Thank you for this, Russell! This is a very helpful way of looking at growth vis-a-vis monetization.
Thanks to your writings, I've recently been realizing that in following a lot of advice that a lot of established writers dole out, I was completely missing the point that what works for someone with a larger audience wouldn't necessarily work for someone like me who's just starting out. I really appreciate the caveats you offer along with all your marketing advice, like noting a particular strategy would work if one generally has an inventory of 20 books or so, for e.g. Much appreciated!
I recommend this post if you want to dive into the framework. There’s a part called the Growth to Monetization parallel that goes deeper into this concept. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/framework
Thank you so much for pointing me to this framework. I remember reading it when you first posted it, and there were so many lightbulb moments for me.
That's where I really started understanding that much of the advice out there has been coming from a particular segment of authors (or at least the more popular names that I followed) who went through the boom of indie publishing 15 years ago and have gone through the ups and downs since, but those discussions don't necessarily apply to someone starting out now.
It also got my brain thinking of 'sustainability' as being the kind of talk of someone 'privileged' or 'further along the curve' to use a less loaded term, and to tout that to an absolute beginner, although well-intentioned, can be quite misleading really.
Like how developed nations, further along the growth curve, wish developing nations would adopt the lessons the former has learnt. But it doesn't work like that because they're all at different points on the curve and under entirely different circumstances. Not that we shouldn't learn from those who've been on the path before us, but a grain of salt is a handy tool to carry on said path.
Thank you so much for posting these insightful pieces. Gets me thinking too about where I am and what I really need to be focussing on at this stage of my author journey! I'm going back to read the framework piece again. It definitely merits periodic re-reads. :)
Thank you for this, Russell! This is a very helpful way of looking at growth vis-a-vis monetization.
Thanks to your writings, I've recently been realizing that in following a lot of advice that a lot of established writers dole out, I was completely missing the point that what works for someone with a larger audience wouldn't necessarily work for someone like me who's just starting out. I really appreciate the caveats you offer along with all your marketing advice, like noting a particular strategy would work if one generally has an inventory of 20 books or so, for e.g. Much appreciated!
I recommend this post if you want to dive into the framework. There’s a part called the Growth to Monetization parallel that goes deeper into this concept. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/framework
Thank you so much for pointing me to this framework. I remember reading it when you first posted it, and there were so many lightbulb moments for me.
That's where I really started understanding that much of the advice out there has been coming from a particular segment of authors (or at least the more popular names that I followed) who went through the boom of indie publishing 15 years ago and have gone through the ups and downs since, but those discussions don't necessarily apply to someone starting out now.
It also got my brain thinking of 'sustainability' as being the kind of talk of someone 'privileged' or 'further along the curve' to use a less loaded term, and to tout that to an absolute beginner, although well-intentioned, can be quite misleading really.
Like how developed nations, further along the growth curve, wish developing nations would adopt the lessons the former has learnt. But it doesn't work like that because they're all at different points on the curve and under entirely different circumstances. Not that we shouldn't learn from those who've been on the path before us, but a grain of salt is a handy tool to carry on said path.
Thank you so much for posting these insightful pieces. Gets me thinking too about where I am and what I really need to be focussing on at this stage of my author journey! I'm going back to read the framework piece again. It definitely merits periodic re-reads. :)
I’m so glad to hear that, and also that you seem to get all the things I’m trying to do. I’m so happy it can be helpful :)