Being a Bestseller Doesn't Actually Guarantee Anything

Andrea Bartz writes about the weird psychic burden of peaking and crashing. Plus, new paperback alert!

Welcome to guestposter Andrea Bartz, whose Substack, Get it Write, is a must-read for authors. Andrea is a bestselling author of psychological thrillers, a podcaster, and one of my personal heroes thanks to her relentless advocacy for authors and against AI, including as one of several plaintiffs in the successful Bartz v Anthropic lawsuit, which has resulted in a $1.5 billion settlement for authors and publishers whose books were stolen to train AI.

But AI is not the focus of this post! We’re here to celebrate the new paperback release of Andi’s The Last Ferry Out, a CrimeReads Best Book of the Year. Here’s the pitch: On a trip to the tropical island where her fiancée died, a young woman begins to suspect the death was no accident—and the killer’s closer than she could’ve imagined—in this “unputdownable” thriller from “a master of suspense” (Elle).

She’s also graciously allowing us to re-run one of her candid, eye-opening posts about what it’s really like to have a major hit that doesn’t guarantee ever-increasing sales or stability.

Andi writes…

Earlier this month, I read an Instagram caption that stopped me dead in my tracks. Pop singer Betty Who had completed a Reddit AMA, and she shared screenshots of one of her lengthier replies with the following caption:

the life of a middle class artist is being successful to some and a failure to others all at the same time. lots of people replied to this on my story so i figured id share it here. idk if it will help anyone but i want you to know you’re not alone in the struggle.

Holy shit, I thought. It’s me.

Betty Who pulling back the curtain on pop-star life

Walking around with the cognitive dissonance of (a) knowing many authors would kill for some of the things I’ve gotten while (b) cringing every time I open my sales portal and wondering, not actually all that absurdly, if my publisher will keep working with me now that I’ve spent four+ years falling short of expectations since We Were Never Here hit its peak…

Here’s the question that prompted her brutally honest and wonderfully human response:

Honest question - it felt like you were on the cusp of huge stardom with “somebody loves you” and I even heard “all of you” on the radio - how do you cope with not necessarily reaching pop’s upper echelon? I hope this isn’t offensive!

Her answer is worth reading in its entirety—seriously, go check it out. But here’s a graf that resonated:

idk. on my bad days i feel like a failure. like i’ve let people down. a lot of people come to my show for the first time and say “i don’t understand how you’re not bigger!” and i know they’re being nice but it makes me feel bad. my parents tell me they think i deserve better and i feel like i’ve disappointed them by not living up to all the potential they saw for me.

Oof. I don’t know why you’re not bigger is something I hear too. And its variations: BookTok roundups of “super underrated thrillers,” captions and comments noting they’ve never heard of The Last Ferry Out. “I just can’t believe your book isn’t selling—it’s so good.” Thank you. I think so too. Certainly there’s tons of randomness and luck at play in the arts, as Betty Who could tell you.

Kate McKean wrote a very smart post about how we vaguely expect an author’s book advances to keep trending up, like a salary in most other fields. But for the vast majority of working writers, it’s simply not the case.

It’s definitely not the case for me. In my case, having one NYT bestseller led to one great new book deal—and now, with subsequent contracts, I’m back in my pre-breakout ballpark.

It’s part of what makes it so difficult to be a full-time author—even hitting a bestseller list guarantees nothing about your future earnings. Having a book that sold hundreds of thousands of copies was a dream come true, a gigantic stroke of luck (in addition to the hard-work bit), as unlikely and fortunate as pulling a winning lottery ticket. I get that, and I’m grateful.

But still, my latest book advance was a big step back.

But still, my most promising film options aren’t renewed.

But still, my latest raked in zero foreign sales, no nibbles from Hollywood, and—as you’re likely sick of hearing—my most sluggish sales yet.

I’m not Stephen King or Mary Higgins Clark. I’m not even Lucy Foley or Shari Lapena or Ruth Ware, talented women in my genre (whom I’ve been so lucky to meet! They might even call me a peer!) whose every incredible book is, rightfully, an instant NYT bestseller.

And I might never be. It’s possible that what happened with We Were Never Here will never happen again. In the parlance of pop music, I could very well be a one-hit wonder.

So why am I still out here doing this? Well, wise Betty wasn’t done:

i focus on the things that i’m proud of. i have checked things off my bucket list … i’ve done really cool things and the people who are my fans still show up and support me and have created a really special community.

i guess my “why” has changed. when i was younger, if you asked me why i was doing this - making music, performing - it would be... because i’m good at it! that’s what i’m supposed to do!

now it’s a little deeper. i believe in the power of music. i know what it feels like to listen to a song that makes me cry. makes me laugh. makes me feel like a bad bitch. i think a lot more about my audience now. how can i support them, what do they need to hear right now. how can i be of service through this gift i was given - through my love of music.

I’m not alone in tearily reading this but replacing music with fiction in my head, right? It’s a beautiful response, moving from ego and envy and comparison and me-me-me to the stuff that actually matters: community, purpose, passion.

We know how powerful books can be. We’re so lucky to have this outlet, and each new reader who picks up one of my books is someone I can serve, someone I can challenge and connect with and give a big cosmic hug.

Thanks, Andi!

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Got a guestpost for us? (See below.) Conversely, is there something you just don’t understand about the life of a suspense writer or anything you’d like to know about craft, publishing, or reading recs? Let us know in a comment!