3 news stories that prove you need to write and publish your book NOW
Did you say that in 2024 you’d write a book, but never finished it? Perhaps you got a little further: you finished the first draft but then convinced yourself there’s no point publishing. I’ll bet you’ve told yourself a whole host of reasons why you shouldn’t publish. “Self-published books never do well”; “I’m too old or young to be writing a book”; “no one will want to read it”; “it doesn’t fit into a specific genre”; “it isn’t long enough” – and that’s just a few of the most common reasons I hear!
The following three news stories stood out to me in 2024 from the publishing world to highlight how varied the publishing world is and how readership is changing – especially for independent authors.
1. Independent authors top the non-fiction paperback charts
On 23 November 2024, for the first time since records began, an independently published book topped the paperback non-fiction charts.* What’s more, 8 out of the top 20 were independently published!
How cool is that?
The top spot was taken by Fuzzy Hygge, a colouring book self-published and created by Vivi Tinta, who also had a Christmas version in the series at number 7. Author Coco Wyo had 4 of their colouring books in the top 20, meaning 6 of the 8 independently published books in the top 20 were colouring books.
The other 2 books making up the 8 self-published books in the chart were Things To Do While You Poo On The Loo by Alex Smart and a guided journal called Mom, I Want to Hear Your Story.
The aspect of these 8 non-fiction titles I find the most interesting is that they didn’t just jump right into these chart positions. The majority of the colouring books were published in May 2024, while others were published as far back as 2019.
This seems to imply each book has had a viral moment that has boosted sales. Furthermore, Vivi Tinta, Coco Wyo, and Alex Smart have all written more than one book in their genre.
What does this mean for other independent authors?
Consensus within my editing circle suggests that authors with this sort of success usually garner a solid following and then create a book their audience are after. However, with the books from the 2024 charts being published five years prior to this success suggests they must have done some powerful marketing to let their followers know their books are there (for example, Viva Tinta fills their social media feed with captivating videos of them colouring in their own books).
What I love most about this news story is that readers are finding and enjoying independently published books. It’s starting to matter less how a book is published and more about whether the book resonates with its reader.
Of course, while hits like these are still pretty rare, they aren’t the only ones of their kind. Colleen Hoover and Christopher Paolini are just two other (fiction) authors who self-published and then found enormous success. Colleen Hoover’s first book was recommended by an influential book blogger, after which her book reached number 8 on the New York Times bestseller list. Paolini self-published Eragon and undertook a tour of 135 schools to promote it. Later that year, the stepson of Carl Hiaasen (a successful fiction author) recommended Paolini’s book and Carl endorsed it to his own publisher.
In every case, the quality of writing (or book itself, in the case of the colouring books) was crucial to its success, but the change from published book to topping the charts still came down to marketing and momentum.
I’d recommend doing some of your own investigations to see what else you can find out about these awesome book success examples, but for now, let’s focus on my original statement of this story: how cool is this for other independent authors?
The Bookseller uses data from Nielsen BookScan, which I don't think* includes digital sales.
2. The Booker Prize winner was 136 pages long
The Booker Prize winner 2024 was Samantha Harvey’s Orbital (some might class this as more of a novella, due to its slender size). The premise follows 6 astronauts over 24 hours as they complete 16 orbits of the earth.
Although I’m a non-fiction editor, this definitely goes back to the point I raised in the first news story: it’s all about the quality of the writing. This book took me nearly a week to read because it was something that demanded to be read slowly. It was more like an epic poem than other literary fiction due to its lyrical and abstract content.
Comments about this book focus on how it’s unlike anything most people have ever read. And I’d agree. The setting of space, the flow from one idea to another, the blend of philosophical thought to everyday musings: it was just profound.
Above all, what I want you take from this is removing the focus on the word count. This is another win for self-publishing: there’s no arbitrary word count to comply with. If you can say all you need (and say it well) in under 40,000 words, then stick with it! And if you’re self-publishing, then a smaller word count will mean smaller fees when it comes to editing and book design.
My number one tip here: stick to the central focus of your book. Books on the shorter side have less time to capture and convince your reader, so you will need to get strict with how you streamline your content. Every paragraph needs to be relevant and impactful. There won’t be time to cover several arguments or themes: it will be more about developing one idea and hooking your reader in from page 1.
3. Topping the charts has nothing to do with age
Take a look at the book charts on any given week and you’ll see how they are always packed with authors of any age. David Nicholls celebrated his EIGHTH number one in 2024 with his latest novel, You Are Here. Many are hailing this as his best work ever – even better than his seemingly irreplaceable book One Day. This means his finest book was written 15 years after what many thought would be the pinnacle of his career, soaring to the top of the charts in his late 50s.
This year, Jacqueline Wilson was only pipped to the top of the fiction charts by the indomitable Richard Osman. Approaching 80 hasn’t stopped her from writing as she satisfied her devoted readers by writing a book about beloved characters we meet as adults in Think Again.
Of course, these two writers have had successful writing careers for decades, both reaching a point where their audience is ready and waiting for whatever they write next. But, once again, this also shows how readers care about the book and the writing: the age of the author doesn’t matter. If anything, these books are prime examples of how wisdom and experience has improved their writing beyond all expectation.
And say what you like about BookTok, but it’s doing wonders for helping young and debut authors get discovered by insatiable bookworms. Plus, it’s helping new people discover a love of books, breeding a new market of bookworms who are perhaps looking for something different from the previous generation.
Writing a book is always about the connection between what you write and your readers. It’s all to do with context and experience – by which I don’t mean years of experience in life or writing, but more to do with how you observe the world. These observations will resonate with readers either because they completely agree with your illumination or because you are letting them into a world they could never have embarked upon otherwise.
No more excuses: write the book!
So there we have it, even if book success has nothing to do with getting into the book charts, hopefully you can see it doesn’t matter how you publish, how short it is, or when in your life you write it. What matters is knowing you having readers out there who need to have your book in their lives. What matters now is writing the book. You won’t have a book to publish in 2025 if you don’t write it, so stop coming up with excuses and get that first draft done!
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