Can You Make Money Writing Novels?

Can anyone write novels?

There are no educational or social requirements to becoming a novelist. Education helps you develop writing skills and get involved in the community of writing, but it is not a requirement for success. The main requirement is that you write a novel. The better written and more marketable your novel is, the better your chances. In the end, the elements that lead to the successful marketing of a novel have little to do with educational or social background.

What types of novels sell well?

Genre novels tend to be the easiest to market. There is a built-in audience for genres such as romance, horror, children, mystery, science fiction, fantasy and thriller. A new genre, chick-lit, in which the protagonist is a modern single woman experiencing relationship and career issues, is currently popular. Novels that fall outside of these genres aren’t necessarily doomed, but they are harder to market, and most major publishing houses are looking to publish novels that they are confident they can sell in great numbers.

How do I find a publisher?

There are many small and mid-sized publishers who are open to new writers. The problem with smaller publishers is that they don’t have the money and clout of a major publisher. Typically they will publish a print run of about 5000 books and try to sell those before they print more copies. Your chances of getting published with a smaller publisher is better (though you are still competing against many other novelists) but few of them can bring you the royalties required to make a living. Major publishers are the ones that can bring you big sales. It is harder to get a major publisher to notice you, but it isn’t impossible.

Typically a writer is represented by a literary agent. An agent is someone who has read your book and believes that the book is marketable enough for them to sell it to a publisher. They take advantage of whatever connections they have in the publishing industry to get your book read by acquiring editors, who decide what books their publishing company should publish. The acquiring editor then makes a proposal to their board of editors (or whoever else has final authority) and if all goes well you get your book published.

How many novels do I have to sell to make money?

Here is where you run into trouble. While there are many, many variables involved in how much a writer makes when his or her novel is published, a good rule of thumb for estimating your profits is a dollar a book. That means that you would have to sell 50,000 books a year in order to earn a solid living. While there are some people who publish multiple books a year, the typical novelist manages to produce a single book a year, so you would have to sell 50,000 copies of each book you publish, assuming that you find a publisher for your books.

While the Stephen Kings and J.K. Rowlings of this world have no trouble selling millions of books, the typical novel sells about 5000 to 10,000 copies. Less than ten percent of published novelists manage to sell 50,000 copies or more of their book, and selling 50,000 copies of a book in no way guarantees that you will find a publisher for your next book. Major publishers are looking for big wins. They want to sell hundreds of thousands of copies, and they are going to stick with the writers they think will deliver them those numbers. Keep in mind as well, that the delay between having a book accepted for publication and getting that book published is generally about two years and often longer. That is a long time to wait to see profits from a book.

Are there other ways for novelists to make money?

Many novelists hold full-time jobs in publishing or education. These jobs provide their main income. Novelists can make some money by giving readings or getting paid to attend writer’s conferences. A novel can also get sold to a movie studio. Whether the novel gets made into a movie or not, the novelist gets paid a certain amount. If the novel becomes a successful movie, the novelist is usually in a much better position to get their next novel published.

Can I self publish?

Self-publishing is an option for people who want to get their novel read, but the option seldom leads to substantial profits. The upside of self-publishing is that you can make much more per book than if someone else publishes your work. The downside is that all of the risks and all of the expenses are on your shoulders. That means that you have to find a way to sell enough copies of your book to make back your initial investment and then to make a profit. This is possible, but it is a lot of hard work. Keep in mind that the time you spend trying to publish and sell your novel must be subtracted from the amount of time you have available to write your next novel.

I’m sad now, can you cheer me up?

While the prospects of making a living as a novelist aren’t good, there are some people out there who manage to do it. A few people even manage to get quite wealthy. I recommend that you write novels if it is something you enjoy doing and if you want to produce something you can be proud of. Those are excellent reasons to write novels. By all means, once you produce a novel you are proud of, send it out into the world and try to find a publisher. Maybe you’ll strike it rich and maybe you won’t. At minimum you’ll have written a novel, and that is something to feel good about.

Writing Lessons from the Side of the Road

Last Friday, I had a flat tire on the way to work. If I lived and worked in the same city, this might not have been such a big deal, but my job is a 65-mile drive down a lightly populated but heavily trafficked freeway. I was stuck on the side of the road at least five miles from anywhere that I could get any help. I’m not a mechanic. I wouldn’t even call myself handy. When we buy a piece of furniture that needs to be assembled, my wife generally puts it together. That said, I have changed a tire once or twice in my life, so I had a general idea of what to do. Still I was a little panicked.

For a moment, I wasn’t even sure if I had the equipment to change a tire. I used to have a road kit in my car, but somewhere along the line it had gone missing. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I had a spare tire. I was driving a minivan, and had never actually seen a spare. I knew it wasn’t in the back of the van, so I took a look under the van and sure enough, there sat the temporary tire. I slid as far under the car as I could. I’m a big man, so sliding under cars is not my strong suit. I tried to unscrew the tire, but it was locked into place. After a few fruitless efforts, I went back to the cab of my car and sat there. I was frustrated and picked up my Blackberry, trying to find a nearby garage. I even made a call, but they didn’t provide towing service or mobile tire repair, so they were of no use.

I went around to the back of the van and opened the hatch. Looking around, I found a panel that opened up. Inside the panel was a jack and a short lug wrench (I had to look up that name later) but no instructions. I tried to use the jack to bang on what I thought was the screw holding up the tire, but it did nothing. I got out from under the car again and sat there for a while, watching the tractor trailers and other vehicles whiz by me so fast that the van rocked. It was about then I noticed that I was sitting next to a small cap in the floor of the van. I lifted the cap up and saw a large nut being held in place by a cotter pin (I actually knew what a cotter pin was). I took the lug wrench and tested to see if it fit the nut. It did.

