What To Do If Your Book Isn’t Selling

Book Marketing Tips & Tricks No One Is Telling You About

The fact that you are reading this guide is evidence that your book isn’t selling as well as you expected. Maybe it’s not selling at all. The frustration and discouragement you’re feeling is warranted, and you’re not alone. It happens to millions of authors every year.

Whether you have a book already published and aren’t seeing the results you expected or you want to prepare before you publish, this guide is for you.

What’s interesting is most authors are clueless about being an entrepreneur, and most entrepreneurs know nothing about being a published author. In other words, from my 20+ years being a reliable voice in the book writing and book publishing industries, aspiring authors know very little about business and selling books, and entrepreneurs know little to nothing about writing books. Together, neither know how to sell books.

The problem of poor-selling books is a matter of knowledge and understanding of certain things. And if the author would learn at least the basics of business and entrepreneurs would learn the fundamentals of books, both would move away from the normality of failure and over to the rarity of immense success.

If “immense success” sounds unrealistic to you at the moment, just take a look at the fact that a great many authors have bestsellers, and entrepreneurs become millionaires every year.

Casting jealousy or frustration aside, this should excite you because it PROVES THAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE THOSE REALITIES YOURSELF. You just need to get rid of some crippling lies you agreed to and replace them with truths that allow anyone to become successful—ANYONE! It has nothing to do with overnight success, luck, money… or any other reason why you, today, are not successful with your book.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.”

Whether resisted or just not knowing what to do, you can bet on the fact that anything you want to achieve is possible if you learn to do what is necessary for creating that desired result.

The ONLY reason your book is not selling is because, up to this point:

1. You haven’t done one or more things correctly and
2. You haven’t done them to the degree required.

The quote by Thomas Jefferson is a powerful reminder that achieving something new and different requires stepping out of our comfort zones and trying new things. It emphasizes the importance of taking action and doing what is necessary to create the desired result. This mindset is crucial for anyone looking to achieve success in any area of their life, whether it's in their career, relationships, or personal growth.

The statement that "anything you want to achieve is possible if you learn to do what is necessary for creating that desired result" is an important point to remember. It means that success is not limited to a select few but is within the reach of anyone willing to put in the effort and take the necessary actions.

The second part of the passage emphasizes the idea that success requires doing things correctly and to the required degree. This means that achieving a desired outcome often involves a process of trial and error and a willingness to learn and adapt as needed. It also highlights the importance of persistence and not giving up when things don't go as planned.

The passage specifically mentions the example of a book not selling, but the message can be applied to any goal or aspiration. The key is to identify what needs to be done differently, learn the skills and knowledge required to do it, and persist until the desired outcome is achieved.

This is a powerful reminder that success requires stepping out of our comfort zone, taking action, learning from mistakes, and persisting until the desired outcome is achieved.

Some Facts About Books

What’s interesting is books are one of the most powerful products in existence. How? Why? Because of many reasons. But to name a few significant reasons…

BOOKS HAVE A GREATER POTENTIAL TO GO VIRAL (BE REFERRED BY HAPPY CUSTOMERS) THAN OTHER PHYSICAL PRODUCTS LIKE CARS, CLOTHES, ETC. It’s just a fact no one needs to dissect.

BOOKS ARE INFLUENCERS. Books are devices of communication. You have the attention of readers who will devote as much time as necessary to finish your book. You have unlimited potential for influencing people. This is very powerful!

From where I stand and have witnessed, INFORMATION IS THE NEW GOLD.

A book is an information product. It is a product first and foremost—a product that supplies information that affects others in the most significant way ever possible. It influences people’s thoughts, views, and beliefs. And with an ethical approach of empowering people with truth in how to overcome a problem or achieve a goal, the world is literally at your fingertips.

Success is gained by building agreement in others. The more people agree with you, which you can then influence, the more they will back you. They will read your books, they will buy your programs, they will pay to hear you speak.

