18 November 2011

ARE YOU OBSESSED WITH YOUR BOOK SALES?

Once your book is published there is the tendency to become obsessed with its sale.  Particularly if you have self published your book and you are able to check and recheck its progress on a daily basis.  While the traditionally published author might think this is great, it can actually drive you to distraction.  It can also take your attention off your main task which is to write another book.  Not only that.  If your sales are not doing as well as you expect, it can cause you a lot of angst.

If this is happening to you, don’t despair.  Being an author is a long term commitment because books take a great deal of time and effort to write before they are the best they can be, and publishable.  In the same way, the sale of those books does not happen overnight.  Just think, your book(s) will be one of thousands on offer whether it is on Amazon, Smashwords etc., or in a traditional bookshop.

You don’t want to ignore your sales altogether, but you don’t want to slip into this sales obsession either.  So what can you do about it?  I can see a number of things.

·        If you were anything like me, you were obsessed with writing your now published book.  So my advice is to get interested in your new project.  After all, your readers are waiting for your next book!

·        Now that you are published, you will need to build up your reputation as an author.  There are a lots of ways you can do this, and I’m sure you will find the one(s) that you are most comfortable with.  Some suggestions are creating a Facebook Fan Page, joining the Goodreads Author Program, joining Twitter, creating a blog.  You might also consider participating in forums, book signings, talking to groups, conducting Giveaways.  The possibilities are many and varied.

·        Communication is the operative word and with social networking particularly, you have the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people.  So enjoy yourself.  Write another book, publish it and watch your readership grow.  But remember, it will not happen overnight.

Most importantly, don’t lose sight of the one thing you love to do, and that is to create wonderful stories for people to read.

Do you agree with this philosophy?

5 comments:

  1. Jill, I think that is sound advice. I haven't published my novel yet, but I plan to real soon. While I'm waiting for beta readers, an editor, and a book cover artist, I'm going to use the time to start on my next one. I'm hoping to be so deep into it, that it will take my mind off of the obsession with sales. Not sure if it will work, but I'm going to give it a try. Great post!

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  2. Thanks, L.J. for commenting, and also for following.

    Good luck with your book. I think you'r wise in starting your next one now. There always seems to be a void when you finish writing a book. Don't you think?

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  3. Absolutely, Jill. There was definitely that void already, and it seems like I haven't written in too long. I can't to really dig in again.

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  4. Very good advice Jill!

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