Some possible reasons why your book is selling poorly
Books “fail” for many reasons. Here are some:
o
Your book stinks.
There are many ways for a book to stink.
o
Your cover is
ugly.
o
Your cover image
conflicts with your title or genre.
o
Your cover is an
indiscernible blob when reduced to “thumbnail” size on websites.
o
Your title is
confusing or vague and your subtitle doesn’t help.
o
Your name
conflicts with your genre. Pearl Zane Grey dropped the “Pearl” to write
macho westerns. Joanne Rowling became “J. K.” to attract teenage
boys to her books. If your last name is Hitler or Stalin, get a
nicer pen name for romance novels or books about flower arranging or etiquette.
o
Your title has
been used by other books. Maybe many other books.
o
You are being
confused with another author—or maybe someone with a bad reputation. If your
last name is Madoff, use another name for books about investing.
o
There are many
other nonfiction books covering the same subject and you have nothing new to
say. You have too many competitors and probably should not have published.
o
There are too
many novels in the same genre. You have too many competitors and probably
should not have published.
o
You wrote poetry.
Very few people buy poetry.
o
You didn’t work
hard enough at promoting your book. Not enough potential purchasers know it
exists.
o
You’re too
bashful to promote yourself.
o
Your book is hard
to find. It’s not available where people expect to buy it.
o
Your market is
too narrow—not enough people care about the subject.
o
Your price is
wrong. If too low, there’s not enough money for you, and the low price hurts the
book’s credibility. If it’s too high, you may scare readers or lose sales to
competitors.
o
Your book has
received either too many bad reviews or no reviews at all.
o
You tried to do
too much yourself and did not hire a professional editor and designer.
o
Your timing is
wrong. The book came out too soon or too late. You missed the peak of
popularity. The fad either never became big enough or went out of fashion
before the book was published. Sales of Jerome
Corsi’s book questioning President Obama’s birthplace dropped to
almost nothing because it was published after Obama released his birth
certificate. Pick a hot topic, and one that may stay hot, or at least warm, for
a few years.
o
Your thesis has
been disproved. Obama was NOT born in Kenya.
o
You used a
self-publishing company, and its services were overpriced, or the company did
not do all of the work you expected it to do, or it did not produce a
high-quality book, or it did lousy or inadequate promotion.
o
You spent too
much money on original photography or illustrations and did not have enough
money left to promote the book.
o
You don’t have a
website where potential purchasers—and book reviewers—can find more
information.
o
You think that
your work will end when you finish writing. Promoting may take more effort than
writing.
o
You don't know
enough about your subject.
o
Your book is too
short (it seems like too little for its price or seems that it may not
adequately cover the subject).
o
Your book is too
long (people have limited attention spans, many things to devote their
attention to, and they may not want to plow through 800 pages).
o
Your book is not
available in the formats people want (paperback, ebooks, maybe even hardback or
talking books).
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