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Found out 60% of published novels never sell more than 100 copies
I was reading some stats from the Authors Guild last night and that number really jumped out at me. It makes me wonder if all those "write what you know" prompts are actually setting new writers up for failure if nobody's buying. Has anyone else looked into what makes a prompt actually lead to a sellable story?
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james_butler18d ago
It's like that thing where people always say "follow your passion" for a career but most passions don't pay the bills. I've seen the same pattern with food bloggers and YouTube channels, everyone thinks if they just put their heart into it the audience will magically show up. The hard truth is most people who buy books don't care about the author's personal journey or what they know, they just want a story that hooks them or fills a specific need like a thriller or a self help book. So maybe those writing prompts need to be asking "what do readers actually want to read" instead of just digging into your own life.
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