Posted by Larry Correia knocked it out of the park, so I am doing a rare re-blog on his post.
Let me put it this way from the exact opposite corner of the spectrum. I’m a struggling author and I’ve been at this for three years now with no real success apart from friends who threaten to shoot me if I stop writing. The ones who haven’t threatened to shoot me own swords. That’s one sort of success.
The only way I’m going to get to the financial and fame part of success is to keep on writing while others give up and go away! It doesn’t matter whether Larry or Butcher sell another billion dollars worth of books. They have worked hard for it and more power to them! Not only do I get to enjoy their books, but I get inspiration, things I think I can do better, things I would do differently, and MUCH more examples of things that I had better up my game about if I am going to make a living as an entertainer.
They aren’t my competition. Until I sell a million books I won’t even smear them with the title colleagues! But they are proof that it can be done, a challenge to keep doing it, and an example of what persistence and hard work look like!
Are they making bank? Yep, compared to me. If I can afford Chinese food on a month’s royalties I am having a good month. BUT I’ve had to tell the IRS where the royalties come from, so I’m officially an author. Any way that these guys succeed, that’s great! They can’t possibly write enough books to satisfy their customers day in and day out, so let them make a big market for urban fantasy, action, and non-lib-idiot stories. I can try and supply demand. They aren’t taking a penny away from me to succeed!
If anything, Rowling, Correia, and Butcher are spurring me on to success.
(Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go type something explosive on top of a water tower in Cincinnati.)
Lagrandil 