A writing buddy and I
started publishing
around the same time.
She envied
J.K. Rowling’s success.
My buddy wanted the big break out,
the over night success.
She would jump
from niche to niche,
chasing the latest hot thing.
Almost a decade later,
she still hasn’t ‘gotten lucky.’
She has no readership
because she never stays
in a niche
long enough
to build one.
I, in contrast, envied
Nora Roberts.
I wanted to
gradually and quietly
build my readership
over numerous book releases.
I DID pitch the big ideas
but those big ideas
made my core readers
happy also.
None of those big ideas
broke me out.
Almost a decade later,
I have a core group of readers
who, when organized,
could land me
on the USA Today Bestseller Lists.
“Fell swoops seem like
they’re worth chasing,
but a hit isn’t a strategy,
it’s an event.
Nice work if you can get it,
but hard to plan on or build on.
It takes patience
to avoid planning on swoops.
It’s more productive
to live in a house
that’s built out of bricks,
one at a time, day by day.”
You CAN work toward
a fell swoop or a breakout
while also building your base.
Try to do both
but definitely do the latter.
One is a dream.
The other is more easily attainable.