Gladwell And Success As An Author

For those of you who have followed me here on the blog, on Twitter or on Facebook, you know I am constantly screaming about the amount of time it takes to be successful in publishing. I was thinking about this last week when Gladwell popped up in a conversation I was having with a colleague. This is apparently something many writers seem to be forgetting. This is also a reason why so many writers today are unsuccessful in this business.

According to Gladwell, the magic number is 10,000 hours. Is initial argument (which has been debated by some who just want get things done faster) is that it takes at a minimum to be truly good at something. Now, please understand, Gladwell is not talking about just putting in the time. This is a focused study and learning.

I do know that  a lot of writers say that they are putting in that time. They proclaim, "Look at the number of rejections I have in my files at home." Or, "This book took me 1 year to write." This is just about putting in the time. This is a not a study in the craft of writing.

During my first 5 years of having the agency opened, I spent an extensive amount of time truly understanding the differences between single title and "category" or "series" romance." I did not just read one and call it quits. I didn't just read a set number and called it quits. I studied all of the nuances. I took the time to look for patterns in voice, sentence structure, point of view, character archetypes and so forth.

When I have Greyhaus authors interested in moving to a new line, or a new publisher, we don't do anything without having the author go through an intensive study of that new line. They learn all of the nuances.

At the beginning of this, I also mentioned that I do believe this is the reason why so many new authors are struggling out there in the business of publishing. They write one book. They take advantage of self-publishing opportunities, but the reality is, they have not put in that time to really get what is going on.

My final recommendation is simple. LEARN to write. LEARN the business. LEARN how all of this fits together. And QUIT just focusing on getting your book on a bookshelf and making money.