This guide has been written succinctly (to the point). Much of the theory of how and why has been left out so you get the key points quickly and hopefully have an Aha! moment that will encourage you to want to know more for greater understanding, which will increase your ability to do things more on target and create bigger results. There are other videos, programs and mentoring you can take from me that go deep into all of this. For today, let’s lay it all on the line and be straightforward.

If you are not getting the results you want, then something is missing from your process, such as having the correct mindset and realistic expectations. It can be that you are doing things that actually create the opposite effect—information that was false but sold to you as true. It can be that you are just missing a few tweaks that make all the difference. It may be a combination of all of these potentials.

At this point, let’s agree on one thing:

IF YOU’RE NOT GETTING THE RESULTS YOU’VE EXPECTED, YOU SIMPLY HAVEN’T DONE WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE THAT WILL CREATE THOSE RESULTS.

This is a very powerful truth and tells us this:

You can absolutely create the success you want with a book, whether directly from your book or indirectly by way of increased sales of things like products or services, because of people reading your book. You just have to put in the work.

Fiction Authors

If you want to be a successful fiction author and sell a lot of books which bring in a nice living, realistically, you are going to need to create numerous books. If you research the top authors, they have several books and are serial book writers.

This model works best for fiction writers because the only products they can make money from is their books. Of course after fame and fortune are met, high-priced speaking engagements, appearances and such can be additional lines of income.

Non-Fiction Authors

As a non-fiction author that teaches, educates, inspires, motivates and/or elicits people to take proactive action to improve their lives, you have limitless potential to build an empire of the most valuable commodity on Earth—information.

If you have anything that offers personal value to others, in other words, supports their ability to overcome a challenge and achieve a goal, these types of books can be extremely effective in promoting products or services you might develop in your business.

So, the book becomes less about being “the product” and more about educating people as to why they need what you have. The main products where money comes from are programs, courses, services, and other information products.

Still, in order for your book to benefit you as the author in either of the scenarios mentioned above, you have to get your book into the hands of a lot of people.

The point to make here is, one way or another, you need to treat your books as a bona fide business, if only part time, with the understanding that you get out of your business what you put into it.

Correct Expectations

The harsh reality of being an author is that no one is going to promote, market, and sell your book except you. This should be no big surprise since every product or service in every type of business requires self-promotion as well.

This sadly becomes apparent to unsuspecting authors after signing with a publisher. For some strange reason, there is a fallacy that has persisted and never seems to go away in that publishers are going to sell millions of books for them. It just isn’t the case. This is an incorrect expectation that could set one up for failure. By placing responsibility over to someone or something else, it will produce no results.

Publishers make books available far and wide. They invest heavily on editing, layout, cover design, and might even promote a new title for one to three months if you’re lucky. Then they are on to the next new books coming out. So, to think that a publisher is a free ticket to fame and fortune is a recipe for great disappointment.

Most of this falsehood comes from zealous marketers thirsty to sell something by any means, even if it includes making completely false promises that are about as likely as winning the Lottery. It could happen, but not likely.

Just remember that nobody is going to sell your book better than you. That is what this guide is about—different ways to promote your book in order to increase sales.

So, before we go any further, let’s make a proclamation that you are officially a business owner. Congratulations! You have just entered into the upper echelon of individuals who are taking control of their financial future! Welcome to the club!

Count Your Blessings

One very important thing smart authors do is keep track of and celebrate their wins. This first starts with setting realistic expectations. If I told you how many people told me they wanted to sell a million books, you probably wouldn’t believe me.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with such a lofty desire. It’s just that wanting this kind of result right out of the gate is how so many people create unnecessary disappointment for themselves.

Sadly, the many improvements and accomplishments they are making are smothered by an unrealistic target. A simple fix for this is to set three types of goals: short, mid-term, and long-term goals.

The trick is to set realistic goals that are challenging but not impossible. Measure your results and celebrate every achievement no matter how small. This is the secret to happiness at work!

In our next article on book marketing, we will take a deeper look into how you can remain excited about promoting and, as a result, sell more books. Stay tuned!