Writers Who Give Up After Their First Published Work Throw Away The Opportunity of a Writing Career
It's common for writers to lose the love of writing when their first published work doesn’t do well
In the beginning, everything is fresh and exciting, but most importantly full of potential.
Every new writer dreams of the potential their first written work brings.
Exposure to readers
Professional establishment
The beginning of a body of work
And these possibilities exist for both self-published and traditionally published authors.
What will all the hard work they put into this piece bring them? What will it do for their future? And, what stories will come next?
However, what happens when the dream falls flat?
After that first rush of published author hits, it becomes a waiting game.
How many books will they sell? Who will talk about their book? And what will readers have to say about their work?
This is when the dream starts to deflate.
Many new authors are waiting to be discovered. And when they aren’t and their sales are reflecting their high hopes and dreams, the love and spark for writing start to die.
But what most writers don’t want to hear is that it takes 3 to 5 books for you to start seeing momentum.
This is because readers are then able to read one book after another, keeping you, the writer, fresh in their minds.
So, when sales aren’t what the new writer hopes they would be, they begin to give up.
That rush to publish and write more enthralling stories begins to become dimmer. And what was once a big dream becomes a hobby they did once a long time ago. Something they now do from time to time but never publish.
And that is one of the biggest tragedies in the writing world.
For writers not to be telling stories. For readers not being able to get their hands on more variety in the book world. And for brilliant stories to stay hidden.
Once a writer gives up writing after their first published work, they give up the opportunities of a writing career.
There are some wonderful and famous authors who didn’t become well-known authors until later in life.
Some of these include:
Raymond Chandler: He started publishing short stories in pulp magazines but it wasn’t until he published his first book, The Big Sleep, that he became well-known.
Charles Bukowski: Worked in a post office for most of his life writing occasional short stories and poems, but it wasn’t until he wrote and published the book, Post Office, that he got his start.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas: She built a following by publishing short stories in magazines, but it wasn’t until she published her first book, Everglades: River of Grass, that she made her big break.
For the writers who feel as if they are on the brink of giving up — keep going.
Take this as a stepping stone to your road to success. The bridge to readers isn’t built in one day, but in the building blocks of every work you write.