It's not just about the writing

Seth Godin recently wrote:

The hard part involves customer traction. Can you find enough customers who will pay you a fair price and also choose to spread the word? Because if customers bring you customers, and those customers all generate more income than expenses, you have a useful project.

At the start, you think writing the book is the hardest thing—and it is. But then there is the editing and the decision to go with a traditional publisher or self-publish; both bring their own individual challenges.

But in the end, the hardest part is finding, keeping, and gaining more customers. It's why you get to keep writing and publishing books and doing it repeatedly.

A good story helps, but so does good marketing and a little luck.

But, unfortunately, to become a long-term successful writer, it's not just about the writing.