Ep. 3293 - Q&A: “How can an author succeed these days?”
Side Hustle School
Chris Guillebeau
4.7 • 3.3K Ratings
🗓️ 6 January 2026
⏱️ 6 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Our caller today has been working on her first novel, and she doesn't want it to be confined to a drawer forever. She wants to sell it! But she's also feeling discouraged, because so many books are commercially unsuccessful. What should she consider?
Side Hustle School features a new episode EVERY DAY, featuring detailed case studies of people who earn extra money without quitting their job. This year, the show includes free guided lessons and listener Q&A several days each week.
Show notes: SideHustleSchool.com
Email: team@sidehustleschool.com
Be on the show: SideHustleSchool.com/questions
Connect on Instagram: @193countries
Visit Chris's main site: ChrisGuillebeau.com
Read A Year of Mental Health: yearofmentalhealth.com
If you're enjoying the show, please pass it along! It's free and has been published every single day since January 1, 2017. We're also very grateful for your five-star ratings—it shows that people are listening and looking forward to new episodes. 😎 🙏🏼
Side Hustle School features a new episode EVERY DAY, featuring detailed case studies of people who earn extra money without quitting their job. This year, the show includes free guided lessons and listener Q&A several days each week.
Show notes: SideHustleSchool.com
Email: team@sidehustleschool.com
Be on the show: SideHustleSchool.com/questions
Connect on Instagram: @193countries
Visit Chris's main site: ChrisGuillebeau.com
Read A Year of Mental Health: yearofmentalhealth.com
If you're enjoying the show, please pass it along! It's free and has been published every single day since January 1, 2017. We're also very grateful for your five-star ratings—it shows that people are listening and looking forward to new episodes. 😎 🙏🏼
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's going to be a big year. And January is when so many of us set goals for our business, |
| 0:04.8 | for all the things we want to achieve. And in a small business or a side hustle, even, |
| 0:09.6 | cash flow can make or break you. So if your money gets tied up, if your tools don't connect, |
| 0:14.1 | every decision feels unnecessarily stressful. Maybe it's time to switch to Intuit QuickBooks's |
| 0:20.0 | money management tools. Big shout out to QuickBooks, |
| 0:22.9 | our sponsor, start the year with confidence about your goals. Learn more at quickbooks.com |
| 0:27.9 | slash money today. Again, that's quickbooks.com slash money. Terms apply. Money movement services |
| 0:34.7 | are provided by Intuit Payments Incorporated, licensed as a money transmitter |
| 0:38.2 | by the New York State Department of Financial Services. |
| 0:43.6 | Lemonada |
| 0:44.2 | How can an author succeed in this day and age? |
| 0:56.7 | Welcome, friends. |
| 0:57.5 | Welcome listeners. |
| 0:58.6 | So glad you're out there. |
| 0:59.5 | My name's Chris Gillebeau. |
| 1:00.8 | We've got a caller today who has been working on their first novel, and she doesn't |
| 1:05.5 | want it to be confined to a drawer or a file on her computer forever. |
| 1:09.7 | In fact, she wants to sell this novel. She wants |
| 1:11.6 | other people to be able to read it, which seems like a good goal to me, right? You spend a long |
| 1:15.9 | time writing a book. You want people to read it. But she's also feeling a little discouraged because |
| 1:20.2 | so many books are commercially unsuccessful. So what should she consider? How, as I said, |
| 1:25.6 | can an author succeed in this day and age? This is a question |
... |
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