One of my favourite courses to deliver is the “Publish a Book in Just 5 days” challenge. However, one of the things that I say from the start is that the finished book that I publish on day 5 is not going to be a bestseller.
There are certain things that need to be in place for you to do this and when you publish a book in 5 days, that just isn’t going to happen.
Here are my 5 reasons why your book won’t be a bestseller.
1. There’s no market for your book
When you write a book, whether it’s a notebook, journal or your signature book, before you start, it’s always worth checking out the competition to see if you are writing a book that people will actually buy.
There are a couple of ways that you can do this:
1. use the Sales Rank Calculator on the Kindlepreneur website. This allows you to have a look on Amazon and see approximately how many sales a book had, based on their ranking. If you want your book to get into the top 10 when it’s launches, this will give you a clue as to how many sales you need to achieve to reach that goal.
2. invest in Publisher Rocket. This is a tool that helps you identify the categories and keywords to use in the metadata of your book. It’s great in that it can help you find untapped niches on Amazon.
If your intention is to have a bestseller, then before you start, makes sure that it’s possible and get clear on your sales goal right from the start.
2. You haven’t identified an ideal client
A book is a product just like everything else, and there is no product on the planet that can cater for everyone’s needs. So when you write your book, have a very specific person in mind. This will be your ideal client. Think about what they want and need from your book and how you will help them to achieve that outcome.
By identifying who is the ideal person to buy your book, you’ll tailor it to that market and your audience will know it was written with the specifically in mind.
3. You haven’t polished your book
When I publish a book in 5 days, there isn’t much time to proofread and edit the book, so whilst it isn’t the first draft that’s published, I haven’t had time to get an editor in to look at it either.
Do not underestimate the contribution a good editor and proofreader will have on your book.
It makes such a difference to the final product, so give yourself time and invest in getting someone else in to offer advice on your book.
That final polish will help sales no end.
4. You don’t have an author platform
Your author platform is made up of your author website, your social media accounts and your email list.
It can give you an indication of how visible you are and how many people are interested in what you do. You could argue that there are authors who don’t do this, however, you’ll find that they have built up their visibility in other ways. Think about what happens when a celebrity releases a book. They’re visible on tv, radio and other mainstream platforms.
As you start out, don’t neglect this area of your marketing. In many respects, as hard as it can be to publish a book, it’s nothing compared to selling it!
5. You don’t have a marketing plan
When I publish a book in 5 days, there is absolutely no time to market the book and raise awareness of it. However, when you publish your own book, take time to launch it properly.
That means sending it out to beta readers for feedback, advanced copy readers and reviewers to get some snippets to use in tour marketing.
It also means doing your research on who these people are. Which reviewers would be interested in taking a look at your book? Is there a specific date that you should launch on? Are there influencers on social media that you can get to know who maybe able to help you?
So, now that you have some idea of what may stop you having a bestseller, you also know what you need to put in place to give your book.
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Let’s have a chat!
If you’d like a chat about formatting your books, then you can schedule a free, no-obligation call with me.
Just schedule a time in my diary.
