Here is the harsh reality: no one will read your next book. Thats right, all of the hard work you put into completing the book will go to waste.
If the thought of this makes you cringe, you are not alone. This is every author’s worst nightmare. We put in so much work to create our books. Countless hours, long nights and the fear of making ourselves vulnerable. Even the thought of this hard work going unread is scary.
The unfortunate thing is, I guarantee you no one will read your next book. At least that will be the case if you adopt the following mindset:
If I Write It They Will Come.
Far too many authors assume that writing their book is the hard part. Once they finish their book, they expect readers will be lining up to read it. Then a week goes by. Then a month. Where are all the readers? If you have been in this situation before, it’s terrible.
So, let talk about how to make sure your next book doesn’t go unread.
Why No One Will Read Your Next Book
There are many reasons why your book will go unread. Let’s take a look at a few statistics:
- Nearly 1,000,000 books are published each year (Forbes)
- The average book sells only 250 copies (Berrett-Koehler)
- Less than a 1% of books are stocked in a bookstore (OutThink)
These statistics tell us a few important things:
1. The Book Market Is Extremely Crowded:
One million books are published each year. That means on the day you launch your book, nearly 2,800 other books will also launch. Talk about competition.
If you have the mindset that writing your book is the hard part, chances are no one will read your book. Instead you need to figure out how to attract interested readers to your book. With so many book options available, readers need a reason to check out your book.
2. Getting Customers To Buy Your Book Is Hard:
The average book only sell 250 copies. This may be hard for new authors to accept. Dreams of becoming the next New York Times Bestseller are just that, dreams. Authors that do achieve this level of success have a simple secret: they are marketing geniuses.
Well written books don’t always sell. Well marketed books do. As an author you need to understand this truth. Getting people to pay for your book is going to be difficult, but you can do it. Just know that the hard work is not over when you launch your next book.
3. Authors Can’t Rely On Physical Bookstores:
Only one percent of books are stocked in bookstores. That statistic alone should make you realize just how many books are actually available in the world. Another realization that should come with this statistic is that you can’t rely on bookstores for sales.
Luckily there are many other ways to sell your books. With the rise of eBooks, you can sell books without the need for a bookstore or a even a physical book. Channels such as social media give authors the ability to build an audience long before they have even completed a book. You may consider yourself an expert writer. To be successful you will need to master marketing as well.
How To Make Sure People Read Your Next Book
At this point you may be feeling a little discouraged. Afterall, selling books may be harder than actually writing them. Luckily there are ways to make sure that people purchase the books you work so hard on.
Below are several proven strategies to find readers willing to purchase your books:
- Create An Author Website
- Write Blog Posts Consistently
- Build An Audience On Social Media
- Attend Conference and Meetups
- Advertise Your Book On Social Media
Want to learn about even more ways to effectively market your books? Check out this in-depth posts discussing 20 ways authors can market their books.
Final Thoughts
At EditionGuard we are passionate about helping authors sell more eBooks. We truly hope that your next book launch is a massive success, but want you to realize that having a “if I write it they will come” mindset is a surefire way to fail miserably. Hopefully this post has helped you realize how difficult it is to find paying readers, but has also shown you that it is possible.
If you have any additional tips to help increase book sales, leave it in the comment section below.
