Become a Bestselling Author

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

What does it take to become a bestselling author? There is no simple formula to follow. If a step-by-step process existed, every book would become a bestseller--which does not happen. Instead there are simple practices and experiments each author has to make in this process of learning how to tell others about your book.

Let me begin with a bit of a reality check about book publishing. Some publishing experts estimate there are over 11,000 new books published every day. This number includes the self-publishing titles but that amounts to a lot of print material pouring into our world. Depending on how you publish, your publisher may or may not do much to market and sell your book. 

As the author, you have the greatest passion and interest in selling books. You may not like marketing. Some authors say they hate it. Those feelings are valid. I encourage you to push beyond those concerns and actively work to tell others about your book. Someone has to hear about your book at least a dozen times before they decide to purchase the book. There are many ways to tell others about your book. Pick one or two, then use that method to stress the benefits or reasons readers should get and read your book.

The repeated process of telling readers about your book can become boring. Don't let it and instead change it up and use different methods, tools and systems for this process. On a regular basis I read that social media does not sell books. You want to become active on social media for the exposure to the benefits of your book to readers in a steady stream of information. It’s the reason publishers and literary agents are interested in your social media numbers. They use this information to evaluate your actions and exposure in the marketplace.

The foundation of every good book is the storytelling and the writing. As writers, we have to find the right topic then produce an excellent manuscript. Work with freelance editors and others to shape your story into the right foundation. Then select a way to publish your book which will make it easily available to your readers. Broad distribution is another critical element in this process. When your book is going to release, gather a team of friends to read the book and write a series of honest reviews to be published in multiple online places. This season when your book is new is also an opportunity to book radio and podcast interviews about you and your book. 

How do you break through the noise of the marketplace and get attention for your book and message? From my experience, it comes from consistent and persistent author action.  

Recently a prospective Morgan James Publishing author asked me about the sales of my book, Billy Graham, A Biography of America's Greatest Evangelist. I’ll admit I do not watch my sales numbers on Amazon or Nielsen BookScan or the publisher author portal. My book on Mr. Graham released November 4, 2014 and I went to Amazon Author Central which lets every author look at the sales numbers for the last two years. I discovered my book has sold over 10,000 copies during this period. Here’s the evidence:

In 2014, the original version of my biography was out of print. I’m one of the few living biographers of Mr. Graham and he was in poor health. Through Morgan James Publishing, I updated and revised my old book with new stories from interviews. Also I gathered a foreword and endorsements then checked every word of the final content with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association--even though I worked outside of the organization. When the book launched, I hired an outside publicist who scheduled over 50 radio interviews. After these interviews, I collected the recordings and stored them on my own website where they are continually available. You can learn more about my biography in the online press room I built for this book.

How did my book become a bestselling book and continues to sell long after the release? Every day since the book released, I’ve been telling others about the benefits of my book in various words and images. Also I worked with my colleagues at Morgan James to create the audiobook version. Follow this link to hear a sample of the audiobook. My persistence and consistency continue to get readers interested and learn about the life of Billy Graham. 

If you have a book that isn’t selling in the marketplace, it is not too late. The reader doesn’t care about your publisher or the release date. Instead if you tell them about it, they will be attracted to your story and the benefits for them from your book. I encourage you to take persistent and consistent action. It doesn’t happen overnight but can happen if you work at telling others.

What insights are you seeing for your book in this article? Which actions are you going to take for your writing and your book? Let me know in the comments. I’m eager to learn from you.

Tweetable:

How can you become a bestselling author? While there is no formula, this prolific author and editor gives authors the actions and specifics.  (ClickToTweet)

During my decades in publishing, I’ve spoken with hundreds of writers about their dreams and plans. Many of these authors have  unrealistic expectations about what will happen with their published book. Many aspects of the publishing process are outside of anything an author can control. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help. You can get decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses.

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