No one wants to be a one hit wonder.

You know, write that first book, or first series, and then struggle to find more success.

I was in this boat after the Nashvegas books.

Not only were they not a break out, they hardly sold at all.

So I had to decide what to write next that caught my publisher’s eye.

I was blessed to be at a house that believed in giving an author more than a one-contract chance.

But if I didn’t find some success soon, there was no reason for my publisher to continue with me.

I was writing chick lit but it was dying a quick death as a sub romance genre.

At an ACFW conference, I braved a conversation with my publisher. “What can I do to turn things around?”

“Well,” he said, “we’re not quite sure how to brand you.”

This really confused me. I wrote chick lit. Romance. How was it hard to brand me?

Yet, this was my predicament. My reality.

I needed to think beyond story and start thinking about my career. How was I going to survive?

I looked at other authors who were doing well and found they were writing in a specific genre.

I discovered that the “lowcountry” of South Carolina and Georgia was a literary hot spot.

And the cheeky fun chick lit first person, present tense voice was not all that popular with a majority of readers.

Which was sad because I FOUND my voice in chick lit.

So I put on my big girl pants, and figured a way to build my career.

And I prayed like crazy.

I made a plan.

I also began to grasp “the hook” of a novel. A way to capture the reader and the sales team with a simple sentence.

About the same time, Barbour Publishing was releasing books related to certain geographic regions and having huge success.

So I pick romance in the South Carolina lowcountry.

I’d determined early on to write stories set in the south since that’s where I lived, but as time went on, I knew it was becoming part of my brand and I needed to stick with southern settings.

Yea, I’m interested in other kinds of stories. I think I would like to write speculative. Even have a few ideas.

I’d like to write dystopian some day.

Yet I knew the key to building my career was writing stories my readers could count on.

‘We know we’re going to get great romance from Rachel Hauck.”

In this process, I also had to make a decision about readers.

I couldn’t capture all readers. I wasn’t going to reach the ones that “don’t like romance.”

But romance is the biggest genre and it was carving it’s way into Christian publishing world.

We may not always like it but writing is business.

I also chose to stay contemporary. Historical was going gangbusters at the time but I knew my voice, developed writing chick lit, fit contemporary best.

And I unwisely thought contemporary didn’t require as much research. Wrong!

By ’07, I was ensconced as a southern CBA romance author. Third person past tense.

I had open conversations with my editor about my work and where to take it.

I worked on developing high concept ideas.

Dining With Joy was probably my first truly high concept. “It’s about a cooking show host who can’t cook.”

I also took advantage of offerings like to write with Sara Evans. Often publishers will ask writers to participate in collaborations or anthologies.

Those are great opportunities.

So, as you consider on your career, think long haul.

Spend time on book web site, publisher web sites, to see what they are publishing and how they group there books.

Write down a few goals.

Talk to the Lord about what He has in mind for you.

Build a relationship with your publishing team. With other publishers, editors and agents.

Build your reputation. Watch your public image and persona. Don’t be a fraud, but don’t be negative or contrary on Facebook or your blog.

Reputation is as important as your writing.

Learn from me, don’t get discouraged when you’re not a one book wonder or an over night success.

It takes years to build a writing career. Stay with it. Keep learning the craft. Network with writers, editors and agents.

Hope these ideas help.