A lot of people on social media are going to try to tell you that you can make it rich by writing books. Here’s the funny thing—they’re lying. No, you can’t make money by writing a book, even if you publish it.
Full disclaimer, I’m only speaking in general here. Sure, it’s possible that you’ll be the next big thing, get a book deal, go viral, and have a movie adaptation of your book and thousands of fanfictions written about your characters.
On the flip side, it’s infinitely more likely this will never happen. But here’s why you should write one anyway.
The Reality of Book Publishing
Over 2.3 million books were self-published in 2021, which is 6,301 per day. Over 40 million books have received ISBN numbers…and that data is from 2020. Here’s the deal, and the truth. Your book is probably not going to go viral, and it’s probably not going to be one of the books that make it big. I recently published my own book, and it did exactly how I expected. Sure, the process was fun, but I highly doubt I’m going to reclaim all the time I spent writing it by making thousands of sales any time soon, if ever.
The book market is oversaturated, many modern writers are untalented, and many modern readers don’t have a knack for recognizing good books. So even if you’re a talented writer, your work will probably go unrecognized. This is just the harsh reality of book publishing.
I’ve seen countless social media accounts of authors promoting their books. And maybe those books even have 30 reviews or so, but from all the indie authors I’ve talked to, this never amounts to much of a paycheck.
Instead, this is a passion project for them. These authors want to make it big, but they usually understand that it’s highly unlikely—that, or they’re soon crushed by the reality of the situation and quit writing for good.
Why You Should Write a Book Anyway
But didn’t I say I was going to explain why you should write one anyway? I did, and here’s why. Simply put, it’s fun. It’s a great experience. And there’s a chance you’ll make it big.
Let me give you three reasons that even though it’s likely you’ll never “make it big”, you should write your own book if you have the time.
There’s a Chance
Think about it this way. Americans spent around $108 billion on lottery tickets in 2022, which comes out to roughly $325 per person. But the chances of winning the lotto are much lower than the chances of hitting it big with your book. But people still do it.
So don’t let the odds, even though admittedly they’re pretty abysmal, get you down. If your goal is to actually become a published author, go for it.
And don’t stop until you do. It sounds corny, but a lot of the people publishing those 2.3 MILLION books per year are publishing the most basic level, frankly subpar books out there. If you can offer something truly unique, there’s a bigger chance you win the jackpot.
It’s Fun
Seriously, writing a book is fun. I had a lot of fun learning how to format my book, how to write it, how to publish it, and everything else about the process. If you want to write a book, just go for it. Sure, you probably won’t be making a living off it, but it’s possible you make a few sales—I have.
And if it’s something you think would be fun, don’t let the lack of monetary rewards keep you away from it.
It’s a Great Experience
This one is fairly straightforward. It’s a good experience. Writing a book isn’t just fun, it’s a learning process. Especially if you write about something you don’t quite know about yet, which will force you to learn about it, and that’ll mean that you become a better person by writing your book.
This might be corny, but it’s absolutely true. There’s a saying that claims the best way to learn about something is to teach others about it, and this has been proven correct time and time again.
In the end, if you want to write a book, you’re going to have to put in the work—and by doing so, you’ll have to become a better person.
Write It
Let me make one thing clear. Anyone feeding you a “get rich quick” scheme about writing books is lying. They know they’re lying, and they’re lying because they know they can’t get rich off of writing books. Otherwise, they’d be doing it and not telling you about it.
But you should still write one anyway. Have fun, enjoy the process, and who knows—maybe you’ll be the next Tolkien.
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