First it should be stated that I've never written a fiction series. But I have written a few novels, novellas and short stories. Though I've never made any attempt to share, sell or otherwise do anything with them. This would be my first attempt at selling fiction.

All of my prior experience with selling ebooks and curated content has only involved creating and selling information products. Things like "How-To" and nonfiction ebooks, online courses, or essays and research data.

In my opinion, information products are easier to produce than works of fiction, because they are essentially research and putting the information together in a coherent and organized format. With fiction, the bulk of your material will come from your own creative processes. But this is just my opinion.

And though this will be an entirely new experience for me, I'm quite sure that my past entrepreneurial experience, the task won't be as cumbersome or difficult to complete. It may even offer some advantage. Maybe not with writing the story itself, but definitely with the marketing aspects of it.

Also, I'm not only looking to write the series, I want it to be a bestseller and a staple in popular culture. Something with a huge following and a devoted reader base.

Possible? Absolutely. It's just a matter of figuring out what I need to do to in order to achieve my goals.

Will it be easy? Probably not. But just because something isn't easy, or doesn't happen very often doesn't mean it cannot be done. Besides, new series become bestsellers all the time. Before Song of Ice and Fire, there was Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Before the Divergent Trilogy and The Lunar Chronicles, there was the Twilight Saga. Before The Hunger Games, there was the Shannara Chronicles.

Each a successful franchise and series in its own right. All bestsellers.

My point? The bestsellers lists are ever-evolving creatures. And if I ever want to see my work appear on such a list, then I need to be sure I'm working hard to create a story that's not just good, but spectacularly epic! Something so addictive, it's all consuming. Which means I have a ton of work to do.

At present, my only concern is the difference in literary markets.

Since the series I'm writing is being targeted towards audiences in the West, some of the story's elements may not be of interest to Nigerian and African audiences.

Every country and culture has different interests, and it would be foolish for me to assume that just because something sells well in the US and Europe, that it will also do well in Africa. (For example, the reality tv show, "I am Cait"...)

And while the main story arc of my work may not suit the average African reader's palate, I have given some thought to writing a few stories that will. (Or at least, I hope they will...) As a matter of fact, I have one or two ideas that I would like to promote/publish in Nigeria and other African literary markets. But first, I need to conduct more research on the markets and reader preferences to see what ideas, genres and themes will attract the most readers.

As for the series I am writing, my plan is to use the experience to try and help as many people possible, not only pick up a few tips on novel writing, but also figure out and discover which strategies will help them build an audience, improve their marketing and sell more books.

I will reveal as much of my process as possible, and will share any useful resources, tools and marketing information and strategies I uncover.

I will also share some of my mistakes and failures, because I think people need to be exposed to a healthy dose of each. Yes, it is important to show people the right paths to take, but it's also important to show them what to do should they find themselves moving in the wrong direction. Or better still, how to move from a failing path to one of more positive returns and growth.

I won't share everything I'm doing (that would absorb too much time). For example, I won't share the results of every Adwords campaign I test, but I will choose a few to highlight some of the best and worst performing ads so that you get a balanced view of what I'm doing. So no, I won't share every little detail, but I will share all of the major points and enough material so that anyone who's following along, will have enough resources to get started and be on your way.

And lastly -- and as always -- the content will be free to access.

I could create a membership site and charge a small fee, but I won't for 3 reasons:

1. I want to focus the majority of my time and attention toward writing and selling my fiction, and managing a membership site will distract from that.

2. In the long run, I believe I will make more money from my ebook sales than the membership site anyway. Especially once it hits the bestsellers list.

3. I just don't care to. Besides, there is very little Internet marketing information that cannot be found on the web for free these days anyway.

Also, I won't publish everything on Nairaland, but I will include a ton of links for your convenience so you can quickly and easily link to the content on my site.

I can't promise you'll sell any of your books, or secure a publishing contract by following my examples. Life is a gamble, and what works for one person may not work for you. However, that doesn't mean that nothing will work for you. You just have to figure out what will.

The only promise I can make to you is that I will do my best to find and provide the best information, advice and resources possible to help you take your writing farther.

