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.
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.
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.
$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.
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!
You're my favorite writer/entrepreneur by far. I've never seen the often uncomfortable reality of earning potential as a writer laid out so well before.
A general problem in the writing community is no one wants (or knows how) to talk about money. The way you've laid it out here makes it clear as ice water to understand.
Reading this made me think of 2 big lessons I've learned as a writer since I got started back in 2017.
The first is it's hard to optimize for profit in the beginning.
Most people start writing because they "have to". They have a story they NEED to share (that was me) or ideas and experience that NEED to be passed on.
I'd argue few are thinking about the business in the early stages of their writing career -few even think about it as a career to start-.
This happened to me in the beginning.
I wrote a non-fiction book, then wrote my sci-fi novel Cereus & Limnic, not thinking at about how to make money. Then when I decided I wanted people to actually READ my work, I started going down all these writing wormholes.
I dabbled in freelance writing (a dirty word for you, I know). Ghostwrote a military biography. Made a few courses (that flopped). Tried the Writerpreneur/Influencer thing (but it didn't fit comfortably for me. This was after Ship 30 last year). None of these alone felt like a great match for my life, goals, and interests.
The lesson?
I had to focus on what I do best, which is a combination of many of the different writer categories you described.
Now I do a few Writerpreneur style things (like posting on social often). I also have a free newsletter. I have a few small courses and my books to sell. I also offer ghostwriting services and creative coaching.
It helps to be flexible these days.
The second lesson I thought about was having a diverse set of skills to complement my writing is great to speed the compounding process along.
Like a well-timed NOS boost in a Fast and Furious movie, having the business skills is a must.
But branching out into other mediums like podcasts, music, video, video games, etc. has helped my story find its way to more readers better than I ever could have by just writing more words.
I've probably sold no more than 50 copies of my novel since its release in Jan 2021. But the podcast version has been downloaded nearly 16K times in 69 countries.
It's low money - low status right now, but I'm already starting to see compounding effects.
Thanks for making this one free. Always appreciate your wisdom and expertise.
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.
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! 😊📝
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 :)
This is so in-depth! Thanks.
What would you say Dan Joe's niche is?
you're welcome!
Dan Koe you mean? Writerpreneur.
Sorry for the typo.
I mean, you wrote that a writerpreneur needs to have a niche. But Dan always repeatsheahs no niche.
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.
Thanks. I was really curious to know what you thought about him.
You satisfied my curiosity! 😄
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
$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.
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!
You're my favorite writer/entrepreneur by far. I've never seen the often uncomfortable reality of earning potential as a writer laid out so well before.
A general problem in the writing community is no one wants (or knows how) to talk about money. The way you've laid it out here makes it clear as ice water to understand.
Reading this made me think of 2 big lessons I've learned as a writer since I got started back in 2017.
The first is it's hard to optimize for profit in the beginning.
Most people start writing because they "have to". They have a story they NEED to share (that was me) or ideas and experience that NEED to be passed on.
I'd argue few are thinking about the business in the early stages of their writing career -few even think about it as a career to start-.
This happened to me in the beginning.
I wrote a non-fiction book, then wrote my sci-fi novel Cereus & Limnic, not thinking at about how to make money. Then when I decided I wanted people to actually READ my work, I started going down all these writing wormholes.
I dabbled in freelance writing (a dirty word for you, I know). Ghostwrote a military biography. Made a few courses (that flopped). Tried the Writerpreneur/Influencer thing (but it didn't fit comfortably for me. This was after Ship 30 last year). None of these alone felt like a great match for my life, goals, and interests.
The lesson?
I had to focus on what I do best, which is a combination of many of the different writer categories you described.
Now I do a few Writerpreneur style things (like posting on social often). I also have a free newsletter. I have a few small courses and my books to sell. I also offer ghostwriting services and creative coaching.
It helps to be flexible these days.
The second lesson I thought about was having a diverse set of skills to complement my writing is great to speed the compounding process along.
Like a well-timed NOS boost in a Fast and Furious movie, having the business skills is a must.
But branching out into other mediums like podcasts, music, video, video games, etc. has helped my story find its way to more readers better than I ever could have by just writing more words.
I've probably sold no more than 50 copies of my novel since its release in Jan 2021. But the podcast version has been downloaded nearly 16K times in 69 countries.
It's low money - low status right now, but I'm already starting to see compounding effects.
Thanks for making this one free. Always appreciate your wisdom and expertise.
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!
So much vakue in this article.
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.
huge man. super helpful. thank you.
I enjoyed reading this. Thank you.
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! 😊📝