Here's my biggest wish for people to understand about publishing (other than the fact that it's Definitely Not a Meritocracy): you don't need to be A Bestselling Author.

I've done that. It's overrated. You know what feels a hell of a lot better? A slow and steady growth of a real fandom.

For reference:

https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/

It doesn't give you that same cocaine rush thrill of hitting a list, selling massive numbers, etc. But in the long run, it's way more sustainable, and you can create what you actually want to create.

Also, over time, I think the income often averages out to be the same.

Circling back to this, there are some really wonderful things about hitting a home run with a book. If it doesn't cost an arm and leg to make that happen, it can be a lovely financial cushion, for example. And, depending on the book, it might be a big injection into that fandom.

But if you don't have a plan for leveraging that hit, then the down sides might even outweigh the success: anxiety, self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and (I'm not overstating this) negative push back to almost anything you write next.

Be careful about shooting for the stars without a plan to safely return to Earth.