Ignore Those Numbers
I read a dispiriting figure recently: more than 10,000 books are published in the U.S. every week. As published authors, how are we ever supposed to find our readers in that morass? And, as not-yet-published authors, how do we even break through to get to be one of the 10,000 books??
Uh, yeah, sorry, I don’t have the answers. I wish I did. I wish I had the magic bullet and could pass on the gun from which it was shot, but alas, I am as enmeshed in the quagmire of books as everyone else.
Yes, there are a million examples of come-from-behind authors finally making it big (and a million more of those very same type of authors not succeeding in the conventional sense). There are the one-hit wonders and the rocketing, rising star, and yes, I hope that at least some of that fame can be yours (and mine) but the harsh reality is that it may never be.
Instead, I have only my philosophy to offer you as comfort. Bonus: my philosophy also includes an action plan: write the best book you can. Keep honing your craft; keep practicing your skill.
We’ll always need stories—we’re hardwired for them—and that’s also why we’ll always have a plethora of writers, but that’s okay! It’s a good reminder that what we do matters.
So do what you can do is write and write well, and then, like I do, ignore the numbers.