Does Being Prolific Decrease Your Value as a Writer?

I’ve written in a lot of different genres. On the fiction, side, that includes horror, humor, romance, and mystery. On the non-fiction side, I’ve written essays, website content, and even product descriptions. But my bread and butter that drives income, at least right now, is business writing. My exposure to this area is largely what helps me take my writing seriously and do everything I need to act like my own CEO. And one of the key rules in business that’s been driven into my head basic supply and demand — the more you have of something, the less valuable it becomes.

So, I can’t help but ask myself — does the rule of supply and demand apply to writing? If you’re prolific, does that somehow decrease the value of your content?

The issue of social media

On the one hand, some social media gurus caution against putting out too many posts. The idea is that social media platforms already are noisy. If you flood the platform, you’re only going to make the problem of visibility worse for yourself. In this mindset, it’s better to focus on fewer high-quality posts. On the other hand, social media moves at the speed of blinking. So, some gurus tell you to go ahead and post a ton, simply because then you have more opportunities to appear in users’ feeds.

But what about being prolific in other types of content, such as regular books?

Consider here Danielle Steele, who arguably is the most successful author to put pen to paper. Steele has published more than 200 books and sold over a billion copies globally. (Yes, that’s billion with a B.) Despite how prolifically she writes, demand for her work hasn’t gone down.

To some degree, readers likely read Steele because she is so prolific. She’s been in the industry for so long and published so many times that people are willing to trust that her stories will be worth the investment of time and money. Her reputation works to her advantage to keep the value of her books solid.

But some of Steele’s success might from the fact that readers know what they’re looking for in the content. Readers have specific needs, and every genre has tropes or idiosyncrasies that readers want based on those needs. Readers are willing to assess each book on its own to determine whether the work has what they’re looking for. So, although author loyalty and author reputation might motivate some readers who are more risk-averse and who don’t want to DNF, Steele also sells well overall simply because she’s mastered the romance genre and consistently delivers what romance readers expect. She has many options for readers to test, and all of those options would pass muster even if her name wasn’t on them.

Whenever writing more can deliver more income, hit publish as many times as possible

Writing is an odd product in that an increase in quantity from an author doesn’t necessarily decrease value. As Steele demonstrates, a prolific author still can be wildly successful, so long as they meet reader needs well in one or more areas. But the context of publication matters. Publishing online brings different visibility issues into the mix.

From my perspective, more content generally means more opportunities for a writer to earn residual income, whether that’s based on clicks/views or the continued sale of physical copies. That can make the profession livable on a logistical level. The question is simply how an author might continue to ensure that reader interest in the content stays high over time. This is where marketing strategy becomes critical. Which content deserves short-term attention? What do you want to keep selling for years or even decades? Steele might have 200 books. But I can guarantee she’s not putting the same amount of marketing money behind all of them. Answering these types of questions can help you figure out where to direct your resources. If you do it right, it can shape your author brand, too.