WHY DOESN’T MY BOOK SELL?

WHY DOESN’T MY BOOK SELL?
Imagine this: Your book is done, you’ve had your launch party, and it’s up on Amazon.

But no one buys your book.
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Don’t believe that would happen to you? Think again.

I’ve seen this story over and over again from disappointed writers. They’ve done their research, we’ve published the book, and followed all the steps. Their books are available for purchase — but when their sales are in the double or even single digits, that doesn’t feel like success.

If no one buys your book, it’s likely not because your book isn’t good (I’ve seen plenty of bad books that sold thousands of copies). It’s because you’re missing the most important things you need to publish your book successfully.

What does it take to publish successfully? I’ve found you need five things:

1. A piece of great writing. You want to publish something worth reading, a book readers won’t want to put down.
   
   
2. An audience of readers. Actually, publishers don’t find these for you. No matter how or when you publish, you will need to find the readers who will love your book.
   
   
3. A cartel to support you. A cartel is an agreement among competitors. Instead of fighting with other writers over an audience, create a cartel of writers to reach an even larger audience. Don’t hate, Collaborate.
   
   
4. Feedback. Writers don’t write in a vacuum. You need feedback to help you make your writing the best it can be, and your cartel is the perfect team to help you prepare your writing for publication.
   
   
5. A launch plan. Successful launches don’t just happen. You need a plan, a strategy to leverage your audience and your cartel to send your book out into the world (and sell a lot of copies!).
   
   

Here’s the painful truth: every time you publish without these five things, you actually get further from your goal of publishing success.

But when you write a book you believe in, get feedback to make it the best it can be, gather your cartel and your audience of readers, and plan a brilliant launch, you can release your book into the world with confidence.

Why? Because you’ll actually sell books — and best of all, readers will read them.

To Your Success,

MG
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Excerpts from Joe Bunting, The Writer’s Practice, August 2017

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