Yes! You Should Write More Than One Book, and Here’s Why
Sure there are one-hit wonders. People who do one thing and make such a success of it and they’re set for life.
Take the pet rock, for example. Advertising executive Gary Dahl created this phenomenon in 1975 after hearing his friends talk about their pets while they were all at a local bar. He created a pet that did not need much care and would never die, become sick or be disobedient.
He used his profit from sales of the pet rock to buy a bar. End of story.
Let’s not forget “Hey Micky,” sung by Toni Basil in 1982. I know you’re mouthing the words right now.
Oh Mickey, you’re so fine
You’re so fine, you blow my mind
Hey Mickey, hey Mickey
Oh Mickey, you’re so fine
Did you know that the Rubik’s Cube was a one-hit wonder? So says this article on AllWomensTalk.
This has to be one of those one hit wonder inventions that makes the most famous list, in addition to being on my original one hit wonder invention list. The Rubik’s cube was invented by a Hungarian architect, Erno Rubik, in 1974, but he did not intend to create a toy! His invention stemmed from a means of displaying a working model explaining three-dimensional geometry!
Can Authors Be One-Hit Wonders?
I guess you can be a one-hit wonder as an author. Margaret Mitchell was one (Gone with the Wind). Anna Sewell was another (Black Beauty). And let’s not forget Boris Pasternak (Doctor Zhivago.)
There are many others – Emile Bronte, Sylvia Plath, and others.
None of whom are nonfiction authors.
Therefore, if you’re a novelist, perhaps you’re happy to rest on your laurels. I wouldn’t recommend it, but it can be done.
If you’re a nonfiction author, one who is using the book as a tool in your business, much like my admirable friend Tara LaFon Gooch (check her out, she’s a genius marketer), relying on one book to gain you the authority you desire is not the way to go. And not something Tara would ever do!
In my searching for one-hit wonders as authors of nonfiction or business books, I did not find a single result. I’m sure there are some. But they are not well known. Not well-known enough to be included in a Google search.
Surely you want to be well known enough to show up in a Google search?
To convince you to write that second, third or fourth book, to create a series of books that can get readers excited, let me list the impact of multiple books on building your brand, strengthening your legacy, and creating greater authority.
Beyond the First Triumph: 9 Reasons To Build a Library of YOUR Books
- Enhanced branding. Each book after the first solidifies your brand story. This includes design, messaging, and purpose.
- A second or third book brings greater respect. People know how hard it is to write a book. When they see a second or third, they are more impressed. Impress them.
- Reach more people. That second book, or third, or fourth, has greater impact on your audience. They will generate more attention for you and your message.
- Book sales. As we tell all of our clients, your second book sells your first. And so on. Few people buy the second book and seeing there is a first, will not then immediately visit Amazon to get the first.
- Diversified income. As you write more books, you create a bigger community and have a chance to create supplemental materials, masterminds, webinars, any number of other content or items (yes, mugs and T-shirts, why not?) that will bring in extra income.
- That legacy I talk about a lot, like in this blog post. Your work deserves to be presevered. In book two or three or four, it has a much better chance of that.
- Community. Look at the work of Tony Robbins. He is not just an author. His books serve his community!
- Dedication to expertise and knowledge. By writing more than one book, you offer the world a commitment to your work. Your message. The purpose of your business. People recognize the value of reading an author with more than one book to her name.
- Your own self-worth and self-care. Publishing book one took a lot of work. The joy once you have that book in your hand is immeasurable. People shout for joy. People dance around their dining rooms. It’s a task well-done and it deserves celebration. Now, what about that next book? Much the same thing, except, with the next book, you realize, “I’m an author now. Not a one-hit wonder.”
You know the process now. You can do it again and again, and increase that sense of accomplishment every time.
People Want More Of You
That’s why you should write another book. In the end, the reality of authorship is this: people with more than one book do better, are more successful, and sell more books, than one-hit wonders.
pssst BTW if you collaborate with another author as we discuss in the link to our post here, you not only have accountability, you have a better chance of success!
We advise people not to write a book just to make a splash or get rich. That’s a pipe dream – that your book is better than any other book in the same genre, out there. It may be but understand that readers are discriminating. Especially with business books. They don’t want you to be better than someone else, they just want you to be authentic, true to the purpose, and focused on solving their problems.
If you write more than one book, people immediately take you more seriously. The ascribe a certain expertise to you that translates into not just sales, but a desire to be part of everything you do. Part of your community. Part of the insight you offer.
And, it must be said that Amazon favors authors who have multiple books. After all, multiple books bring in more profit for them also.
In closing, I offer this quote from an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. It speaks to the power of all writing but most powerfully to the purpose of writing – to tell stories. Fiction or nonfiction, you must learn to be a storyteller.
I am confident you have more than one story to tell the world.
“If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.”
—Peter Handke
Isn’t it time to get started on that next book?
Our saying, Good Things Come To Those Who Write, stands true for this message and every message we share here. It’s our goal to help you make those good things happen, by working with us on a first book or that next book.
Connect with me on LinkedIn. I write about books, publishing, writing, and marketing every day.
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