10 Lessons from Meeting 50+ Bestselling Authors
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Picture from one of my author dinners. Featuring James Clear, Ryder Carroll, and several more amazing authors.
Over the past few months I've been fortunate to meet 50+ amazing authors.
This includes NYT bestsellers, authors who've sold 1+ million books, and authors who've made millions of dollars from their books.
Here are 10 key lessons I've learned from them:
1) The BEST Way To Sell Books Changes Every 10 Years
In the 2000s, it was newspapers and magazines.
In 2010s, it was popular blogs and TV shows.
In 2020s, it's podcasts and social media.
Now it's TikTok shop and newsletters.
2) Test EVERYTHING
Writing a bestseller isn't luck, it's calculated.
James Clear tested 300 (!) different book covers for "Atomic Habits".
Take the time to test the title, subtitle, and cover with FB ads or Pickfu.
A small change can help sell 10x or 100x more books.
3) TONS of Books Are Written by Ghostwriters
This shouldn't be that surprising but most celebrities, influencers, and billionaires don't write their books.
Writing is a skill that takes YEARS to master.
Instead they'll just pay a ghostwriter $250k - $500k to write their book.
4) You Can Buy Your Way to The Top
Want to become a NYT bestselling author?
There are services you can pay $150k - $250k that will place bulk orders of your book so you hit the NYT list.
People do this to elevate their personal brand or to raise their speaking fees.
5) The Real Way To Become A NYT Author
The legit strategy to become a NYT bestselling author is to get 10,000-20,000 people to preorder your book.
All of those preorders count toward your first week of sales.
And those sales need to be hardcover books bought in the USA.
6) The Best Marketing Hack Is An Amazing Book
A mediocre book can become a bestseller if you have a big audience or put money behind it.
BUT sales will continue to drop every month after that.
Marketing is important but spending time writing an amazing book is more important.
7) How Authors Actually Get Rich
There's almost no money in selling books.
Most authors earn $2-3 from every book they sell.
BUT there's a ton of money in speaking.
Authors can charge $10,000-20,000 for a 1-HOUR talk.
And $50,000+ if they've sold 1M+ copies.
8) Being An Author Is The Perfect Level of Fame
Everyone likes authors.
If you go to an event or party and tell people you're an author, they respect.
You don't get paparazzi or stalkers.
I've been around several authors who've sold 1M+ books and no one recognizes them.
9) Book Publishers = Venture Capitalists
Publishers invest in authors the same way VCs invest in entrepreneurs.
Just as most startups fail, most authors sell almost no books.
But a handful of authors will sell 1M+ books which covers the losses and generates a profit.
10) It Takes A Village To Raise An Author
You can't become a successful author by yourself.
You need a:
-Copy editor
-Layout Designer
-Audiobook producer
-Book cover designer
-Developmental editor
-Group of beta readers
It takes a team to become successful.
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What questions do you have about authors/the publishing industry?
I'll try to answer them in a future post.
