Hellooo, everybody! Being a writer is glamorous. It's filled with wonder and imagination,
fame and fortune and so, so, so much money! Or, maybe that's bullshit. Writers have a
lot of wild ideas about the industry. They think they're writing the next great American novel, or
if they're writing gets rejected it's because no one appreciates their genius. Maybe you're getting
rejected because your book sucks, ever consider that? It kind of makes sense why people have such
a warped perception of the industry. A lot of the information about the business wasn't readily
available until maybe the last decade. People didn't have any idea what it's actually like,
until writers started to be candid on the internet. Which is exactly what I'm doing today.
I’m listing the ten most common expectations that writers have about writing and publishing, and why
these expectations are ludicrous. This topic was requested by one of my patrons over on Patreon,
AJ Mason. Like so many writers, she had no idea what to expect upon publishing. Should she expect
to sell ten books, a hundred books, or a million books? I'm gonna provide that answer, whether you
like it or not. Some of these truths are going to be a kick in the dick. Okay, a lot of these truths
are gonna be a kick in the dick, but they're vital to know if you want to avoid disappointment
and more importantly, have great success. In order to make it in the industry,
you need to understand the industry. And I'm gonna help you do just that.
(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO.)
Before we get started, a huge thank you to Skillshare for sponsoring today's video.
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes available for people who love
learning, want to explore their creativity, or learn brand new skills. If you've got a specific
skill you're looking to master, Skillshare is a great place to start. They've got classes
ranging in topics from illustration to marketing, graphic design to mailing lists, and of course,
they have a ton of classes in creative writing. One of the great things about Skillshare is that
it's curated specifically for learning, which means no ads. They also have new premium classes
launched each week, which means there's always something new to discover. And their entire
catalog is now available with subtitles in Spanish, French, Portuguese and German. I have
both a student at Skillshare as well as a teacher. I have three classes available. The newest one is
all about how to self publish your book from start to finish. It's a step-by-step guide to
self publishing the right way, so you can tackle the process easily and effectively. I've got
a couple of classes all about digital marketing for writers, so you can grow your author platform
and have an amazing book release. Whether you’re looking to grow your craft or expand new skills,
Skillshare has you covered. Even better, right now you can try Skillshare for free! The first
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I post new videos on Wednesdays, and if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload, you know what you
gotta do, you gotta ring that bell. It does me a huge solid. I appreciate it immensely. Plus you’ll
always be alerted whenever I have new goodies available for you. The Savior's Champion and The
Savior’s Sister are available in ebook, paperback, hardback, and audiobook. So if you'd like yourself
some dark fantasy romance, I'm talking bloodshed and magic and kissing and loving.
Definitely check out this series. It's linked below. Now it's time to break down the ten
most common expectations writers have when entering this industry versus the stark,
sometimes painful reality. I'm not sorry about it. Number One (1): My book is going to sell millions
of copies. Hate to break it to you but there's a 99% chance that that won't happen. It's really
hard to find reliable averages for book sales. I've been researching for years, and I found at
least twenty different averages stated. What I can say is based on my research, the highest average
number of books sold that I've seen is 10,000 copies. That means according to this figure,
the average book sells 10,000 copies in its lifetime. On the other hand, the lowest average
I found is 99 copies. That means according to this figure, the average book sells 99 copies in
its lifetime. That's a really wide range. But most of the sources I've read stated that the average
book sells 3,000 to 5,000 copies in its lifetime. This does not mean you are doomed to repeat this
figure. The Savior's Champion has sold way more than 10,000 copies, let alone 3,000 copies. But
this is about setting realistic expectations. And sometimes that requires a wake up call. Real talk,
a lot of successful authors don't sell millions of copies of a single book. And a lot of authors who
are selling millions of books do so because they have a ton of books available, and some of them
are either free or 99 cents. Again this is not to say that no one sells millions of copies of one
book, or that no one sells millions of copies at full price. But it's about being realistic here,
and understand that those people are a fraction of a percent of the industry. Number Two (2): I'm
gonna be a New York Times bestseller. I'm generalizing this point because it's super
complicated. I could make an entire video about this, and if you'd like me to make an entire video
about this, let me know in the comments below. The Amazon bestseller list is based solely on sales.
