Of the many useless statistics that I carry around in my noggin, this one has stuck with me: novelists complete an average of six novels before writing one worthy of publication.

This should strike both terror and encouragement in your hearts. Six novels is a lot. Around half a million words. For most of us, that’s five to twenty years of an apprenticeship. Here’s another statistic for you: the vast majority of those who pen a novel will write one and never try again.

Given those two tidbits, what will you do from this point forward? Will you buckle down to write those first six novels as quickly as possible, learn your craft, and get through your apprenticeship? Or will you trade in the Macbook for a new TV, subscribe to Netflix, and catch up on all the programs you’ve been missing these past years?

No one can blame you if you choose the Netflix over what essentially amounts to a college education. This is hard work. Possibly the hardest work you’ll ever engage in.

The good news is that those who push through the six poorly written novels have a pretty good shot at publication. Or, for those inclined to go the indie route, sell enough books to cover your conference costs.

We hear a lot of discouraging statistics. The number of submissions an agent or publisher receives every day. The number of first novels that never make enough to cover the advance. The number of indie published books that are uploaded to Amazon each year. Yes, the numbers are staggering. The odds overwhelmingly against you.

But consider the first six books again. Most of the submissoins in those slush piles are among the first six. And, unfortunately, most of the indie pubbed titles uploaded to Amazon are among the first six. If you are to take away anything from this post, it should be that an indie writer will work just as hard as a traditionally published author if she has any hope of success.

If you stopped reading two paragraphs ago and are perusing 60-inch TVs on Bestbuy.com, I hold no grudge against you. But if you saw those statistics and said, “Yes! Only five more terrible books to go!”, then welcome to your career.

The odds, my friends, are never in your favor. Hard work, however, is completely within your control.

~*~

Ron Estrada is the author of YA and Middle Grade novels for readers of all ages. His first release, Now I Knew You, is available on Amazon. He also writes for several blogs and has a regular column in a print magazine, Women2Women Michigan. He can be reached at ron@ronestradabooks.com or you can visit his website at http://ronestradabooks.com.