Become a Successful Author in 4 Easy Steps

Originally published on the Story Queens website in 2016

There is a lot of marketing advice available these days for authors. “Win at Everything in X Easy Steps!”, they proclaim.
A lot of this marketing advice, I have found, has been created by Marketers (that’s with a capital M), who have something they want to sell, and want to sell it to the ocean of indie authors hungry for the lure of “success”. Stop by to read their steps to success, and after a few tantalising, motivating, but ultimately insubstantial instructions, you’ll discover you can buy their full course for an exclusive sale price that’s only available NOW!
I have to admit, I’ve bought into my fair share of these courses. Because Marketers do know to market a product. I’ve found some value in some of them, and others not so much, but what I’ve never done is followed a course exactly step by step to see if it really works. Would I become a massively successful author if I did follow those steps? Maybe, but the problem is, those steps? They ain’t for me. They aren’t my type. I’m still looking for my soul-steps, if you know what I mean.
Maybe you’re still looking for your soul-steps too. Because there is no One Plan to Rule them All. No one blueprint anyone can follow to reach their goals.

Realistically, the four steps are something more like this-

Step three? That’s where things get hairy. It’s the part no one’s really figured out, or if they have, they’ve figured it out for themselves. What works for them. And that might not work for anyone but them. Sure we can see what other people are doing, learn here and there to create our own plan, but that’s the important part. It has to be our OWN PLAN.
So below I’ve created a list of Four Easy* Steps that May or May Not Help You Create Your Own Plan to Achieve Your Definition of Success.

1. Define “Success”

At what point, exactly, will you feel “successful”? Success is a very personal thing, and it can come in many different forms. Success can mean anything from financial success, to fame, to achieving a level of masterful skill and more. It’s important to know which of these, or which combination of these, you want. If you don’t know what you’re aiming for, you may achieve all kinds of wonders and never feel successful. Lock down exactly what will define your author career as a success.
Make it specific. That is your new goal. Print it out and post it on the wall near your computer.
Some swipe-able ideas for defining success-
“I will feel successful when I have sold more than 5000 books.”
“I will feel successful when I earn a 5 figure a year income from book sales.”
“I will feel successful when my books have received a review from an influential celebrity or media outlet.”
“I will feel successful when I have won a prestigious literary award.”
“I will feel successful when I am a household name.”
“I will feel successful when I hear from readers about what my book means to them.”
“I will feel successful when I have completed writing my dream series.”

2. Have a Plan

Of all the tutorials and case studies on successful authors out there, it’s obvious that there are many different ways which authors have become successful. The one thing they all have in common is that they have had a plan. And that plan will vary depending on the author, their resources, and their goal.
The plan for an author whose idea of success is to become a household name will be extremely different to an author aiming to receive a big literary award. That’s why it’s so important to know where you’re going, so you can develop the map to get there.
Some quick ideas for where to start with each of the goals above-
“I will feel successful when I have sold more than 5000 books.” – Focus on advertising, sales funnels, and marketing. Use free and cheap pricing to move copies. Have lots of titles available.
“I will feel successful when I earn a 5 figure a year income from author career.” – Build a loyal fan platform, seek foreign and subsidiary rights, create a quality product with a higher price point.
“I will feel successful when my books have received a review from an influential celebrity or media outlet.” – Learn how to network. Build relationships with influential people through the art of giving and reciprocation.
“I will feel successful when I have won a prestigious literary award.” – Hone your craft, practice and revise your novel until it’s the very best it can be. Get expert feedback for improvement. Study, a lot. Research available awards and start submitting.
“I will feel successful when I am a household name.” – Become an expert in your field, push the line of controversy, seek media attention, plan publicity stunts.

3. Understand your Strengths and Weaknesses

…and that what works for one author might not work for you. It’s important to know your strengths and weaknesses, to know what you can work with – or what to avoid – when creating your plan. Maybe you can write fast, and can write and publish a full length novel a month, but have no other resources for promotion.
Maybe you write slowly, but are fun and personable, and great with social media.
Maybe you’re a terrible people-person, but you have a day job which earns enough to put a lot into advertising your books or hiring PR.
Have a real look at yourself and what you’re capable of, and what you’re not. Work those strengths and weaknesses into your plan. You may even need to adjust your goals based on what you are most suited for. If your not comfortable networking, the goal of gaining celebrity or media attention, or becoming a household name, will be more challenging.

4. Do the Work

It’s no point having a plan if you don’t make it happen. I recently read that “Four leaf clovers aren’t rare, the people who look for them are”. It applies also for goals. Lots of people want to achieve something, but the people who put in the work to achieve it are rare. So set your goal, make your plan (using specific, actionable tasks), then get to work ticking the tasks off that list.

5. BONUS STEP! Never stop

What happens if you have reached your level of success? First of all congratulations! Celebrate! You’ve achieved a goal and that’s always a big thing. But don’t become complacent after that. The next step is to go way back to the beginning again and redefine your goals. Redefine a new level of success. It can be increasing the number of books sold, or branching out to a different area of success. Once you’ve done that, off you go again. Make your plan, utilize your strengths, do the work. You’ll hit goal after goal.
By the way, you can buy my full course for an exclusive sale price that’s only available NOW! **
*Not really easy.
**No you can’t. I have no course. I’m totally kidding.