The USA Today bestseller list is based solely on sales. But the New York Times bestseller list is
not based solely on sales. First, in order to make the New York Times bestseller list,
you need to sell at least 5,000 copies of one book within a week, preferably around 10,000 copies of
that book within a week. As we already covered, most authors can't sell 10,000 copies of a book in
its lifetime, let alone in one week. Additionally, the sales need to be diverse. As in from various
retailers. This immediately eliminates books that are Kindle exclusive or books that are sold
strictly through the author's website. And that accounts for a lot of books. On top of that,
the New York Times bestseller list is the only bestseller list that takes author reputation into
consideration. That means you could potentially follow all the rules and have well over 10,000
diverse sales, but if there's another author who is more famous or prestigious than you are,
they may rank higher than you on the list or bump you off the list completely.
Even though they sold fewer books. This is a big reason why a lot of writers are skeptical of the
New York Times bestseller list, and believe that it doesn't have that much credibility. All that to
say, are you famous? Are you prestigious? Are you selling 10,000 copies a week? If you can't answer
yes to all three questions, then maybe put the New York Times bestseller list on the backburner. Cuz
it ain't gonna happen anytime soon. Number Three (3): I mean realistically at least half of my
readers are gonna review the book right? If that were the case, why are so many authors giving away
their book for free just to get reviews. This is another situation where lots of different
figures are cited, but the most commonly held belief is that for every 100 books you sell,
you can expect maybe one review—at the high end. That's the optimistic estimate.
1% of your audience, reviewing the book. Yikes! This is why it's so important to send up arcs,
to actively engage your audience and incentivize them. The more reviews you have, especially on
Amazon, the more promotion your novel gets. Amazon will put your books in their newsletters. They'll
recommend your book in the ‘also bought’ lists. Not to mention the fact that readers
just plain don't trust books that don't have any reviews. Roll up your sleeves and get to work,
because book reviews are 100% on you. Number Four (4): My story has never been done before.
Yes, it has. Everything's been done before. And that's okay. Look, you're not the first person to
write about dragons or aliens or love conquering all. What makes your story unique is the fact that
you're telling it. You're taking concepts that readers have read a zillion times and you're
writing it in your style. You're subverting tropes in your own way. You're crafting characters with
unique voices. The intricacies and details are what makes the story unique, not the concept. So
stop pretending you're reinventing the wheel. You sound like a fucking moron. You're just telling
people you don't read, since that's the only way you could possibly believe this ridiculous claim.
And if you don't read, that's a really bad sign for your writing. Stop it. Number Five (5): My
sequel is gonna do even better than my first book. First of all, we gotta consider the curse
of the sucky sequel. A lot of people believe that the sequel is always worse than the first book.
So you've got that mindset workin’ against you. Additionally, the first book of the series will
always be the easiest one to sell. Because it's the starting point. Books two, three, and beyond
are pretty much only marketable to those who have already read book one, because readers
typically don't like to start in the middle of a series. But with the first book, you can
mark it to anyone within your target audience, you can always bring in new readers. Now that doesn't
mean that your school won't perform well. Plenty of them do. But you need to be realistic about
the fact that it will be a lot harder to sell versus book one, and there's gonna be some drop
off. Your only readership pool are those who have read book one, and not everyone who read book one,
is gonna read book two. Either because they didn't like book one, they're not invested
enough to continue, or they simply forget. Number Six (6): My goal is to write the next ‘book series
that shall not be named.’ I've been trying so hard to avoid talking about that book series
written by that dumbass terf. But I can't make this video without addressing this topic,
because so many writers say this to me, and it makes me shrivel up like a scrotum in the ocean.
For the sake of this point, I'm going to refer to the series as Wizard Butthole. That's the
nicest name I could think of. So you wanna write the next Wizard Butthole. Let me ask you this,
can you name a single book series within the last thirty years that's as popular as Wizard Butthole?
A series that not only spawned multiple movies, but endless merch, Halloween costumes,
and an entire fucking amusement park. How many books can you name with an amusement park?
