Writing a Book vs. Desiring to Sell Copies

Best Seller Books

With the explosion of indie publishing and self-publishing, there’s a conundrum that was avoided through traditional publishing because there were gate keepers. Now, indie published or self-published authors need to ask themselves the tough questions hopefully before writing, and certainly before releasing.

You have a story to tell and you can’t bear not to tell it. It’s burning inside of you and you’ve always considered yourself a pretty good writer, so why not?!

Well, what some people feel compelled to write many more people do not feel compelled to read. If you don’t want to be encumbered by any “rules” or “gatekeepers” who annoyingly want you to conform to practices that have proven successful for other books and authors, then fine. But, be aware. Be very aware. Just because you write it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll read … and certainly doesn’t mean they’ll buy it.

Recently I’ve had conversations with several authors who are determined to write exactly the book that they want to. And those same people often are determined to sell a lot of copies. Here in lies the problem.

Consider other industries. A self-trained musician who took some music appreciation classes in college may want to write a song, or many songs. That’s fine. But what do you think the chances are that the musician, working alone in her house without the guidance of Quincy Jones or another tried and true producer of hits, making it BIG? What about a kid who plays basketball on his driveway—every day for hours—but never against anyone else on a team and without a coach. What are his chances of making it to the top of the NBA? There are flukes. But I think we all agree that someone working with a mentor who has already made it in the big leagues probably has a better shot of selling more records, or tickets to a basketball game, than someone who is going it totally alone.

I believe that there are books that people have to write. Are compelled. But, and especially when it comes to writing about personal experiences, determine why you are writing and be honest about what your goal is. If your goal is to make a permanent statement or capture a time gone by, do it! If your goal is to sell as many copies of a book as possible, consider finding a veteran mentor. Surround yourself with other people successful in the business (go to author events at your local bookstore, follow and study your favorite authors and figure out what makes them successful, find a killer editor who has had success in your genre). Just as parents encourage kids on the basketball court—“Honey, you are really great at shooting that ball!”—recognize that family and friends don’t have a financial stake in your success. They love you, so they’re going to say your book is great. I promise, I’ve seen it literally hundreds of times. I get calls, “Twenty of my friends loved my book! One said it should win a Pulitzer!” I’m much more interested in what someone who doesn’t know the writer, doesn’t care about the writer, thinks of the writing. How can you get an unbiased opinion? I loved the ingenuity of one clever author that told me she gives her manuscripts to family and friends and says, “A friend wrote this and gave this to me to read. Let me know your thoughts.”

Lots of kids play little league baseball. Fewer kids play for their high school team. Really great kids play college or farm team baseball. The minutest number of those terrific baseball players ever makes it to the big leagues. And how many baseball players playing today can you name? My point is that there is a place for everybody on that baseball scale, but very few will become famous. It’s the same odds for writing a book. There are authors who will delight their family and friends. Some will go on to make an impression in their community or field of work. The really great ones who get some breaks along the way will sell 100,000. And of the millions of people who write books each year, many less than 1 percent will become household names. In baseball, the current players don’t have to play against Babe Ruth and stars of the past. In the book world, you’re still competing for the attention and time of readers against every book ever written as well as all the new stars coming up through the ranks this year.

Set realistic goals while reaching for the stars. Understand that if you choose to go it alone, then that doesn’t mean that you also necessarily get to have the luxury of demanding that others purchase and read your book.

Whether you’ve written a book that 2,500 people buy and many hold close to their heart or you become an overnight sensation like JK Rowling (and how many have there been since her?!), celebrate what you have done. You’ve created art that has its place. If you’re determined to rise to the top, make sure you’ve got a coach and team surrounding you that gives you a pretty good chance to showcase your talent on a national stage.

 

How Many Books Should I Print?

This morning, a lovely author from Greece and I spoke for over an hour.  During this time, she asked many great questions.  But it was the last question asked before she hung up that really struck me…

“One last thing,” she said. “Is printing 5000 copies crazy?”

“Well,” I replied, “it depends… what are you going to do with the 5000 units?”

“Sell them I guess” was her answer.

When deciding on a print run number, the  decision often comes from how many units can one purchase for a deeper discount.  At 5,000 the unit price goes down nicely. What most small publishers fail to recognize however, is that until the books are sold, those unit costs are totally fake.  If you pay $15000 for 5000 units of your book and only sell three books, each book cost you $5000.

There is a better way.  When choosing your print run number, start from the END (sales portion) of the process and move back towards the printing part of the process.

For example:

  • How many bookstores will you sell your book into?
    • How many ARE there in your area of attention?
    • How many are you going to contact and ask them to stock your book?
    • How many will likely say yes?

If there are 1000 bookstores in your country AND you have a plan on how to contact 500 of them in 2016, AND 150 of those agree to stock 2 copies of your book AND half of them (75) sell two copies of your book (150) and don’t return them you are looking at 150 units in 2016.  Even if ALL 1000 bookstores are contacted and HALF of them agree to sell your book and NONE of them return the books they get you are looking at 1000 units.

  • How many will sell on line?
    • Well, how many sold of a competitor’s book?
    • Why will your book get as much attention as theirs did?

If Amazon was able to sell 3000 copies of a book like yours, published and promoted by a large publishing house, you can rest assured that you will not be spending the time and money on promoting it that they did.  Sooooo I’d shoot for 10% of their sales.  AT BEST.  That is 300 units.

  • How many do you need to give away?
    • A few hundred to reviewers
    • A few hundred to magazines and newspapers editors and freelancers
    • A few hundred as sample books for bookstores and libraries to use to evaluate

That is 600 give or take.

Sell 1000 to libraries?  Sure! If you have the time to call 500 libraries in 2016 you will sell them!  The nice thing about libraries is that they DO buy books and rarely return them.

Let’s look at  the total:

Bookstores 150 – 1000

Online 300

Give Aways 600

Libraries 1000

3000 units TOTAL in 2016 and that is ONLY IF you actually take the time and expense to present the books to libraries, bookstores, reviewers and editors.  These books will not sell themselves.

How many do you want to print?  5000 makes sense if you are okay with having them for a few years, are willing to do the work to sell them and start with the sales expectations and work backwards.

Want to learn HOW TO SELL more than a few hundred copies?  We can teach you.  Email Amy at amy@newshelves.com and send her a bit of info about your book and she will come up with a plan for you.  (Sales evaluations and plans are always free of charge at New Shelves!)


 

This post was written by Amy Collins and originally published on newshelves.com