What Too Many of Us Experience After Publishing a Book
By: Gary A. Depaul, Phd, He Him His
Tags: Publishing, Books, Self Publishing, Books And Authors, Authors

If you’re looking for how Ryan made $75,000 with his first book, you’re reading the wrong blog.

What follows is for people who think that writing a book may be difficult, but discover that selling seems insurmountable! Using my last book as an example, I’ll walk you through my latest experience:

Phase one: the draft is ready!

I draft my book, and I’m excited. In a few weeks, I’ll have my second published leadership book! This time, I’m going to self-publish and use all the marketing tactics that I learned since publishing my first book.

Phase two: pre-publication marketing

During the editing phase, I start using all the pre-publication marketing techniques that I learned from experts. Not all the tactics work. Some were costly mistakes. Live and learn.

After revisions, I’m ready to publish my book.

Phase three: time to publish

I manage the self-publishing process without issues. The process isn’t as challenging as I thought. Afterward, I now have a published paperback and ebook! I feel like I accomplished a milestone.

Once published, I work on the audiobook. I hire a narrator and get started. The narration takes longer than expected, and the publishing company takes twice as long to complete the quality checks. Thank you, COVID.

Three months later, my audiobook is published!

Phase Four: friends and colleagues buy the book

While going through the audiobook publication process, I kick into marketing. I schedule several social-media posts. I even have a few podcast appearances, but most won’t air until 2021. Regardless, I continue full steam to get the word out.

Excited, I watch the sales increase, and my book starts to make the best-seller lists for new releases. A dozen or so buyers even leave positive reviews on the retailer’s webpage for the book. I’m feeling positive.

Phase five: the inevitable happens

Five to six weeks later, sales drop. Not discouraged, I continue marketing, but the negative trend continues.

Disappointed, I watch the flow of sales become a slow and painful drip…

drip…

drip…

What a letdown!

Photo by Susan Yin on Unsplash

The reality: business book competitors

I learned something about my competition and the business book landscape.

ProQuest has a public database that includes scholarly journals, newspapers, videos, wire feeds, and books (to name a few). When I searched their database for keywords, I found this:

Leadership entries

Last 12 months: 36,027

One month: 1,960

Sample titles: Agile Leadership | Love-Based Leadership | Reflexive Leadership in Context

Last 12 months: 36,027 One month: 1,960 Sample titles: Agile Leadership | Love-Based Leadership | Reflexive Leadership in Context Management entries

Last 12 months: 52,674

One month: 2,834

Sample titles: Supply Risk Management | Portfolio Management Practice

Last 12 months: 52,674 One month: 2,834 Sample titles: Supply Risk Management | Portfolio Management Practice Communication entries

Last 12 months: 57,142

One month: 3,059

Sample titles: Communication Protocols | The Communication Solution

Last 12 months: 57,142 One month: 3,059 Sample titles: Communication Protocols | The Communication Solution (just for the fun of it) Dragon entries:

Last 12 months: 19,035

One month: 678

Sample titles: The Dragon Queen of Jupiter | Shadow of the Dragon

Except for the last keyword, I realized that the magnitude of other leadership books. If I had discovered this before writing my books, I don’t know what would have changed. Maybe my expectations would be more realistic.

Before my first book, several colleagues warned me not to expect much from sales. Instead, they recommended using your published books to demonstrate my expertise. They said, “Think of the book as a business card. If you meet prospective clients, give them your book, which helps sell your services.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

A lesson in equity

Last month, Joe Scarborough published his book about Truman entitled Saving Freedom. On the bestseller list, Amazon ranked it at 416. As he appeared on several talk shows, I became envious. Because of his platform and probably with his agent’s connections (something I couldn’t afford), he had instant access to sales channels that most authors wouldn’t think possible.

Reflecting on his sales, I learned two things:

First, Scarborough spent years building his platform. From law school to public service to having his own political show (and several incremental steps between), he grew his platform. Along the way, people gave support and opened opportunities.

If you think about it. If Scarborough published his Truman book after graduating from law school, most likely he would have sold a couple of hundred copies at most.

When looking at someone’s rapid sales, you don’t see the years of work and hardship that went into achieving a bestseller.

Second, I learned a lesson in equity. While many middle-class Americans have had help or “hand-ups” throughout their career, too many don’t. Black Americans born in poverty come to mind. Not only is there an absence of help, but there is a substantial amount of pressure against them. Doors with opportunities seem to open for certain types of people.

Think about the COVID-19 PPP business loan program. The established and prosperous businesses with bank relations acquired loans successfully. With the advantage of their circumstances, they built their business and bank relationships, which made obtaining loans effortlessly. The government, though, intended the loans to go to the less profitable small businesses. Without established banking relationships, too many small businesses couldn’t acquire loans.

Equality is making PPP business loans available for all organizations. Inequity happens when large businesses have unfair access to loans. For equity to occur, the government needed to provide additional support for the targeted population. That didn’t happen, and small businesses continue to close.

Photo by Usman Yousaf on Unsplash

Publishing aside, authoring is extraordinary

Regardless of your publication experience, writing a book is rewarding. When finished, you’ve accomplished something unique.

In 2019, the U.S. had more than 45,000 writers and authors. Even considering those not counted, that’s a small percentage of the population. I know several authors, but I also know a lot more who want to write at least one book and haven’t.

After writing your first book, you join the few who call themselves an author.

If writing a book for its own sake isn’t enough, getting your book to your target audience may be your challenge. I struggle with this, but I know that it takes persistent effort to build your platform and grow your audience. To get there, leverage Medium to discover tactics that make a difference.

One more thing…

I continue to build my platform. My Medium audience grows, and I continue to connect with people interested in leadership.

One new thing I’m doing is podcasting. I began as a guest, but I’m starting my own show on January 5, 2021.

While there are thousands of leadership books, I could only find about 30 leadership podcasts (give or take a few depending on what you consider to be a leadership podcast).

My podcast is called Unlabeled Leadership, and I already have twenty guests set to record episodes. Initially, I don’t expect a huge following. If I publish episodes frequently and consistently, though, I have a chance to build a respectful audience in a year. Either that or I’ll write a blog about the hardships of podcasting. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the journey!

About the author

Gary is a Leadership Author, Researcher, Consultant, and Podcast Guest. His latest book, What the Heck Is Leadership and Why Should I Care?, is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook. You can learn more about Gary and his other books at https://www.garyadepaul.com.