Why Writers Need to Persevere
This Ain’t No Sprint, Baby!
In publishing, patience isn’t just a virtue—it’s a necessity. Too many writers invest years crafting their manuscripts, months or years securing representation and a publisher, only to abandon their published works after a mere six months because they didn’t immediately hit a bestseller list. This short-sighted approach not only undermines years of hard work but misunderstands how books find their audience in today’s market.
My first book launched in 2008 and barely brought in enough to buy a pizza once a month (at 2008 prices). It wasn’t until 2012 that it hit bestseller status and earned enough to pay my monthly rent.
Publishing success rarely happens overnight. The journey from initial concept to sustainable author career requires persistence, realistic expectations, and a willingness to play the long game. This is the stark reality that every serious writer must embrace.
Get Real With Your Timeline
Let’s start by acknowledging the considerable timeline involved in bringing a book to market:
Most books take years to write, revise, and polish to a professional standard. Even seemingly simple books often involve multiple drafts, feedback cycles, and comprehensive revisions before they’re ready for submission. This process alone can span anywhere from one to five years for many authors.
Finding the right agent and/or publisher adds additional months or years to the process. Even in the best-case scenarios, securing representation involves querying dozens of agents, waiting through response times, and going through potential revisions before submission to publishers. This phase commonly takes a year or more.
After a publisher acquires a manuscript, the book typically enters a production schedule spanning 12-18 months before it actually reaches shelves. This includes developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading, cover design, marketing planning, and positioning within the publisher’s catalog.
In total, the journey from initial idea to published book often spans three to seven years. This represents a significant investment of time, creative energy, and personal resources.
The Short-Sighted Mistake: Abandoning Books Prematurely
Given this substantial investment, why would any author essentially abandon their book after only six months on the market? Yet this is precisely what happens when writers pull back support, stop marketing efforts, and mentally move on simply because their book didn’t immediately hit bestseller status.
This premature abandonment cuts off the very possibility of long-term growth. By walking away too soon, authors:
- Prevent their book from finding its audience through the organic word-of-mouth that builds over time
- Waste the substantial platform-building and networking investments already made
- Miss opportunities for the book to gain traction through events, seasonal promotions, or cultural moments
- Squander the credibility and relationships established with booksellers, librarians, and readers
Most critically, this approach reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how books actually succeed in today’s market.
The Myth of the Overnight Success
The publishing industry loves to celebrate “overnight successes,” but scratch beneath the surface of these narratives and you’ll invariably find years of steady work and gradual audience building.
Consider some notable examples:
- Madeline Miller’s “The Song of Achilles” won the Orange Prize but took nearly a decade to become the bestselling phenomenon it is today
- Andy Weir’s “The Martian” began as a self-published serial before slowly building enough momentum to attract a traditional publisher
- Lisa Genova’s “Still Alice” was initially self-published and sold from the trunk of her car before gradually finding its audience and eventually becoming a major film
- David Sedaris worked for years as a housecleaner while perfecting his craft through small readings before becoming a bestselling author
What looks like sudden success to outside observers is almost always the product of persistent effort and a willingness to stay the course when immediate results weren’t forthcoming.
How Books Actually Find Their Audience (The Real-Real)
The reality is that most books—even eventual bestsellers—build their audience gradually over time. Several key factors drive this pattern:
Word-of-mouth remains the most powerful driver of book sales. Despite all the sophisticated marketing techniques available, readers recommending books to other readers still drives more sales than any other factor. This organic process takes time to develop and cannot be rushed.
The backlist (books published more than a year ago) is increasingly important to publishers’ business models. While the industry has traditionally focused on frontlist titles, many publishers now derive 50% or more of their revenue from backlist sales. Books often find their stride years after publication.
Books need time to find their ideal readers. Not every book is for everyone, and it takes time for a book to filter through various reader communities and find the audience that will champion it most passionately.
Different books have different sales trajectories. Commercial fiction might see stronger sales immediately after launch, while literary fiction, nonfiction, and specialized topics often build their audience more gradually over years.
Cultural moments can suddenly boost a book’s visibility years after publication. A book on a specialized topic might suddenly become relevant due to world events, or a backlist title might be featured in a celebrity book club years after its release.
When authors prematurely abandon their books, they cut off these potential growth trajectories before they have a chance to develop.
Strategies for Playing the Long Game
Instead of expecting immediate results, successful authors approach publishing as a marathon rather than a sprint. Here’s how to adopt this long-term mindset:
Set realistic expectations for different phases of your book’s life. Understand that the first six months are just the beginning. Many books don’t find their stride until year two or three.
Develop sustainable, long-term marketing approaches. Rather than exhausting yourself with a frantic launch period followed by nothing, pace your efforts with consistent, manageable promotion over years.
Build genuine connections within the reading community. Relationships with booksellers, librarians, book clubs, and reader communities pay dividends over time and can’t be rushed.
Create a content strategy that supports your book over years, not months. Blog posts, newsletters, podcasts appearances, and social media content can continue to drive discovery of your book long after publication.
Plan for the extended life of your book. Consider how seasonal promotions, topic relevance, or tie-ins to current events might create new opportunities to highlight your work years after initial publication.
Remember that each book builds on the last. Even modest-selling titles contribute to your long-term career by building your name recognition, establishing your expertise, and expanding your network.
Play The Long Game
Publishing success is fundamentally a long game. The writers who ultimately succeed aren’t necessarily the most talented or the luckiest—they’re the ones who understand the true timeline of building a readership and have the fortitude to stay engaged with their work beyond the initial launch period.
Bestseller lists offer one narrow definition of success, but there are countless “non-bestsellers” finding readers, building careers for their authors, and making meaningful cultural contributions. These books succeed precisely because their authors refused to abandon them prematurely.
If you’ve invested years in creating a book and navigating the publishing process, don’t sabotage your own success by giving up too soon. Your book deserves the chance to find its audience over time. Stay engaged, keep supporting your work, and remember that in publishing, persistence is ultimately the most important predictor of success.
