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Successful writers persevere. The slim minority of really successful writers understand how competitive the writing market is. Perhaps the worst thing that can happen to a writer is to be published without understanding the industry. Most authors are quickly relegated to the 'one hit wonder' category of having only a single title in print. These writers may believe they've failed since being published hasn't provided a comfortable living.

Traditional publishers expect a book to deliver sales within three months of its release date. Many authors limit their own marketing efforts to the same time frame. Others rely entirely on the publishing house and may be surprised when their new title quickly goes out of print. Author commissions tend be small unless the book beats all odds and sells incredibly well.

Some authors choose self-publishing instead. The most successful self-published authors begin by asking themselves what they want their writing to accomplish. It's much quicker and far more certain to self-publish than to wait from two to five years for a traditional publishing house to accept a manuscript. Print on demand (POD) publishing allows a book to remain in print for the term agreed to by the author and the self-publishing company. Many books sell in small numbers simply because they haven't been marketed for any significant length of time.

A very important step is to research a self-publishing company before one signs the contract. These authors realize they'll have to do their own promotion. They take the time to learn what they don't already know about marketing or they hire professionals. They also learn to reject the archaic criticism and prejudice sometimes aimed at self-published authors. However the best self-published authors remain open to honest critiquing.

A mistake many writers and authors make is to limit their scope of writing. An author might decide to only write books. A writer may choose to create articles specific to one particular field of study. This is fine, if you have specialized qualifications in a field with few other contributing writers. Otherwise it's a good idea to broaden the range of what you write about.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't choose a genre and stay with it. There's no point in trying to write about things you're totally unfamiliar with. An educated reader will see right through that. If you must write on an unfamiliar topic, it's easy enough to find resources that will give you a basic understanding.

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