The Two Qualities of a Bestselling Nonfiction Author
When my client Vivian Tu hit the New York Times bestseller list earlier this year with her book RICH AF, I wasn’t surprised. Partially that’s because of numbers: Vivian has over 5 million followers on social media who watch her insightful, funny, and informative videos about personal finance.
But — as someone who has worked with hundreds of potential and published authors over the years — I also knew Vivian was going to succeed from the moment I met her. The reason I knew is because she had already done most of the work. Vivian had already created a strong personal brand, a huge audience, and a dedicated following for what her book was about. (She simply needed help with writing the actual book — which we could, and did, do.)
Traditional publishing is an industry where most people don’t succeed.
And I would argue that the people who do —
Are willing to do the work (often for years beforehand, with no guarantee of payoff).
Bring a unique set of expertise and experiences that help them stand out.
What I have discovered in my career as an editor, ghostwriter, and collaborator for hire is that most people have potential. Everyone reading this email could create, build, and run a successful business; could create, post, and share content to grow an audience, could write and publish a bestselling book.
Everyone could become like Vivian. But most people don’t.
It might surprise you to hear this, but Vivian was my first New York Times bestselling author in a decade. While other books I’ve worked on have sold thousands of copies and hit the Wall Street Journal and USA Today lists, her level of success is rare.
Part of that is how the bestseller lists are set up. (Because, as I've mentioned before, The New York Times picks their bestsellers.) But we can’t blame this lack of bestsellers on any news outlet or even publishing in general. After being in the business of helping authors for a very long time, what I’ve come to realize is that only a small percentage of people seem to have the combination of ambition, resilience, tenacity, and fuck-it-ness to do the work involved in building a business, audience, and reach large enough to sell thousands of books.
Which is what’s required for the bestseller list — and a traditional book deal.
And —
Looking back across the authors I’ve worked with that have been successful, there’s almost always something in their background or on their resume that offers an advantage.
Vivian worked on Wall Street and at Buzzfeed before deciding to become a creator. My client Jamie Sears was a third-grade teacher and sadly had to leave the classroom — which prompted her to create a business for teachers and write How To Love Teaching Again to support fellow teachers. Jamila Souffrant — author of Your Journey to Financial Independence — worked at MetLife before starting her personal finance podcast.
In my own life, the training I got in undergrad as a communications major helped me to feel comfortable on video in a way that many are not. I’ve also written professionally since college, and was the type of kid who created her own classroom newspaper in elementary school. All of that helped me in my roles as an editor for two of the biggest publishers on the planet, and ultimately in what I’m doing today as an entrepreneur, collaborator, ghostwriter, and content creator.
But this email isn’t really about me, Vivian, Jamie, or Jamila.
It’s about and for you. You’re reading this email because you want to be a success.
So I’ve got a couple of questions for you.
First, are you willing to do the work?
And second — what unique expertise and what past experiences can help you?
