Perhaps the most common question I get from people is along the lines of "What does it take to write a book?" I follow that question with another one, "Do you want to do this for a living?"
As a writer, I am constantly amazed at the quality of books that are available - amazing stories and amazing writing. It pains me to see a wonderful book get published and not go anywhere (not just my own). There are people who will tell me how terrible the Twilight Series is and how wonderful Harry Potter is. They tell me that book X is much better than these books. So, why hasn't book X taken off?
Each published book begins as a ripple that is competing with other ripples to become the next rogue wave.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_wave
Do books compete? Yes. If a reader buys your book, then you are most likely on a stack of other books that the reader has on his/her nightstand (literally or figuratively in ebook). How do authors get their book to be a rogue wave? There are three approaches.
The first comes with the BAM! debut novel - the one that everyone has to read. This is the one that everyone has to read now. DIVERGENT is a great example of this. With so many other YA dystopians out there, how did this one make it to the top? It's a great book; there are many other great books. It has high ratings on Amazon and Goodreads; there are many debut novels with high ratings. It's by a Big 5 publisher; there are lots of Big 5 books that are great, highly rated, but don't take off. I'm not sure if anyone knows exactly how these books make it big while others do not.
The second comes with writing a bunch of stuff (and I use 'stuff' to cover the gamut of writing novels, fan fiction, short stories, etc.), building a fan base, and finally releasing that mega-best-seller. Hugh Howey and Jennifer Armentrout are great examples of writers who can churn out a ton of great stories/great writing in a short amount of time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Howey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Armentrout
Looking at the dates of their respective publications makes my head spin. They are gifted in that they can write great material and, in effect, build ripples that are so close to each other that they make a rogue wave. Honestly, even if I didn't have to have a day job, I would find it very difficult (okay, impossible) to keep such an output. In my opinion, this is the most reliable way to create the rogue wave - albeit very tasking.
The third approach is very similar to the second approach except the fan base is built slowly over time. Suzanne Collins is a great example of this. Most don't know that she wrote a five-book series before The Hunger Games. The approach here is to steadily build up a large enough base of fans that once your new book comes out that they all buy it, read it, and tell their friends about it at the same time.
There are those who don't fit in the above categories (e.g., E.L. James) but the point is that there isn't a magic formula for creating your own rogue wave. As the name implies, the wave is unexpected and surprising. If you want to be a writer, don't count on the rogue wave. You can increase your chances by putting a lot of work into it but manage your expectations.
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