Originality belongs in your books, not your author career strategy
Every new author wants to be original.
It’s an understandable desire. Nobody sets out to write an inferior copy of somebody else’s novel. You want to tell stories nobody else has told, create memorable characters, and develop a voice that’s unmistakably yours.
Those are worthy ambitions.
But I’ve noticed that many aspiring authors let their devotion to originality spill over into areas where it’s more curse than blessing.
In effect, they insist on inventing their own writing careers from scratch.
Which is akin to reinventing the wheel.
What do I mean? Let’s take a closer look at how success actually happens.
📚 First, a word about a novel widely praised for its originality, Nethereal:
Space pirates OD on the spice from Dune; wake up on Cthulhu’s couch.
The Sublime Brotherhood of Steersmen holds the Middle Stratum in its iron grip. Jaren Peregrine, last of the Gen, raids across fringe space with Nakvin—her captain’s best pilot and only friend, apprentice steersman Deim, and mercenary Teg Cross.
Hunted by the ruthless Master Malachi, Jaren and his crew join a conspiracy to break the Guild’s monopoly with an experimental ship. But when its maiden voyage goes awry, the Exodus flies farther off course than its crew could have imagined.
Writing and publishing are different jobs
First, let’s define our terms. Writing is a creative endeavor; publishing is a business.
The former prizes originality. But the latter bestows success on those who identify what works and do that work consistently.
Confusing those activities has taken a bigger toll in time and heartbreak from new authors than crafting any first novel yet written.
I know authors who’ve experimented fruitlessly for years with sales gimmicks, platform algo hacks, and scattershot ad spend. Their mistake? Not taking the time before they started to discern whether those tactics have worked for anyone else.
Authors who approach business with the same degree of originality as art are feeling their way through problems that have already been solved for years.
The costs are staggering. Each failed experiment consumes time, money, and attention better spent on writing books or reaching readers.
And as I know from personal experience, new authors can seldom spare those resources.
The reassuring truth is, you needn’t blaze a new trail toward a destination someone else has built a superhighway to.
Your career path is not as unique as your books
Your novel is special. Your publishing problems aren’t.
Every author before you has struggled to find readers and turn a modest following into sustainable income.
The fact to keep in mind is that some succeeded.
And the successful ones used strategies that can be studied. Just like one general reading another’s book, you can examine how other authors won. Their publishing schedules, promotional methods, price structures; and now their crowdfunders and social media tactics, are all matters of public record.
Yet aspiring authors too often pass over the answers that are right under their noses.
All because they want to make their own way.
Don’t get me wrong, originality is admiral when it comes to developing a literary voice. It’s less so when you’re trying to pay the bills.
The mistake that even experienced authors make
Some authors do realize the value of studying successful people. But most of them make one critical mistake: