Newsletter archive · 25 Apr 2024

What it’s like to write a best-seller

Hello Reader—

Yesterday, I told you about what I felt after writing a flop.

A book almost no one bought.

TL;DR

It sucked.

For my next project, I hacked it.

I wanted to write a best-seller.

I didn’t want to spend a year or two doing it.

And I needed help.

So, I hired a US publishing company.

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A dozen other writers and I signed a contract with the publishing house.

We worked on a book about mindset and success principles.

All I had to do?

  • Pay the fee.
  • Write a 2,000-word chapter.
  • Respond to edits and feedback over Google Docs.
  • Promote the book to my email list.

In return, the publishing house edited, published, and marketed our book.

They also knew how to time the book launch, so it stood a better chance of hitting the list.

It wasn’t cheap, but I felt excited about becoming a USA Today best-selling author.

USA Today best-selling author is a great form of social kudos.

I’ve interviewed dozens of authors who’ve hired agents and PR execs to do this same thing.

Social proof, however you get it, helps sell future books.

And?

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A few months later, ding!

The email read, “Congratulations, you’re a USA Today, best-selling author.”

I didn’t uncork any champagne, though.

I was pleased the publishing house delivered but..

I felt ambivalent about my new form of kudos.

I still wanted to write something only I could say.

Not a compilation.

Or a book aimed at the mass market.

So, I tried something else.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you more.

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I use Grammarly's AI writing assistant and grammar checker daily–it's powerful and fast.

Write on,

—Bryan Collins

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