Nothing, really

When people hear that you've sold a book (and by people here I'm referring to non-writers, since I can't imagine a writer would say this) and that it is a book for kids/teens, the first thing they seem to say nowadays is "Wow, is it going to be the next Harry Potter??" or something to that effect.

Honestly, that's really annoying.

It's not that I wouldn't like for my book(s) to make me a multi-millionaire. But the chances of that are so slim it would be like winning the lottery. Maybe not quite that bad, since there are other things involved than luck, but still.

There are hundreds of talented authors out there and the vast majority of them are still working at another job while writing. Even for those lucky enough to "just" be an author, most still rely at least partly on the income of a spouse. You don't become a writer because you want to be a millionaire. You become a writer because you can't imagine doing anything else.

Of course, there are the big huge names like Rowling and King and others. But they are exceptions to the rule, not the standard. And it is a bit of a self-perpetrating thing...once you reach that upper echelon (through whatever combination of luck and talent), publishers put more effort into advertising you, and your books show up on the NY Times Bestseller list and people buy the books because they see them there, or maybe Oprah pitched the book on her show...

I guess what I'm saying is that my goal is to be a writer; it isn't to be a household-name-mega-millionaire. Not that I would turn that down, should it become an option. :-) But it isn't what I'm thinking or dreaming about. I'll be really happy if enough of my book(s) sell that I can continue writing them. I'll be really happy if there are people out there who like to read them.