3 Steps for Becoming a Successful Author

Saw this over on CrimeSpace on a thread about reviews in newspapers. I'll present my own version here.

There are three steps for becoming a successful author in the digital age:

1) Generate lots of buzz about yourself and your writing.

2) ????????

3) Dominate the charts.

There you have it. It's that easy.

Hmmm? You're wondering about Step 2? Yeah, everyone is wondering about that. We'll let you know what we find.

In all honesty, no one really knows. Most say it's luck, but I think it's more being prepared to handle whatever opportunities come your way. Even that doesn't matter compared to the Golden Rule: If you're not passionate about writing, you won't be successful.

I'm not getting rich off any of this. I do it because I have to write. It's a part of who I am. It's my identity, as they'd say in "Cleansing Eden." That's my Step 2. What's yours?