Do I need to be a best-selling writer?

So today we tackle this idea that anxiously gnaws on the back of our writer heads that we are only successful if we become famous and sell millions of books in a day.
We might not admit it, but it’s there. For sure. So, we shall address that, shall we not? We shall. XD

Do you need to sell millions of books to be successful? The short answer: No. The long answer: It depends; but before we go anywhere, do yourself a favour and download our December e-mag filled with tips about sales, and the July E-mag as well.

We addressed part of this topic on our article about the writer’s success misconception, and it’s something that it will be helpful to read after this.

Here’s why you do not need to sell millions of books to be successful:

1- It’s HARD!

Seriously. It’s hard to sell a single book.

The majority of books published nowadays goes unread, and it seems that many writers are simply throwing spaghetti to the wall in hope it sticks. We are not dissing anyone, but it’s a reality that the clutter grows by the second, and with that, the competition.
No matter how relevant, how well made your book cover is, the chances of someone even noticing it are close to zero. That’s why persistence is important, as Anna Mocikat says on the December E-mag: “Persistence, persistence, persistence.” You have to repeat the same marketing strategy for a while before you start measuring results.
Just the fact you got one sale, it’s a HUGE win, but don’t be comfortable on such a small number.

2- You don’t need to be banking millions. Do you?

Most writers are, of course normal people, no superstars, or at least the writers we care about, so, if a regular person like you and me, starts making 500-2k USD from their books a month, that’s like being on the top 1% or so in terms of writing success! Yes, it is THAT competitive.

3- The title has lost it’s luster

There is an article, about a guy that wrote a book about is foot, – a one-page book, mind you – with the only content being a picture of his foot, sold 3 copies, to which he bought two, and became a best-seller right there and then.
We have heard many times, from some people inside the industry, winks, that many “best-selling” writers buy their own books in boatloads to get the title. It happens.

We are not saying that ALL books that have best-selling tags to them are crappy books well marketed, no, we have read and reviewed Best-selling books of Best-selling authors that are, in fact, GREAT books that have best-selling quality and, many times, we have had IMPRESSIVE books with Best-selling quality that are in the verge of becoming such, with Lipstick Asylum being the biggest name on our blog.

Our point is: It’s better for you to focus on the actual revenue your book gives, and not a title that anyone can have at any given time for any given motives, be them good or bad, so worry about sales numbers and revenue.
If you want to sell more books, check those free resources and run with them. XD

Featured Image by delo from Pixabay

Grab a book the Store. Thank you so much XD