I'm waiting. Look, the odds are you're not writing the next Wizard Butthole, and that's fine! No one
wants more Wizard Butthole and we certainly don't want more authors of Wizard Butthole.
Maybe focus on crafting a story that is special and meaningful to you, rather than replicating the
fame of someone else. Besides, in case you've been living under a rock, the author of Wizard Butthole
isn't exactly loved. She alienated a significant portion of her audience. I'm not even naming her
because so many people find her enraging. Do you really want that? I don't think so. Number
Seven (7): It's the author's duty to diligently read and respond to reviews. Are you on crack? I
have no idea how this became an assumption among anyone, because holy shit! Talk about a complete
lack of common sense, as well as a lack of respect for your readership. First of all, book reviews do
not exist so that readers can critique and provide feedback specifically and directly to the author.
In fact, if most people knew their review was being read by the author, they'd be mortified.
These are their personal feelings about the book, and they are just trying to share those feelings
with other readers who might feel the same way. Remember, your book is a product, and they are
commenting on their experience with that product. This is not about you. On top of that, responding
to reviews is beyond inappropriate. Most reviewers consider this a private space for them to express
their feelings about the product they purchased. Responding to the review is super unprofessional
and incredibly embarrassing. As much as the reviews feel personal to you they’re not. Respect
your reader autonomy, and stop being an asshole. Number Eight (8): This book is gonna make me rich.
Is it possible to get rich off of novels? Yes. Is this the standard result of becoming a novelist?
Not so much. Based on my research, the average advance for a traditionally published debut
novel is somewhere between $5,000 and $20,000. An advance covers two years worth of payment.
So we're looking at $2,500 versus $10,000 a year. Which isn't exactly something you can live off of.
Self-publishing, of course, does not have reliable averages, but it's quite often for an indie writer
to not break even on their debut. That means they paid more to publish the book, versus what they
earned. I am not saying this to discourage you. I made a profit off of my debut novel. My books
are selling well enough that I'm making more money as a writer than I did when I worked in finance.
But it typically takes multiple publications for a writer to start making good money off their work.
It's extremely rare to come rich off of one book alone. So if that's your motivation for being a
writer, you're in the wrong industry. Number Nine (9): The book will sell itself. I almost didn't
add this to the list because I've already said it so many times, but this list wouldn't be accurate
without it, because despite all my efforts, people still believe this trash. Let me give you a
reality check. Not a single person is in the habit of cruising through Amazon, browsing thousands
upon thousands of books, just to find the ones that are by nameless writers they've never heard
of, and have no reviews, so they can purchase them. That doesn't happen. For the love of God,
market your fucking book. That goes for you too, traditionally published writers. I don't need
to tell you that because your publishing house is gonna tell you that, in fact, they're gonna demand
it. I'm not gonna elaborate on this point, because I've already beaten it into the ground in previous
videos. Just go watch them. Just watch the videos, they’re there. If releasing a product without
marketing actually worked, you wouldn't see commercials, advertisements, and product placement
in every form of media all the time. And Number Ten (10): Being a writer is a career based solely
on artistry. If you're a hobby writer, then this statement is absolutely true. It's all
about artistry. However, if you are truly trying to make writing a career, then it's about art
and business. You are writing a story, and that's art. But you're selling that story as a product,
and that's a business. It's that simple. You can't get away with not understanding the business.
And if that makes you feel like less of an artist, then hobby writing is probably the best bet for
you. So that's all I got for you today. Thank you so much to Skillshare for sponsoring today's
video. If you love learning like I do, and you want to explore your creativity, then Skillshare
is the way to go. Plus the first one thousand people to click the link in the description
below are going to get a one month free trial of Skillshare! You can take creative writing classes,
you can take my digital marketing classes, you can take my self-publishing classes, you can take all
the classes! Definitely click that link, get on it, you won't regret it. Don't forget to subscribe
to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays, and if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload,
ring that bell. The Savior's Champion and The Savior’s Sister are available in ebook, paperback,
hardback, and audiobook. They're available all over the place, at all major retailers. So
definitely pick up a copy today. I got ‘em linked below. And be sure to follow me on social media.
I'm on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook and BookBub. And of course you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
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