Book Sales

Several people have inquired about how the book sales are going, so I thought I would give you an update.

I don’t know.

There are many misconceptions out there regarding being a published author. One of the biggest is that you make a lot of money selling books. Unless your last name happens to be Rowling or Grisham, that is very unlikely. For every one of my books that sells on Amazon, I get about a dollar. When you consider the cost to hire an editor and cover artist, the first financial milestone is simply breaking even.

The second big hurdle is differentiation. With even less money available for discretionary spending, it is extremely important to offer something that sets your book apart from the millions of others. When my book was listed on Amazon, there were around 14 million other books available. Mine made it up to around the top 70,000 at one point, but has drifted down to around 1.9 millionth on the best seller list. I honestly have no idea how many copies have sold and, surprisingly, am not that concerned. My goal was not to be a best-selling author, but to impact a few lives.

When I got my first shipment books, I was frustrated to see a few grammatical errors that I thought I had corrected. I was also frustrated when I thought of wording that would have better communicated my message. Ultimately, I became very critical of my work. This frustration; however, was alleviated by emails and messages from readers that told me that the book really hit home with them and got them to carefully consider some of the struggles that they were having in their careers.

I realized that my self-critical approach was actually going against the foundation of the book itself. When I began writing the book, my desire was to put my experience on paper so that others could read it and hopefully realize that it is ok to question a career or direction in life that doesn’t feel right even if it does bring them a decent measure of “success”. When I began judging the book on a different basis, I was looking for false success. Remember from the book – success is the achievement of a desired outcome. In this case, that desired outcome has already come to pass. From here everything else, book sales included, is just gravy.

I do like gravy, though.

 

Book Availability

I should have posted this weeks ago, but my book is also available on Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com in addition to my publisher’s website. Amazon has free shipping with orders over $25.

 

My Book is Now Available!

My book is now available online. You can link here or click on “My Book” in the right margin to place an order. You probably won’t receive your copies before Christmas, but they make great gifts anyway. Other possible uses include: table levelers, fly swatters, posture training (with the book balanced on your head), door stops… the list goes on and on. Who knows, it may actually contain some little life-altering nugget.

Buy a copy, read it, and get another copy for someone that you think will benefit from this book’s message. If you don’t want to buy another copy, give someone your used copy. My goal is not to sell a ton of books, but to help change a few lives. Each of you knows of people who are sick of their careers and following the wrong path. This book may or may not help them, but it will get them to think about why they are pursuing success while living a life of insignificance.

Please feel free to comment on this blog after you have read the book and please spread the word. My marketing budget is too cheap to hire Billy Mays.

 

Another Book Update

Everything has been submitted to my publisher and my book should be available soon.  Here is a sneak peak of the cover.

 

Book Update

Things are moving along with my book, so I wanted to give you an update. My editor just sent me the clean edited version of the book that I am currently reading through and making the final changes on, the cover artist is finalizing the cover design and should have the finished product in a week or so, and I sent out some copies to be read and (hopefully) endorsed.  We’re still on target for a mid-September publishing date.

 

 This has been a great experience and a little scary too.  With this book, I’m putting my thoughts out there to be openly criticized by the general public.  Not everyone will like it, some will be offended, and some just won’t get it; but that is really what the book is all about.  I’ve been in the trenches with people who have become disgusted with their careers and I made the decision to get out and share my story with others so that they can see that it is possible to deny success and seek significance.  For me, I felt that my mission was to put my experience on paper so that others could read it and decide for themselves whether they were doing what they should be with their lives.

 

I have a stoic personality and this is some pretty sappy stuff for me.  Despite my stoic personality; however, I am passionate about helping people transform their lives to seek out their purpose.  That is what the book is all about – putting your pride and ego on hold so that you can pour yourself into the things that you are passionate about.

 

It’s still a battle.  As the publishing date draws near, I find myself yearning for it to be successful and sell a bunch of copies.  I have to check my emotions and focus on the purpose of this book.  If just a handful of people read this book and it leads to some sort transformation in their lives, I will consider it a success.  By redefining success, I take the focus off myself (as an author) and toward the readers.  As you will see in the book, this redefinition of success is what leads to fulfillment.