So, you’ve written a book. You’ve been dreaming about this since you were a kid. You just have to write a story, get someone to edit it, have a beautiful cover made, and it flies out into the world, bringing happiness and rainbows to everyone who sees it in a bookshop window…wrong.
It’s sort of like telling someone who doesn’t have kids yet that their life will be turned completely upside down by the new tiny human they’re about to meet. Telling someone, “Writing the book is the easy part,” doesn’t really click with someone until they actually experience it. It’s hard enough to spend months or years finishing your manuscript, then rounds of editors, designers, and publishers. How could this get any harder? Because now you need to find your ideal reader and get them to notice your book, and with the literally millions of books out there, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. There are lots of ways to go about building your list of potential readers – paid email sites, Amazon/Facebook/Instagram ads, bribing Oprah to be on her “Book of the Month Club” (Mom, is that still a thing?).
There are other ways to build your list too, even if you don’t have boatloads of cash. “Networking” is the easiest way to explain this. Reaching out to readers, other authors, reviewers, etc. Only, it’s really best if you start this approach early, like preferably before you even start writing the book. I personally avoided social media for as long as humanly possible. I was too busy with everything else in my life to mess with it, until I realized I needed it. Now I’m shouting into the void and latching onto whoever will listen.
Beyond that, though, beyond your paid campaigns and organic social media efforts, how is a random person looking for a book like yours going to even have a chance of stumbling upon it? 80% of the market share says they’re going to go to Amazon, and if you want them to find you there, it’s time to battle with their algorithm!
Your distributor says they’ve sent out your book to everyone they know, and then, one magical night, without warning, you suddenly appear on Amazon, without warning! Now, you need to scramble. Tell your mother, your friends, and your dentist (I did) because this is how Amazon will determine if you’re worthy. During the first week your print book is available (not on pre-sale), Amazon carefully tracks how many copies you sell to determine how many they need to have on hand at any given time. All of your pre-orders count towards the first day of this period, but Amazon is going to need more than 1 day of reasonable sales. At the end of the week, Amazon orders their inventory of your book. If you’ve sold enough to convince them you’re a decent author, they’ll keep some stock in their warehouses for immediate delivery. However, if you fail Amazon’s test of worthiness, Amazon will list you as 5-7 days out for anyone to receive a copy of your book, or even worse *gasp* they’ll label you “temporarily out of stock”!
Aside from the inventory, you must then deal with the review issue. So Amazon is carrying a few copies of your book, but that doesn’t mean you’re any easier to find. Heck, you may have sold enough books to be a top-100 best seller in your category, but even there, if you’re on page two, you’re probably not getting a ton of eyes. That’s why you need reviews. Not only to convince other people that it’s good enough to read, but something magical happens when you get to 50 reviews–Amazon starts serving you up in the “You may also like this” carousels and other recommendations.
Theoretically, after that, it’s just a case of writing another book and repeating the process. I think. I’m not there yet.
It’s a lot, don’t get me wrong, but it’s exciting too. I think I’ve been scaring a few people off with all the talk of what I’ve been doing, but honestly, it’s kinda fun (not all of it, but a bunch is). Even better, almost everyone is in the same boat, so there’s no shortage of kind, supportive people who will offer you a hand or support. I will. If anyone is thinking about publishing, send me an email, and I’ll be happy to tell you what I’ve seen thus far. In the meantime–keep dreaming, keep telling stories, and keep writing if that’s what makes you happy.
