This article was inspired by a conversation with a dear friend of mine. He’s not a writer – he works in the tech industry. But I still find that some highlights of our conversation might be useful to some people.
Right now, if you land one of the three top spots of Rising Stars on RoyalRoad, there’s a big chance you are going to make a living out of your novel. I’d say that if you do everything right, the chance is higher than 50%. I would like to venture an outrageous number, like 90%, but I want to keep this as conservative as possible. Sadly, we don’t have statistical research on the topic and these numbers are merely a perception of mine.
But I have seen many novels cross the threshold of 2k followers. That’s when shit gets real. Above that number, you are becoming someone. Especially if you crossed such a threshold after barely a month since you started your new project. While 0.5-1k might be enough to rake in 200-300$ a month, 2k seems to have an exponential return on Patreon revenue. And there have been many writers able to cross that number.
However, how many of those writers are making a living?
My estimate is less than half. And you can take a look at all the novels that are dropped (permanent HIATUS) or simply can’t keep up with the requirements for success. It’s a pity, really. I know some of these writers and I have spoken to them. Sadly, the kind of environment we share doesn’t allow me to freely express my thoughts without a great deal of consequences for my social net. Why? Because if you are that close to turn your passion into a living and you back off, I would insult you. It is a foreign thing, maybe. A non-American approach. But if I’m hearing that you are crushing the job, and then you pussy out… It makes me angry. I want other writers to succeed. And I would call them names that I better not repeat in public.
I firmly believe that the right amount of pain is formative. You have to be able to withstand pain in life and there’s no way around it. If you have someone around you being a lazy fuck, call them ‘lazy fucks,’ not ‘sweetie.’ Not even ‘buddy.’ There’s a lot of toxic positivity in writers circles, and that’s because people are too cheery. There are a few ‘darker’ characters out there, more focused on the craft itself or money – and those are the ones I like the most, personally. I, myself, am a very angry person. If I don’t succeed, I get angry. I don’t just say ‘oh, next time it will be better.’ No, I fucking lose it. And do you know why? Because I care.
Let’s tie up the two previous things together, now.
What are the requirements that ‘lazy fucks’ are not satisfying?
Consistency. You could also read this as ‘hard work.’ It’s not just about consistency in your life, but in your story as well. Also in your posting schedule. If you publish one chapter per day, there’s a bigger chance you are going to make it.
Maturity. You could also read this as ‘experience.’ If you are taking a lot of shit for what you wrote, either start taking notes of the critics if your novel is not successful, or just ignore them if you are already doing very good. Being in your own echo chamber is good if it amplifies your success. Arrogance is a requirement, whether you like it or not. But so is humbleness. And the more you stay in the field while taking shit, the more you learn. The more mistakes you make, the bigger your bag of tricks later on.
That’s it.
Were you expecting a huge list? Did you want to hear that you are not doing marketing and that’s why you are not successful?
Hell, I have spoken with writers who believe that the reason they are not doing well on RR is because other people are cheating. Now, some writers are cheating. I could even point out some of them. But they are not doing that well. So, who cares? Are they bombing the ratings of your novel? So? Look at your Patreon/sales numbers. That’s what you have to press your ugly face on. People are either willing to pay for your novel or they aren’t. If they aren’t, you might want to consider dropping it. If you are not successful is not because there’s a huge conspiracy against you. You are just not good enough, yet. And that ‘yet’ makes all the difference. Stay hard, keep working, pivot when necessary. That’s all you need. As long as you are able to keep working hard (consistency) and being able to learn, improve and pivot (maturity), you are on the right path to success.
Also, I hate prescriptivism, the practice of telling people there’s only one right path to success. That’s why I don’t venture often in specific advice. But ‘consistency’ and ‘maturity’ are the two things that actually work in every fucking context. You can be a postman, and those two attributes will still make you the best in your industry.
Are there other important things?
Absolutely yes.
But the two requirements no one can do without, and that you will find in every successful writer without fault are consistency and maturity. Everything else is a consequence of those two.