Madison's questions elaborated

Last week Madison asked questions for published authors, indie or traditional. Please check the original post and the answers (including mine) she got.

She wonders why my graphic novels didn't sell. I don't know why, maybe because graphic novel&comic book readers don't shop online. Those things don't come out well on e-readers and probably those readers keep going to their favorite brick-and-mortar comic-bookshops (I buy them online because I don't want the translated version of, say, Terry Moore's Echo, but I do buy my dose of manga in a physical comic bookshop). Or they read the web-comic, which are another format altogether (that I personally don't like because I can't read on screen for long).

When I started blogging, though, I had this idea found in Be The Media: find 1000 true fans willing to spend 25$ a year on your stuff. 25$ is 5 novels, and I knew I could write 5 novels a year. The fifth for this year will come out soon. I started issuing them this year because I considered the traditional way first. I'm not very good with short stories, so I didn't try to sell those first. But I knew I'd have to make a five years plan cause, guess what?, I had found that also on a book on how to find an agent and keep him – you were supposed to have a 5 years career plan even to find an agent, so he'd know you were a real writer and not a one-shot novelist.

So, one more reason to love #5 – every writer should have a 5 years career plan, no matter if s/he chooses traditional or indie. For traditional it can be one book a year (has to be, considering how slow trad pub is! ), for indie go for 5 or 6 novel-length books (like Ruth Ann Nordin also suggests) + shorts – the more, the better, you won't have to market much because your name will keep popping up and your readers will find you.

So, make your career plan today and follow your path! Happy writing!