Summary

The web content debunks common misconceptions about novelists, emphasizing the realities of writing, publishing, and marketing in today's industry.

Abstract

The article addresses five prevalent misconceptions about novelists, providing insights from the author's decade-long experience in publishing. It argues that anyone can write a novel with dedication and effort, contrary to the belief that only certain gifted individuals can do so. The piece also challenges the notion that writing a novel every five years is acceptable, pointing out the modern demand for frequent content production. Furthermore, it dispels the idea that publishers actively market books by lesser-known authors, highlighting that significant marketing support is typically reserved for already famous authors. The expectation of wealth from writing is another myth debunked, with the author noting that most books sell only modestly. Lastly, the article humorously reminds readers that researching about writing is not the same as actually writing, encouraging aspiring authors to focus on building their word count.

Opinions

The author believes that the idea of only 'certain people' being able to write a novel is a problematic myth, suggesting that novel writing is a skill that can be learned, much like playing an instrument or driving.
The article suggests that the pace of content creation has changed, with successful authors, especially in genre fiction, needing to produce novels more frequently than in the past.
It is expressed that big publishers tend to invest their marketing budgets in well-known authors rather than emerging writers, leaving most of the marketing responsibility to the authors themselves.
The author points out that becoming wealthy from writing is highly unusual, with average book sales being much lower than many people expect.
The piece emphasizes that receiving a large advance from a publisher is rare, and advances are recouped from future royalties, which can affect an author's overall earnings.
The author humorously notes that reading about writing is not a substitute for the actual act of writing, encouraging readers to focus on their craft and build their word count.

Author skills

5 Biggest Misconceptions About Novelists

A lot of what you hear about writers isn’t true.

I have published both independently and with a publisher. I’ve gained a lot of insights into the publishing industry over the past decade or more.

In that time, I’ve realized that there are some real misconceptions about what it means to be a writer, and what the ‘author life’ might look like.

Here are some of the biggest ones:

1. Only some people can write a novel

I think this might be the most problematic of all the myths. The idea that only certain people — the great creatives that are somehow magically blessed — are capable of writing a novel.

You might hear it said that some people ‘have a novel in them’.

I think anyone can write a novel. Almost anyone, at least.

(Just look at my articles here on Medium, after all — the focus is 100% on self-improvement for writers!).

Is it hard to write a book? Yes! But so is playing guitar, or driving a car. You can learn how to do these things if you put the work in.

Novel writing is the same.

So when I hear that people are “working on their novel”, my reaction is a visible shrug.

2. Writing a novel every five years or so is normal.

How many novels did J.R.R. Tolkien release? Not many, that’s for sure, and with a nearly 20-year gap between The Hobbit and LOTR.

And it didn’t do his legacy any harm.

The thing is, we live in a different world today. And it’s a world where the audience demand a lot of content, and on a regular schedule.

Think about your favorite YouTube channels and TV shows.

Would you be happy to get content every five years? (George R.R. Martin fans needn’t reply to that one).

For new authors who want to have a successful career, particularly in genre fiction, you need to be producing novels frequently. And for independent genre fiction, it’s not at all unusual to be releasing 2–3 books a year, or even more.

So it’s less chilling in your New York penthouse apartment, and more hunching over the keyboard.

3. Publishers will work hard to market your book

When I first published a commercial non-fiction book with a publisher, I remember expecting that they would work their asses off to push it to all of the relevant readers out there.

I was wrong.

Or rather, I was right that the readers were out there, but wrong to think that my publisher would do anything about it.

The fact is that big publishers don’t spend their marketing budgets on the likes of me. They spend them on people who are already famous. The Stephen Kings or Hilary Mantels of the world.

Why?

Simply put, they get more for their ad spend if they focus on a sure fire thing. Something the audience have already heard of.

Just imagine: if you saw an advert for a familiar brand of cereal, and then saw one for a cereal that you had literally never heard of. Which one would you be more likely to buy? Which would get the bigger bump in sales?

Familiarity sells. Big brand names sell.

This means that you’re not going to get a TV ad, or a profile in Time magazine. The smaller you are, the less a publisher will give a damn about you ever becoming successful.

For the most part, you’ll be marketing yourself.

4. You’ll get rich.

Okay, sure… we’ve all heard about the people who become millionaires from their first novel. The thing is, those authors are massive outliers.

The typical average book sales are in the hundreds, not the tens of thousands, even for trad-published books. If you include all indie published titles, sales often don’t go above double figures.

Meaning that for indies, it’s entirely possible that your book could fail to ‘earn out’ what you invested in its cover, editing, etc (see the link below for how to avoid this problem!).

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Connected to this, a lot of people assume that traditional publishers will hand out a huge advance.

A cool million or so, right?

Personally, I’ve never had an advance larger than 4 figures. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the advance is later subtracted from your royalties, meaning that if the book only earns a few thousand in its lifetime, you get nothing more.

Plus… like, a $10k advance sounds nice and all, but as a trad publisher will probably only release one novel a year from you (or fewer), that could be the sum total of your annual income.

Why?

It’s just a numbers game to them, and you are like any product. They will release a bunch of books, knowing that at least a few will become big hits.

Less successful authors get quietly dropped.

5. You’re writing your novel right now.

No, you’re not — you’re on the internet, reading my article! And I love you for it!

Nothing wrong with a bit of research, of course. Again, I am all about self-improvement, and authors developing their skills. That’s what my Medium articles are about!

But if you want to write the novel, you need to get on and write it. Build up that word count.

And that, after all, is a skill.

A couple more things: you should get my posts direct to your inbox. Do that here!

Also, if you’d like to experience Medium yourself, consider supporting me and thousands of other writers by signing up for a membership. It only costs $5 per month, it genuinely supports writers, and you have the chance to make serious money with your own writing as well! By signing up with this link, you’ll support me directly with a portion of your fee, it won’t cost you extra. If you do, thank you so very much!

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