. We learn to write by reading often. Some of us learn by taking classes. Others learn by reading books about craft. We all hone our skills by practicing. I wrote millions of words before any of them were publishable.
Many of these books that talk about passive income and generating a steady stream of revenue are written by people who have never written a book prior to their how-to guide. How do they know their methods are going to work if they’ve never done it before? Besides, writing a how-to book is different from writing fiction. How can these people predict how long it should take a writer to complete a book or an entire series of books? To me, this is just a clear indication that these peddlers of poor advice don’t know the first thing about the craft of writing. And you know what else? They don’t care.
If I ever discover the magic formula to becoming an overnight-millionaire-author-sensation, I will be sure to let you know. Some self-published authors have reached the level of success we all dream of, though I’m sure they would tell you it wasn’t overnight. The fact is, it takes time to build a writing career. The best thing we can do is keep learning and keep writing. You never know – your next book might be the one that catapults you from struggling author to best-selling millionaire. People who don’t know you will say you’re an overnight sensation, but you’ll know the truth – that everything you achieved was through hard work, perseverance, and dedication to the craft. But you’ll never know where that next book will take you unless you write it. So, let’s get writing!
All I Have to Say 
How very right you are, Tricia. The only one making money out of writing are the authors of “How to” books. They suck in gullible people, desperate for success and they end up spending more time in researching algorithms and “key words” than they do writing. Most of them are a big fat con. There may be a how to book out there that offers sound advice, but I’ve yet to discover it.
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I’m sure there are sensible books on the how-to of self-publishing and social media, but anything that guarantees sales is a scam. No one can guarantee a best-seller because you never know what is going to resonate with readers.
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Very true.
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Reblogged this on KATE JACK'S BLOG and commented:
A great article from author Tricia Drammeh.
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Extremely sensible post Tricia. I reviewed one book about how to sell a truckload of books on Amazon, and while some of the advice was reasonable, some was basic, and the way Am works the algorithms change every five minutes.
And yes, investment costs. Depending on little or how much you chhose, it can involve graphic design, editing/proofing formatting. How soon before you see a return on that?
I flicked on a Look Inside of a book that the author had been swanking about saying how well it had been proofread because his wife had done it, and he had edited it. I’m sure you can imagine what I found.
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I can imagine what you found!
Behind every overnight success is 20 years of hard work. I think Susan Toy wrote an article about that a couple of years ago. I’ll have to look it up.
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Here it is. Susan talks about becoming an overnight success after 40 years in the business! https://islandeditions.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/5-easy-steps-to-successfully-write-publish-and-promote-your-book/
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Don’t! I’ve probably read it 🙂
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“Many of these books that talk about passive income and generating a steady stream of revenue are written by people who have never written a book prior to their how-to guide.” That sums it up!
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Thanks, Amanda!
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If you find the secret, do let us know, Tricia. We’ll take over the market! As for all those books by people who THINK they know how to become a bestselling author, tthhpwwaaat. That’s a raspberry.
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I’ll let you know if I figure it out. Still looking!
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Good points. I agree. Not much more to say. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you for reading and for sharing on Twitter!
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Brilliant. Strangely I’m right in the middle of trying to compose a blog post on a similar theme. The pooh out books more often than a Henry Ford production line is all very well if you can write a lot and write fast but there has to be another way for normal people, with kids, sick relatives and lives to lead inbetween all this writing. The fact is some of us are more like the car maker Maserati in the70s, haphazardly creating wondrous things, things that required work and thought and research and wer finished … occasionally. Missing deadlines behaving in a way that makes accountants despair but creating … well … art. And you can’t do the pile ’em high sell ’em cheap like Henry Ford model if you’re making something that’s more akin to a Maserati. And as you say, if you write historical fiction that has to be researched, or if you’re writing time is limited, or if you just find that you are unable to write a simple 20k novella style plot, you’re going to have to find a new marketing strategy.
I’m working on it and rest assured when I find it you’ll be the first to know.
Cheers
MTM
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Yes! Please let me know when you write your post. I will definitely re-blog it here. This post focuses mainly on those horrid “how-to” books. Someone needs to properly address the rampant bad advice out there that tells authors they MUST churn out 4 books a year. Make them shorter, edit less, be sure to only write as part of a series …. doesn’t matter what the authors want to write, or what is going on in the author’s life that might prevent them from being a book publishing machine. And you know what? Many readers prefer longer, more detailed, properly written and edited, standalone, well-researched books. Nothing wrong with writing a series or shorter books – I write them. We just shouldn’t be telling authors the sole person for writing – for creating art – is to capture a best-selling title or a huge payout. Yes, everyone needs money, but not every book is going to be a huge moneymaker. Doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be written though.
Okay, I’ll hop down from my soapbox and let you get on with writing your post. Can’t wait to read it.
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Hi! Based on ‘If I ever discover the magic formula to becoming an overnight-millionaire-author-sensation, I will be sure to let you know.’ I have joined your list of followers.
Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer yet, but I’m one of the ‘takes fifteen years to write a novel’ gang. Because you’re right: learning to write is a rite of passage that many ‘authors’ seem to skip, but I didn’t, because the dang thing went out with MY name on the cover, and I have a healthy sense of shame which would have been trotted out had the product not been the best I could produce. I’ve written the standalone literary novel (well, first volume of trilogy is out). And yes, I’m waiting for fame and fortune while marketing like crazy and writing Book 2. Marketing advice that works for me is quite rare – I’m trying some new stuff. Soon, I promise.
Followed MT McGuire to get here – she wrote that post.
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Thank you for following! I love MT McGuire and her words of wisdom. I’m still waiting for the elusive magic formula to becoming a best-selling author, but I’m beginning to think there isn’t any. Very few get there by luck alone. It takes hard work and dedication. For those of us who take months or years to write a book, we should hold our heads up high because there is nothing wrong with pride in authorship! (Nothing wrong with wanting fame and fortune either!)
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Definitely my tribe.
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This was a good read. I just published my first book on Amazon… it was not easy! It’s sad that people are getting sucked into buying these books promising success when really all you need to be successful is a good story, determination and motivation!!
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Congratulations on publishing your first book! No, it isn’t easy, but it’s an amazing feeling when you finally get your book out there for the world to see. Some aspects of publishing become easier with each book, I’ve discovered. Success depends primarily on writing a good story (like you said), not on employing a magic formula to game the system. Thanks for your comment!
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