For the first time that day, I began to think I might have a handle on the situation, but I wasn’t about to unscrew a nut without a little more to go on. It was time to ask for advice. I called my father and asked him if he knew how to get the wheel out from under a minivan. I told him about the nut, and asked what he thought. My father wasn’t sure either, but he put me on with my nephew, who agreed that the nut would probably lower the wheel. That was enough for me, so I got back to work on it.

Sure enough, by untightening the nut (righty tighty, lefty loosie) I began to crank down the tire. It turns out that the part that I thought was the screw holding it in was just a big bar to hold it tight. It was far bigger than the hole it covered though, so I still didn’t know how to get the tire off of the bar. It probably took another minute of evaluation for me to realize I just needed to turn it sideways.

Now that I had the tire out, the real fun could begin. The flat tire was on the rear driver’s side of the car, so I had to stand/squat with my back to the traffic passing about a foot or two away from me, and change the tire. First I had to break loose the nuts before I could jack up the van (even I know that you don’t want to try this once the wheel is in the air). Then I found find a good spot to attach the jack. I wasn’t very confident in the spot because it was under the outer body rather than further beneath the car, but there was a T-joint there so I told myself it had to be solid. I jacked up the car and removed the tire. As I was doing that, a truck driver chose to blast his horn at me. I nearly jumped out of my skin, but I got the tire off.

I tried to put the temporary tire on, but the van wasn’t high enough, so I had to jack it up further. I kept waiting for the jack to slip or the body to bend, but everything held up and I got the replacement tire on. Finally, I was able to pack up my stuff and get back on the road. I headed back to my house to relax for a few minutes. Once my hands stopped shaking I headed to a garage to get my flat fixed. After it was finished I treated myself to lunch at a good restaurant and had my car washed, then I went to get an emergency kit and a beginner’s book about car repair.

What does this have to do with writing? Maybe a little and maybe a lot, but here is some advice you might take from this.

1. Trouble can strike quickly and unexpectedly
2. Knowledge and preparation can save you frustration down the road
3. Sometimes you need to stop and evaluate your situation
4. There’s a difference between a temporary fix and a real solution
5. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice
6. When you get through a difficult situation, take a moment to celebrate
7. Try to be more prepared the next time trouble strikes

Are You Having Any Fun?

Lately I have been talking about building a sustainable writing career. A sustainable career can stand the test of time. It is a career you can be successful at today, tomorrow and years from now. I’ve discussed some of the elements that lead to a sustainable writing career, such as good planning, hardiness in the face of problems, health and marketing. Those are all important, but perhaps the most important question is, are you having any fun?

Don’t Dread Your Days

No matter what career you choose, you won’t have fun all of the time. Every career has ups and downs. If you are going to spend eight or more hours a day doing something though, wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy what you are doing? The opportunity to get up in the morning without dreading the day in front of you should not be overlooked, especially if you expect to be doing the same thing five, ten of fifteen years down the road.

Strike a Balance

It can be difficult to strike a balance between what can earn you money and what brings you happiness. Tradeoffs have to be made sometimes, especially if you have a family to support and bills to pay. Just be sure that you aren’t trading away too much. I’ve spent time at jobs I hated before, and in the end my body just rejects those jobs. The stress gets to be too much and I get sick for days and weeks on end. At some point I can’t make myself go somewhere that I hate, even if the money is great.

Look for a career that can make you happy. If you find yourself in a job that you dread going to, make a change. Either fix what is wrong with the job or find a new job. Do what it takes to make your days worth living, because you only have a limited number of them.

Building a Sustainable Writing Career: Increase Your Hardiness

In my last article I discussed the value of hardiness. Hardiness is the ability to handle problems in constructive ways. It is the key to success as a writer. Here are a few ways in which you can increase your hardiness.

Eliminate (At Least Reduce) Poor Coping Habits

People indulge in bad habits when they are stressed. They smoke. They drink alcohol. They eat too much or too little. They take drugs. None of these coping mechanisms are healthy. When you find yourself indulging in these bad habits, stop. Focus on the positive actions you could be taking to fix the problem.

Take Care of Your Health

Ignoring your health, even when you have a major problem to deal with, is never a good idea. Your body is part of your toolset for dealing with problems. Exercise, get the proper amount of sleep, eat healthy food, take the time to relax and release stress in healthy ways like exercise, meditation or an enjoyable hobby.

Focus on Solutions Rather then Emotions

It is important to acknowledge how you feel about a situation, but dwelling on your emotions does not solve problems. Avoid negative self-talk. You need to find positive, logical steps that you can take to solve whatever problems you are facing. While you shouldn’t just take the first action that comes to mind, don’t dwell on your problems without taking some sort of action. The sooner you start taking steps to repair the situation, the better you will feel.

Use the Resources You Have

We seldom have every resource we would like to have. While it would be nice to have an unlimited amount of time, people, money, information, and equipment, most people have to make due with something less than the ideal. In many cases though, people fail to use the resources they do have, or they don’t use them wisely. When you are faced with a major problem, take stock of your resources and think about ways you can creatively use what you have. Sometimes it is as simple as asking the right person for a favor.

Communicate Assertively

Don’t avoid problems or people. A hardy person confronts the issues they have as directly and firmly as possible. You don’t have to be a jerk, but don’t turn yourself into a victim either. Say what is on your mind. Say it constructively, but get it off your chest. In many cases, all that is needed is an honest conversation. Half of the problems people have with each other are due to poor communication and misperception.

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