Sound good? Ready to begin?

Great!

We'll get started the moment I return in the morning. Right now it's going on 4:30 in the morning where I am, and I need to get some sleep before starting my day.

I look forward to connecting with you soon!

Be blessed!

Ra

I think with bestsellers, it takes a little bit more than hardwork.

I strongly believe that there's a bit of serendipity there too

I haven't read 50 shades of grey the book and I rarely follow stories surrounding "celebs" but what I heard about the author is that the manuscript was rejected by publishers several times. I think it was even an agent that said that the story was very badly written.

So what was it about this book that the professionals thought was rubbish that made it go on to be a bestseller?

If I am not mistaken, the same could be said for JK Rowling.

To be honest, I don't think it is the quality of one's work that determines whether or not it is a bestseller. At the very least it should be edited and not be filled with typos.

The stars need to align in your favour at that time. By this, I mean in relation to everything else that is out there.

Also, do you have a street team? A network of people who will help spread the word for you

Mathematics has a lot to play in the equation you know. If you have 100 bloggers recommend your book each to 100 followers, that's 10000 that would potentially be checking out your book.

People need to check out your book first before they know whether or not it is any good. If that makes sense

radragan:
First it should be stated that I've never written a fiction series. But I have written a few novels, novellas and short stories. Though I've never made any attempt to share, sell or otherwise do anything with them. This would be my first attempt at selling fiction.

All of my prior experience with selling ebooks and curated content has only involved creating and selling information products. Things like "How-To" and nonfiction ebooks, online courses, or essays and research data.

In my opinion, information products are easier to produce than works of fiction, because they are essentially research and putting the information together in a coherent and organized format. With fiction, the bulk of your material will come from your own creative processes. But this is just my opinion.

And though this will be an entirely new experience for me, I'm quite sure that my past entrepreneurial experience, the task won't be as cumbersome or difficult to complete. It may even offer some advantage. Maybe not with writing the story itself, but definitely with the marketing aspects of it.

Also, I'm not only looking to write the series, I want it to be a bestseller and a staple in popular culture. Something with a huge following and a devoted reader base.

Possible? Absolutely. It's just a matter of figuring out what I need to do to in order to achieve my goals.

Will it be easy? Probably not. But just because something isn't easy, or doesn't happen very often doesn't mean it cannot be done. Besides, new series become bestsellers all the time. Before Song of Ice and Fire, there was Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Before the Divergent Trilogy and The Lunar Chronicles, there was the Twilight Saga. Before The Hunger Games, there was the Shannara Chronicles.

Each a successful franchise and series in its own right. All bestsellers.

My point? The bestsellers lists are ever-evolving creatures. And if I ever want to see my work appear on such a list, then I need to be sure I'm working hard to create a story that's not just good, but spectacularly epic! Something so addictive, it's all consuming. Which means I have a ton of work to do.

At present, my only concern is the difference in literary markets.

Since the series I'm writing is being targeted towards audiences in the West, some of the story's elements may not be of interest to Nigerian and African audiences.

Every country and culture has different interests, and it would be foolish for me to assume that just because something sells well in the US and Europe, that it will also do well in Africa. (For example, the reality tv show, "I am Cait"...)

And while the main story arc of my work may not suit the average African reader's palate, I have given some thought to writing a few stories that will. (Or at least, I hope they will...) As a matter of fact, I have one or two ideas that I would like to promote/publish in Nigeria and other African literary markets. But first, I need to conduct more research on the markets and reader preferences to see what ideas, genres and themes will attract the most readers.

As for the series I am writing, my plan is to use the experience to try and help as many people possible, not only pick up a few tips on novel writing, but also figure out and discover which strategies will help them build an audience, improve their marketing and sell more books.

I will reveal as much of my process as possible, and will share any useful resources, tools and marketing information and strategies I uncover.

I will also share some of my mistakes and failures, because I think people need to be exposed to a healthy dose of each. Yes, it is important to show people the right paths to take, but it's also important to show them what to do should they find themselves moving in the wrong direction. Or better still, how to move from a failing path to one of more positive returns and growth.

