You’ve Published One Book. Here’s Why That’s Not Enough
Readers want more. Algorithms want more. Your writing deserves more.
Publishing your first book is a big deal. Whether you’ve launched a novel, a memoir, or a novella, getting it over the line is something most writers never do. So, if that’s you, take a moment. Celebrate it.
But then come back. Because if you want to build a career—or even just gain traction—one book isn’t enough.
This isn’t about productivity for productivity’s sake. It’s about momentum, discoverability, and the simple psychology of choice.
Let’s break it down properly.
The First Book Is Rarely the One
It might be the start of something great. But it probably won’t be the book that puts you on the map. The first book is where you learn the ropes: the formatting, the blurbs, the covers, the categories. You’ll make mistakes. You’ll fix them. You’ll spot that one typo that somehow made it through.
It’s the book that teaches you how to publish.
But if you stop there, you never find out what would’ve happened if you’d kept going. It’s the equivalent of attending one dance class and deciding you’ll never make it on stage. The first book builds your stamina. It shows you the terrain. It gives you context for what comes next.
Readers Want More
Here’s what happens when someone finishes your book and loves it: they go looking for another.
If there isn’t one, you’ve just lost them.
This isn’t harsh—it’s human. Readers are hungry. They want the next hit. And if you don’t give it to them, someone else will.
More books mean:
A backlist for readers to binge
A higher chance of return customers
Better readthrough and more revenue over time
It also makes paid ads more viable. Selling one £3.99 ebook isn’t going to give you ad ROI (Return On Investment). But a £3.99 ebook that leads to a five-book series? Now we’re talking. It’s also about brand trust. A single book makes you look like a dabbling hobbyist. A series makes you look like a writer worth investing in.
Visibility Compounds
When you publish one book, Amazon shows it to a small number of people. If it performs well, that visibility increases. But it’s a narrow funnel.
Now imagine you’ve got four books, or six, or ten. Each one is a new entry point. A new keyword. A new promotional opportunity. A new reason for the algorithm to surface your work.
And once they’re reading one, Amazon recommends the others.
You’re building a flywheel.
Every book becomes a traffic source for the others. Every launch lifts the whole portfolio. You’re stacking visibility. It’s not linear—it’s exponential.
You Get Better
Writing is like weight training. The more reps, the more strength. You learn pacing, character depth, structure, and tone. Your dialogue tightens. Your instincts sharpen.
By book three, you’re smoother. By book five, you’ve got your own voice.
Your first book was proof you could do it.
Your second book is proof it wasn’t a fluke.
Your third book is where it starts to look deliberate.
With every book, you stop guessing and start deciding. You write faster. You edit sharper. You stop overwriting the first act. You trust your rhythm. You know what you’re capable of.
You Create Options
With more books, you have flexibility.
You can:
Run promos
Bundle series
Create boxsets
Offer audio and print editions
Enter awards
Pitch IP for adaptation
You’re no longer marketing one fragile product. You’ve got assets.
And when one of those assets pops off? The others ride the wave.
More books also give you confidence in your catalogue. It’s no longer about protecting a single launch. You’ve got room to experiment. One book can be discounted to fuel another. One novella can introduce a new name. One viral quote can lead to a binge of everything else you’ve written.
What’s Coming Next
I’m working on the next Lillianna Vale novella, The Private Yacht. It’s a literary dark romance set aboard an ultra-luxury vessel. Here’s a little peek:
You don’t get invited to The Private Yacht by accident.
A handful of guests arrive for a weekend of indulgence—but the rules are unclear, and the consequences are real: voyeurism, submission, desire, and disappearance. Everyone’s watching someone. But only one person is in control. And they’re not who you think.
It’s sharp, seductive, and unsettling in all the right ways.
The £1.5M Project Reminder
The point of this experiment isn’t to hit one bestseller and vanish. It’s to build a body of work. One that grows in visibility, income, and impact.
And that takes more than one book.
Keep going.
H.J. x
New to me and my writing?
I’m H. J. Smith-Williams: novelist, screenwriter (in progress), and founder of the £1.5M Project—a year-long experiment to see how far words, wit, and stubborn execution can go.
You can expect fiction, industry breakdowns, unapologetic ambition, and the occasional author confession.
If that sounds like your kind of chaos, you’re in the right place.
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