Here’s a crazy fact. In the 90s, only 50,000 books were published annually in the US. Today, it’s estimated that over 4 million are published every year.
Thank you, internet.
Today, the barrier to publishing is relatively low. Anyone with Microsoft Word can upload their book onto Amazon for worldwide distribution in minutes, and then flip their phones around and market them on TikTok and Instagram
Which, I think is kind of amazing…
Imagine how many writers pre-Internet died with a book inside them. How many people didn’t get a chance to fulfill their lifelong dream of sending their art out into the world?!
Of course, with so many titles comes a new problem… It’s crowded out there. The playing field has leveled, and now we all have access to the same marketing platforms. We’re all posting our book videos on TikTok and Instagram hoping to be the next ACOTOR or Fourth Wing. The next BookTok sensation.
Now, instead of begging literary agents and publishers to choose us, we are begging the algorithm to choose us.
I’ll admit, I was one of those writers trying to get noticed on the apps. I got lost in visions of grandeur. With one viral video, I was going to sell thousands of copies and catapult into the literary stratosphere.
WOMP WOMP WOMP.
The truth is — after getting millions of views and attracting a decent follower base, I didn’t sell thousands of books. My last release actually book sold less than my debut. That’s because I was looking for a shortcut. I was looking for mass appeal instead of finding my ACTUAL readers.
The true beauty of the internet isn’t just winning the algorithm lottery. It’s finding your people, your readers, and your tribe in the infinite shelf space of the internet. Once upon a time, we had to write a certain genre, in a certain lane, hoping to get some physical shelf space at a local bookstore. Now, thanks to equal access to distribution, we can write whatever our crazy hearts desire. We can carve out our little niche in a category that doesn’t even exist. Our books aren’t for everybody, but they are for somebody!
As I approach this new book launch, I’m going back to the basics. Not putting so much emphasis on going viral on TikTok or looking for a shortcut. Instead, I’m going back to finding my readers in whatever corner of the internet they live on.
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The Creative Ritual of Elizabeth Gilbert
When does Elizabeth Gilbert write?
Between 5 and 10 am because she likes having “secret morning hours” where the real world isn’t hunting her down.
What is her secret weapon?
Often, she wears non-prescription glasses to make her feel smarter and also chews a pack of Trident Tropical Twist Sugarless Gum per day. According to Gilbert, it activates her brain and begins the flow of creativity.
When she’s done for the day, she stops her writing in the middle of a sentence. This gives her a sense of momentum for the next writing session.
Her Desk:
Elizabeth Gilbert's writing room is a small, intimate space that is the size of her beloved old desk. In the box are thousands of index cards filled with research for her latest novel.
On the desk are a sailboat-style lamp, a robin's egg, and a car emblem from her first car—a 1966 Plymouth Fury II, that she bought for $600 and drove to Wyoming by herself when she was 23 years old. All these relics serve as reminders to be free, brave, alive, and vulnerable.
“The spaces that we make for ourselves in which to be quiet and creative MATTER. They don’t have to be big rooms. It can be just a little corner, like this room. But the space should be clean, and everything in that space should remind you of who you are. There should be nothing in that space that doesn’t bring your senses to life.”
**Here’s the desk and her full post about her writing space: