You see, we are wired that way, both skeptics and believers, all wishing for the one absolute truth, the best of everything, whether it be a book, a life changing program, or whatever.
We are inundated, and yet trained, to want to believe. Why do we buy lottery tickets? The chance of getting struck by lightning is higher than the chance of winning. But we have been taught that "someone wins" and so we make that leap to "why not me?"
Okay. Let's roll with that for a moment. Why not you. Maybe. Possibly. But...probably not because life has a sense of humor.
Did you know that when California first started the lottery, the first winner was an illegal alien (yes, I know that term is non-PC in California these days)? And no doubt he used his proceeds to hire a good immigration attorney. That's the irony of which I write. It could happen to you, but chances are....
As a writer we each hold within us the potential to be the best writer in the entire existence of writing. Yes, better than the giants. Better than the bestselling authors. Better than Hemingway, a name known globally, or Stephen King, John Grisham, and so on. You have the potential to be better than the lot. But first you need to be "discovered."
ONE MILLION books were published in 2015
And more...you wrote that novel. You finished it, edited it, got a cover designed and put it out there. Whether self-published, assisted-published, or traditionally published; you are published. Well done. But you need to do more.
In 2015 there were 700,000 self-published books. Over 300,000 were traditionally published. That's ONE MILLION books that were published that year. There were 321 million people alive in the United States that year.
Another (Pew) study showed that one in four Americans did not read a book that year.
Worse news still, only about 10,000 authors (from Amazon) made over $10,000/yr from sales of their books. That equates to 1 percent of all the books.
But don't worry because you have the best book ever written. Now you have to get exposure!
But it could happen to you. I personally know one author who makes high five figures from annual sales, another who makes more, and they all found success — yes, Virginia, that is success — the same way. Do you want to know that secret? Scroll down....
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😀 I just wanted to make you scroll.... My apologies.
There are many things these authors have in common.
•First, they write a lot. Each author has multiple books, some in series, some as stand-alones, nonetheless, they have volume.
•Second, each author has worked hard at maintaining an approachable social media presence. You can communicate with them and they respond.
•Third, each author employs techniques to maintain a fan base. Many give away the first book in the series, knowing that the reader will get hooked and want to read the rest of the series. Others offer different free books for joining their mailing list.
And that is the point of this blog post.
Having the best book ever written is only half the equation. What you do with it, and how you do it, play equally important parts. In addition, you have to decide whether your 500 page novel is better as one book, or broken into two books. How do you get reviews? How do you market? How do you approach brick and mortar bookstores and get a book signing, or placement?
There are many tricks and tips that can help you. We cover these in each issue of Books 'N Pieces Magazine, but also in our monthly newsletter that offers exclusive content.
In each newsletter we offer you advance news, not posted on this Website. You get discount codes for books, freebies and downloads that you can enjoy. We also include content that is not found on the Website, such as marketing tips, writing tips, articles, stories and more, content that is not even in Books 'N Pieces Magazine. At least not yet.
In the near future, Books 'N Pieces will only be available FREE for our newsletter subscribers. And the best part is that signing up is FREE. Click HERE to join.
If you are writing a novel, or have written a novel and are now struggling with sales, sign up for our newsletter and find valuable assistance in your marketing. You won't regret it. What have you got to lose? Click HERE to join.
Thanks for reading.
William Gensburger
Writer/Publisher
