Afterwordtend to show slow, steady upward growth. A plateau may happen, but
plateaus do not last forever. Sooner or later the author breaks
through and moves on to a greater degree of success.
Of course, none of that happens by magic. Authors must write
well, publishers must publish and package creatively, and agents
must keep their eyes open for the signs that an author is ready for a
break-out. Between times, everyone must keep working. No slacking
off. No detours. (Well, not many or for too long.)
Persistent attention to progress is the stuff of which six-figure
writing incomes are made. Of course, there will always be those
clients who for one reason or another get rich quick. As I said at the
beginning of this book, I have nothing against speed!
In my experience, though, the odds favor those authors who are
patient, craftsmanlike, visionary, well-published, and well-represented.
(A little luck doesn't hurt, either.) These are the authors for whom the
nineties decade is most likely to prove a lucrative, six-figure period.
These are the authors that I think of as career novelists.