It’s time to face some facts about self-publishing. It is not likely to make you filthy rich. The only people who ever got rich this way were either 1) pioneers in their genres ala Stephen King or 2) very well connected or 3) wealthy already. Other people get rich indirectly by becoming experts in their fields.
Many people believe that writing a self-published title gives them a better chance of getting picked up by a major house. Not necessarily so.
Selling Books – It’s All About the Numbers
In order for a major publishing house to even look at an independent author, they have to see some serious proven sales figures in the tens of thousands: 20,000, 30,000, 50,000 copies sold or more. An author who sells 1,000 copies is not likely to be snatched up by a major house. Anyone with motivation and a credit card account can do that.
In fact, a self-published author who somehow sells 50,000 copies all by his or herself (and can prove it of course) is almost 100% guaranteed to get a major book deal. That’s because it is unheard of for an unknown author to do those numbers, and there must be something truly magnificent (or cunning) in play.
Now many people will probably read that last line and say “well that’s me! I’m magnificent!” I say to those folks, it’s time to get real.
How will you sell 50,000 copies of your books if you could barely afford to pay $500 to get the cover designed professionally? Plus, if you only have enough of an initial investment right now to order 2,500 copies upfront, how in the world are 50,000 books going to get printed in a year?
Let’s Get Real About Selling Books
Let’s look at some quick numbers. According to the Authors Guild, the average self-published book that is considered to be “successful” will sell no more than 5,000 copies in its lifetime (7,500 for non-fiction).
Keep in mind that how you sell your books in the first year is a good indicator of how it will do in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 20th year.
So if you’re thinking that you’re going to somehow go platinum, sell 100,000 copies all by yourself and become a millionaire in the first year, you are starting from a very unrealistic mindset. You have to think numbers; cold hard facts. Where are you going to find 100,000 buyers for your self-published book in a year or even two?
Plus, you have to think about competition when you publish and sell your books.
So Many Authors to Compete With
Everybody and their mothers want to write and publish a book. When I was out selling books at book signings, countless people came up to me and asked me to write their life story for them.
Everyone thinks that they are the most amazing person that ever existed or that their life story is the stuff of legends. So just about everybody is putting out a story or guide these days.
The reality: according to RR Bowker, there are over 175,000 books published each year and it is estimated that 80% of U.S. households don’t even buy books (Source: Jerold Jenkins, http://www.JenkinsGroupInc.com). Consider these stats and your competition when setting your goals for selling books.
The Point of this Article
This article is not meant to discourage you from writing and selling your book. It is meant to open your eyes to the cold, hard realities of the publishing industry and refocus your marketing plan. Hopefully it will also save you from a side-blinding disappointment.
I want you to get realistic about how many books you will sell so that you leave yourself open to achieving the success that you crave.