He was arguably one of the greatest authors of all time, and ascribed his own success to a simple thing: Relentless output. In his autobiography, the late James A. Michener recalled a period in his life in which he would write over 7 000 words per day, an act he described as ‘an almost indecent display of industry.’ 

Michener was seen, worldwide, as the foremost author of historical fiction. And just like Stephen King, who is often lauded as the best-selling living author today, his output was both prodigious, and, over the course of decades, consistent.  

Imagine if James A. Michener, or Stephen King, had written what they considered to be their ‘one great novel,’ and then stopped there. Picture Stephen King writing Carrie, then sitting back in his seat and saying, “Right! I’m done. The world can give me a career now.”  

Forty years later, King remains at the top of the bestseller lists. He owns his industry, because he is a constant producer.  

It is a constant gradient of productive output that ultimately becomes a real career and has people recognising you as someone at the top of your game. 

If you are the expert in Flowers, when will you write a book on the topic? And what will the second book be about? And the third? What new things can you do around flowers? Is there some novel new way to present them to your market? Is there a TV show that you could do on them (and preferably something a little cleverer and quirkier than just a gardening show), or perhaps a road show? What’s the next big thing in Flowers? Have you stamped your intellectual mark on it? When people think about flowers, why should they think about you?  

Consistent output is key. Be a constant producer and own your industry.