A survey by Writtn Word Media on what makes a 100k author. Interesting in light of some perennial discussions here.
https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/2017/06/07/100k-author/
I will point out that these are general statistics, and of course anybody can point to Author X who does her own covers or Author Y who made it to 100k on two or three books. (Or one.) I personally fall on the "wrong" side of about half of them. But it's a good basic list of commonalities. Most of it will seem like common sense, but it's good to see it laid out.
In brief: (but the article has cool graphs and much more info)
1. Time. 100k authors have generally been writing longer--3+ years.
2. Indie: most 100k authors answering were indie or hybrid. (Of course we can all point to megawatt tradpubbed folks. Again, general rule.)
3. Wide or KU isn't a divider--100k people can be either.
4. Covers: pro covers. $100-1000 in general.
5. Editing: pro editing, mostly $250-1000.
6. Paid marketing.
7. Less likely to have a day job. (Obviously)
8. Work more hours and have more books out.
(Me again.) I've been interested lately in the divide between people who do well for a while and the people who keep doing well after 5, 10, 15 years as this industry keeps changing. The big things I see are
1. Continuing to work hard and get books out. Lots of people do well then sort of stop or slow way down.
2. Smart decisions and calculated risk taking: venturing into other media and platforms, new series, new subgenres or genres to build an audience.
3. Adapting to the market. I don't see some of the big names anymore who were killing it with very short stuff for KU1. Other folks shifted with the market. Still others (I'd be one of those) write less trendy and create their own market in a way. People like Jana DeLeon and Penny Reid--two authors I admire who've done things very much their way and succeeded hugely.
4. Strong voice and author brand.
I'm sure other people can think of things I've missed. Interesting to think about.
https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/2017/06/07/100k-author/
I will point out that these are general statistics, and of course anybody can point to Author X who does her own covers or Author Y who made it to 100k on two or three books. (Or one.) I personally fall on the "wrong" side of about half of them. But it's a good basic list of commonalities. Most of it will seem like common sense, but it's good to see it laid out.
In brief: (but the article has cool graphs and much more info)
1. Time. 100k authors have generally been writing longer--3+ years.
2. Indie: most 100k authors answering were indie or hybrid. (Of course we can all point to megawatt tradpubbed folks. Again, general rule.)
3. Wide or KU isn't a divider--100k people can be either.
4. Covers: pro covers. $100-1000 in general.
5. Editing: pro editing, mostly $250-1000.
6. Paid marketing.
7. Less likely to have a day job. (Obviously)
8. Work more hours and have more books out.
(Me again.) I've been interested lately in the divide between people who do well for a while and the people who keep doing well after 5, 10, 15 years as this industry keeps changing. The big things I see are
1. Continuing to work hard and get books out. Lots of people do well then sort of stop or slow way down.
2. Smart decisions and calculated risk taking: venturing into other media and platforms, new series, new subgenres or genres to build an audience.
3. Adapting to the market. I don't see some of the big names anymore who were killing it with very short stuff for KU1. Other folks shifted with the market. Still others (I'd be one of those) write less trendy and create their own market in a way. People like Jana DeLeon and Penny Reid--two authors I admire who've done things very much their way and succeeded hugely.
4. Strong voice and author brand.
I'm sure other people can think of things I've missed. Interesting to think about.