Writing, defying all odds.

During my daily podcast-assisted walk, I came across an author on a writing podcast who discussed her reasons for believing in her ability to succeed as a writer. Her answer struck me as the only possible one “Irrational optimism”. Today, it’s just as difficult to write and sell a meaningful number of books as it is to conquer Mount Everest. However, individuals begin the ascent, and only a determined few complete it.

I have always loved writing because it is an endeavor with few roadblocks. Buy the simplest of Chromebooks, sign up for a Google Gmail account, and bam! You can write to your heart’s content in Google Docs. Heck, people even bang out novels on their phones. There is an enormous difference between writing and successfully publishing. Since 2007, Amazon has made self-publishing an option for countless writers who now come in droves. In 2021, there were 2.3 million new US self-published titles with only ISBNs (International Standard Book Number a number for uniquely identifying books) I fancy myself a guy with an appreciation for numbers. For context, there are roughly 330 Million people in the states. The more telling statistics are

1) The typical self-published author sells about five copies of his book. 

2) The average US book now sells less than 200 copies per year and less than 1000 copies over its lifetime. (The average is not meaningful as a handful of immensely successful authors distort it.)

3) 191 million ebooks sold in the US in 2020 bringing in a whopping 1.95 billion dollars.

4) Readers buy roughly 500,000 ebooks every day.

That is 1.95 billion is real money. It is like the Comstock load. There is a similarity between gold and books that sell. Gold is extremely difficult to find and mine, just as money-making books are difficult to write and market. Still, many come with keyboards instead of shovels, picks, and gold pans. They have the same look in their eyes and a surly disposition, proclaiming, “Only a writer can understand how difficult this is”.

Many people decided the smarter move was to make money on the periphery, like the old sellers of picks, shovels, and pans. They will help you edit, create cover art, and publish your book for a not-insignificant fee. In case you failed to observe, scammers are attracted to two things: money and unrealistic expectations. Think of the stock market and cryptocurrency. Scammers are thick there and all too ready to take your money. Before you trust anyone, do your independent research.

So, 500,000 ebooks a day, just maybe there is room for you. What do you think? I remain irrationally optimistic and well, what the heck.