The career novelist

THE CAREER NOVELIST

• They are genre writers. This point is even more interesting when you
  realize that none of these authors has ever crossed genres or
  written a mainstream novel. Genre readers are like gold.


• They published novels for ten years before reaching the six-figure level.
  (Publishers take note!) Most had a five-figure income early in
  their careers, but reaching the six-figure tideline followed long
  improvement of craft and careful reader cultivation.


• The six-figure threshold arrived before six-figure advances. This is because
  income was derived primarily from backlist royalties and sub-
  rights sales. Interesting, yes?


• None is "plugged in." They do not belong to professional organiza-
  tions, talk on GEnie, attend lots of conventions, collect industry
  gossip, relentlessly self-promote, or campaign for award nomi-
  nations. Those activities do not hurt authors, necessarily, but
  neither do they seem to be essential factors in achieving a six-
  figure writing income.


• They believe in their writing, and have a unique voice. These clients do
  not phone me and say, "I hear so-and-so at Publisher Thus-and-
  Such is looking for new fantasy romances... should I write one?"
  Rather, they have their own agenda. They also write fiction that is
  uniquely their own and stride forward calmly, in the conviction
  that given time and applied effort their income and their audi-
  ence will grow large.

Surprised? 1 do not blame you. The publicity surrounding mega-

deals would lead you to believe that high advances are the only way

to get rich in the fiction game. That is not so. In fact, I am willing to

bet that a scientific sampling would show that the majority of big-

name novelists did not get there overnight, but rather over a period

of many years and many books.

To see what I mean, check the best-seller lists. You will find on

them plenty of authors, especially genre authors, who have grown

slowly.

Must one, then, resign oneself to years of paying one's dues in

order to achieve the six-figure goal? Perhaps, but my clients' careers