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“Did I make a mistake only publishing my book in electronic format? ZERO COPIES SOLD!”

October 12, 2017

“Did I make a mistake only publishing my book in electronic format? ZERO COPIES SOLD!”
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Q –

I put up my book on Amazon’s Kindle last year for almost a year but not a single copy was sold. Did I do something wrong, or miss out on something I needed to do? Now, my second novel is ready but I can’t find a publisher to print it. What should I do?

– A.K.

A –

It’s a common misconception that putting a newly published book (print or electronic) up on Amazon will mean automatic sales. Nothing could be further from the truth. Amazon’s inventory is far too large. Hoping for people to stumble upon your book, and immediately buy it, is unrealistic. To sell copies, you must consistently and aggressively promote your book.

Please see:
90+ DAYS OF PROMOTING YOUR BOOK ONLINE: Your Book’s Daily Marketing Plan

Also, if your book isn’t available in print, some readers may not consider your book a “real” book. After all, if the author didn’t care enough about the book to have it published in print format, perhaps the author didn’t think the quality of the book was worth any financial investment on their part.

Books that are available in print AND electronic formats tend to sell far better than ones that are only available as ebooks. Remember that ebook sales have been dipping the last few years, and print book sales are making a comeback. It’s best to offer both options to your readers for maximum sales.

Regarding your new book – If you have a previous book on the market with no sales, traditional publishers are very unlikely to want to publish your new book. You might want to consider self-publishing. Yes, you’ll need to invest money but you won’t need to wait for months (or years) to land an agent, and a traditional publisher. (You’d then need to wait even longer for the book to be published, and put on the market.) Note: BookLocker gets books on the market in only one month.

Most authors who approach agents and/or traditional publishers do NOT get contracts, and then choose self-publishing if they want to get read, and if they want to make money on their book(s).

Also, keep in mind that self-published authors with impressive sales, have a MUCH higher chance of landing a traditional publishing contract later.

Please see:

The Cold, Hard, Ugly Facts about Traditional Publishing…and Why You Might Want to Avoid It Altogether

and

7 BENEFITS of Self-Publishing! (And, reasons you may want to avoid the traditional route)

Angela

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2 Responses to "“Did I make a mistake only publishing my book in electronic format? ZERO COPIES SOLD!”"

  1. Angela Hoy  October 15, 2017 at 12:32 pm

    POSTED YESTERDAY BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Book Publishers Go Back to Basics –
    As consumer e-book sales fall, publishers look to find new footing with old ground—and faster pipelines…

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/book-publishers-go-back-to-basics-1507983856

  2. joe sixpak  October 12, 2017 at 7:38 pm

    millions of books on amazon have never sold a copy
    most dont sell as many as ten copies