Success as a Writer

How successful are you as a writer? How does one measure success? With the emergence of easily accessible processes to write, edit and self-publish, creating that ‘best-seller’ has become a global fad. Simultaneously, there is a plethora of advice on how to market oneself and that potential masterpiece—all good stuff, nothing new and mostly common sense.

Having taken on board and implemented these vital strategies, how many reach that ‘promised land’ where the author’s name alone guarantees instant sales of their next book? For many aspiring writers, it would be interesting to hear of not just about the success story, nor what steps the self-published author took to market themselves and their book, but to discover HOW this was achieved.

For example, the marketing gurus recommend writing a regular blog, a popular tool to gain exposure, but HOW does one create an international following (beyond one’s friends and family) in the first place?

Followers of various discussion groups constantly share their experiences and offer great advice to each other. Somehow, we also find time to write our novels. For those authors who consider themselves successful, HOW is that achieved and measured?