I won't share everything I'm doing (that would absorb too much time). For example, I won't share the results of every Adwords campaign I test, but I will choose a few to highlight some of the best and worst performing ads so that you get a balanced view of what I'm doing. So no, I won't share every little detail, but I will share all of the major points and enough material so that anyone who's following along, will have enough resources to get started and be on your way.

And lastly -- and as always -- the content will be free to access.

I could create a membership site and charge a small fee, but I won't for 3 reasons:

1. I want to focus the majority of my time and attention toward writing and selling my fiction, and managing a membership site will distract from that.

2. In the long run, I believe I will make more money from my ebook sales than the membership site anyway. Especially once it hits the bestsellers list.

3. I just don't care to. Besides, there is very little Internet marketing information that cannot be found on the web for free these days anyway.

Also, I won't publish everything on Nairaland, but I will include a ton of links for your convenience so you can quickly and easily link to the content on my site.

I can't promise you'll sell any of your books, or secure a publishing contract by following my examples. Life is a gamble, and what works for one person may not work for you. However, that doesn't mean that nothing will work for you. You just have to figure out what will.

The only promise I can make to you is that I will do my best to find and provide the best information, advice and resources possible to help you take your writing farther.

Sound good? Ready to begin?

Great!

We'll get started the moment I return in the morning. Right now it's going on 4:30 in the morning where I am, and I need to get some sleep before starting my day.

I look forward to connecting with you soon!

Be blessed!

Ra

Sound very good......am excited! need a helping hand?

humble arrogance, I like that

like you have so eloquently put, be the best that you can be and leave the rest . . .

radragan:


I understand what you're saying perfectly. But my pursuit of bestseller status is more aspirational and mindset, than chasing arbitrary numbers. One thing I've noticed in both myself and in others in business is that a person's goals will affect the amount of effort they put into them. They do enough to reach that goal, but no more.

The way I see it, pushing myself to write better material, implement better marketing, and uncover more ways to better engage and entertain readers, will take me a lot further than if I were to simply say, I just want to self-publish my first book by next spring. Because even if I don't never become a bestselling author, having just attempted the pursuit, I will afford myself more experiences that I can later leverage for more opportunities, either in writing/publishing, business or life in general. Which is primarily what I'm after. More experience and more opportunities to learn, do and grow.

And you're right, it's not necessarily the quality of the work in terms of grammar and punctuation, but the quality of the story itself. It has to be something publishers (and I'm not even sure I want to go that route) can get behind for sales. Though writing is an art and craft, I think people forget that it is also a business. Publishing is a business. When publishers select a book to print, it's not because it was particularly well written, but because an editor felt that that story would make more money for their business.

The way I see it, an editor in publishing, is the same as an investor in entrepreneurship. And like business, there are vast numbers of entrepreneurs who fail, but there are still those who succeed. And everyone of them, to varying lengths and highs of success. Some entrepreneurs go on to make thousands per month from their blogs, some run 7-figure businesses in the private sector, and some become Facebook and Uber. And the same is true for bestsellering authors/writers.

Most often, when people hear the word "bestseller" they immediately think of King, Kootz and Rowling. But bestsellers vary in their dearths of success as well. Some achieve the same levels of success as authors like Dan Norris (The 7 Day Startup), Autumn Kalquist (Fractured Era Series) and Cameron Jace (Mad in Wonderland series). Others (though fewer) achieve the same levels as Amanda Hocking and John Locke, and others become J.K., Stephen King, Nora Roberts and Danielle Steel.

Is it arrogance? Yes, a little, but it's a humble arrogance. Confidence.

Am I expecting to become a bestseller right out of the gate? Absolutely not. And I didn't set this goal with the intention of being boastful or naive. I know there's a possibility I won't achieve my goal, and I know that it takes a little something more to achieve success in any regard. But the only thing I can control in the equation is my effort. I can't control the alignment of the starts or the serendipitous nature of the universe, or that of potential readers for that matter. I can only control my effort. And that's what I focus on. Being the best writer I can be, delivering the best story possible, and creating the most engaging reading experience I can fathom.

The rest is up to God.