Sounds sort of self explanatory, doesn’t it.
Well that’s because it is.
One of the things about being an artist—in whatever medium—is that you continue to make the work. Because of that, your career will grow in time as you continue to produce. You just have to make sure you do that. There will be ups and downs. Nothing will change that. But in the end, you are your greatest asset. The more works you have, the more attention you will be able to garner. That all compounds and creates a domino effect. You have to be your biggest fan. Your biggest supporter and producer.

Do not get me wrong. I’m not saying you have to do this all solo, or that it’s a solitary thing. My friends have helped me endlessly in this endeavor. You have absolutely no idea. I will never be able to properly thank them, even in an entire lifetime. That’s how much support they’ve given me. How much they’ve impacted my career and life for the better. But that’s the ever-so-amazing icing the top of the cake.

You need the cake! So make it. You have to produce. And the great thing about that? The more you produce, the better you get. Everything you do in your art, and many things outside as well, will make you better. With that, you can ONLY GET BETTER.

In fact, everything is stacked in your favor. You just need to invest the time. It will cost much time. It will take much time. That’s the truth.

It’s been shown that for many indie authors you need about 4-8 books in a series. Now that’s by no means written in stone. It’s just a popular number where many indie authors see success.

Why?

Well think about it. You have a solid series at that point to get readers hooked into, and invested in. One book (where I am) could be fun to read. But they will have to wait for the second. So will new readers. If you have a series, people will be more likely to buy into in part because it is a series. It’s not a promise of more. It’s already there. Plus, more will come.

It’s like offering someone a slice of pizza, versus 2/3 of one. One is more tempting than the other. At the end of the day, you are a brand, and you are your ambassador as well. Be kind to yourself. Create more. Make more of what you love. Enjoy it. People will. The more you have, the more there is to see and buy from you. That all adds up. It only can.

Be consistent. Create. Traction builds if you let it. It’s like anything else. I might get some east coast flak for this, but, the recent blizzard.

Snow adds up. It’s only flakes of ice, but man does it, and did it ever pile up. To the point where my backyard porch roof (separate from main house) collapsed.

Stupid snow.

But see what I mean about things adding up. They can make quite the impact. So don’t be deterred if things aren’t immediately going the way you want them to. A writing career is very much like writing a novel. You don’t have a novel with one word. You have to string together tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands depending your monster. But in the end, you have a novel. (Minus all the polishing, polishing, polishing, crying, self loathing, and more) Hey, I don’t know your process. 😉

This can all go in your favor if you let it. So let it!

Get lost in your worlds and make all that you can and desire. If you want it, your fans will want it. It adds up. Let it.

You’ve got this.

Let me leave you with this example. I’m building my own Urban Fantasy series at the moment. Book two comes out this year in spring. And later in December, hopefully the first title in a new series set in the same world.

Look at how comic book companies operate. So many stories and arcs running parallel to one another all in the same world, all adding to each other. It gets big, doesn’t it?!

You’ve got this!