Yes, I said it and I will say it again: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PUBLISH A MILLION BOOKS TO MAKE A MILLION DOLLARS!! This has been the most frustrating, most contemplated, and one of the most discussed topics within the realm of self-publishing. I have watched authors ARGUE about the importance of quickly building a 20+ book catalogue due to the belief that the more books you put out, the more readers you will gain. For some authors, this nightmarish method of self-destruction has worked tremendously for them. They quickly type up a book a month or every other month and within a year's time, he or she will have a catalogue of anywhere between 6-12 books, then multiply that workload within a three year time frame and the catalogue up to 18-36 books (or in some cases more).
And it doesn't help that we now live in a binge culture when it comes to entertainment. Thanks to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu we can watch an entire series of episodes within a matter of hours instead of having to sit through the weekly play by plays of our favorite shows which can take months to complete. The same now applies to books. With Kindle, readers have the ability to access unlimited titles in one device. (Note: this is going to be a multipart blog). So, if you are an author with multiple books in a series, a reader can happily download the complete series and consume each book at his or her leisure.
Here is the thing: that doesn't mean you must type up books and release each book one month right after the other. Dropping book after book like a rapper would a mixtape will do nothing for you but boost your ego. Most of the time, it does little to expand your platform as an author and will leave you with more stress than income. And speaking of income:
There are authors who have published 30-40 titles in a three year period and are still in "hustle and grind" mode. In short, they still aren't generating satisfactory royalties. These are authors who are mentally in competition with what they see on social media and are desperate to catch up. And it isn't entirely their fault. Blame the pressure of social media and the old adage of "monkey see, monkey do". I can say this because during the earlier years of my self-publishing journey, I felt that same pressure and therefore made A LOT of mistakes along the way. I have published great stories that have been as well received as they should have been because of my failure to understand effective book marketing.
One book can land you a million dollars. One book can land you a multibook deal. One book can lead you to film and other profitable opportunities. One book is enough to help you build your platform. Do not allow what you see on social media to pressure you into acting prematurely. That same pressure will cause you to lose your passion for writing - especially if it is still not giving you the results that you want.
Even I am learning to do things differently, which is why I can stand on what I say.
The same authors who may be earning huge chunks of monthly income from Amazon HAVE to put out books regularly in order to remain in the algorithm. Truly successful authors who have a strong platform do not have to exert too much energy with their writing: their books work and continue to work for them. Imagine putting out a few books in a series that does so well that even if you do not write another book for a few years, those same books are still selling as they did upon the initial release. The key to this as is everything you want in life is to work SMARTER not harder.
My suggestion to you is to learn about the marketing practices for the genre(s) which you
write because it all differs. Research reputable book marketing companies and work with them. Learn how to work with Facebook ads; use the promotion tools offered on Instagram. There really isn't a standard blueprint to marketing your book because what works for one, may not work for all. Figure out what works for you.
Until next time...
Keep writing :)