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Eren Elsewhere's avatar

This made it easy for someone in the beginning of their digital writing journey to know that I was on the right track.

I also just find your writing good to study for my own best practice - the way you use dot points for example.

It cleared up the free vs paid newsletter decision and a lot more.

Thanks for writing this man :)

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Alberto Cabas Vidani's avatar

This is so in-depth! Thanks.

What would you say Dan Joe's niche is?

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Nicolas Cole's avatar

you're welcome!

Dan Koe you mean? Writerpreneur.

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Alberto Cabas Vidani's avatar

Sorry for the typo.

I mean, you wrote that a writerpreneur needs to have a niche. But Dan always repeatsheahs no niche.

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Nicolas Cole's avatar

Yea Dan has a niche, whether he realizes it or not. Notice 99% of what he talks about has to do with digital biz/digital writing/"modern systems." He's not talking about fitness. He's not talking about biotechnology. He's not talking about literature. So, he has a niche. He just isn't naming it anything (a missed opportunity in my opinion).

I see a lot of creators do this. I think they rationalize it by saying, "I want to be broad" or "I want my readers/listeners to come up with their own definition of me." But in the long run, both of those end up being mistakes.

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Alberto Cabas Vidani's avatar

Thanks. I was really curious to know what you thought about him.

You satisfied my curiosity! 😄

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Zubbee's avatar

He does have a niche obviously.

What he's trying to say is that there's no one way to see something. People see being in a niche as talking about one thing only but you could be in a category (as Nicholas Cole put it) or niche and still talk about something outside that niche which is going to be your unique perspective and what makes you stand out even in while you're in that niche or category.

For example blending my interest in football, cars and personal growth to talk about personal growth for footballers, or personal growth principles gotten from football game stories, something like that. Someone who talks about that is still in the personal growth category or niche, he's just unconventional and therefore unique.

Basically Dan Koe and Nicholas Cole say the same thing just in different perspectives.

I don't know if I explained the POV well. I hope you understand better.

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Alberto Cabas Vidani's avatar

You describe my exact point of view. My article about it resonated a lot.

But I found many creators don't read Tim's or Dan's words this way.

They read it as "I can just write about anything".

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Myles Saulibio's avatar

Hey Nick, I don’t think anyone in the writing universe has packaged this like the way its presented. Thank you and look forward to reading more.

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Nicolas Cole's avatar

I've never seen it articulated anywhere like this, and always found that frustrating! So went ahead and did it myself haha. Glad you found reading it as valuable as I found writing it.

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Kasper Saugmann's avatar

Good post!

"But there are 0 Non-Fiction writers who have crossed $100M from book sales alone."

If he's not already there, I think Nassim Taleb could be a candidate for this.. wouldn't you consider him a Non-Fiction writer?

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Nicolas Cole's avatar

He's an awesome non-fiction case study, but he didn't make his money from his books. (His books are super smart, dense, and far from mainstream.) He made his money as an options trader, and today makes most of his money consulting in the finance industry.

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Kasper Saugmann's avatar

I know he made a lot of money in finance before and that he is not mainstream per se, but The Black Swan alone has sold millions of copies.

According to Bloomberg, he got $4 million in advance in 2007 after the initial success of The Black Swan.

https://web.archive.org/web/20120326024500/https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=nw&pname=mm_0508_story1.html

And especially that book regained a lot of attention with covid.

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Nicolas Cole's avatar

$4M advance, couple million copies sold, he gets a 10-15% royalty per. He’s probably made $10-20M from his books. Incredible, AND a far cry from the James Patterson’s of the world.

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Kasper Saugmann's avatar

Could be in that range. That must put him quite high up the list of non-fiction writers, imo, if not at the top spot. And he's reportedly coming out with two new books this year, curious to see how that will go. But yes, fiction is definitely a different ball game!

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Tim Denning's avatar

So much vakue in this article.

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Keagen Hadley's avatar

Great post! I really enjoyed this.

You left out my niche though, regulatory medical writing.

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Amelia Buzzard's avatar

I appreciate how in-depth this article is! Thank you for sharing your experiences. It's easy to accidentally fall into magical thinking in the writing world, but your clear breakdown is a good reminder that the process, like most, is predictable.

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Kia Orion's avatar

huge man. super helpful. thank you.

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محمد جواد's avatar

I enjoyed reading this. Thank you.

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AM's avatar

Hey Nicolas! As a fellow writer, I truly appreciate your insightful article on navigating the path to financial success. It's great to see you sharing your knowledge with the writing community and helping us all grow together. Thanks for paying it forward! 😊📝

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Giacomo Sepe's avatar

This is a well written (... ! I knew you are v good at it! ) article, but more importantly is a very well articulated strategy. I, too, have been thinking about all possible writing careers for almost 2 years now!, and I 100% agree with your conclusions. Not sure what founder will award significant shares to a consultant (even to the greatest of consultants, be it writer or strategist) but it is possibile. Yet, even if it was for just cash, positioning and writing go really well together and, sure enough, I believe consultants who nail this skill combination can generate a great income. And. For me. This is where I am at now, although coming from a business background. Happy I have read your article. Thanks for being so clear and transparent in the exposition.

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Tim D. king's avatar

Cole, can't say thank you more. I'd dream to step in the Holy Land of Paid Newsletter.

I love this map, so much.

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Beniamin Raszek's avatar

They look like Disco Elysium characters.

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The Detail Mastery Newsletter's avatar

Awesome article! Thanks for sharing so much valuable and insightful information.

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William Alldred's avatar

Truly excellent advice!

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Jul 28, 2023
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Nicolas Cole's avatar

So glad this landed (helpful data point for me!) and thanks for reading & being part of all I/we have shared over the years, Keith. It means a lot!

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