A few weeks ago, we explored the essential question “What makes a memoir good?” First time (and second and third time) authors of course want their books to be good, but of course there’s also the pressure to be successful, which often feels like a different question and metric altogether. What makes a book successful depends on many factors, and while we see many misconceptions about book sales and expectations, what truly makes a book successful largely depends on what goals you have as an author. In part one of our four-part series about books sales, we are exploring how authors can both have clear and realistic expectations for the success of their book and adapt a mindset to help your book reach those goals.
Before we get into today’s post, we wanted to ask—do you have a plan for actually finishing your memoir? If not, we know you aren’t making the progress you hoped for. That’s why we developed The Memoir Method Checklist. This free guide (and video training!) will take you through every single step you need from idea to published marketable book. Grab it now at https://pageandpodium.com/checklist
Plant your flag
If you were in a wide-open space with few distinct landmarks, how long do you think you can go in a straight line? Experience tells us probably not as long or for as far as you think. Often we start to drifting to one side or another, so if you walked long enough, you may even get back to where you started. However, if you have a goal you can see and use as a landmark, like a big green flag, then you’re far more likely to be able to head in a straight line for it, making it much more likely that you’ll actually reach the flag and that you will be able to recognize when you have done so.
Many authors have difficulty planting a flag that represents their book being successful. Both self-doubt and a lack of industry understanding make it quite difficult to know how to plant that flag with confidence.
At a recent conference for marketing and promoting books for sale, a presenter was discussing this very topic, the timeline and strategies for a successful book launch, what questions authors need to answer to develop that strategy, and what kinds of help they may need to find or hire. One of the most common questions from the audience was to really define what a successful book launch meant. It quickly became clear that the audience wanted sales figures. There are myriad reasons why this question isn’t answerable with a specific numerical figure. And anyone who claims to be able to give even a ballpark figure of books sales, sight unseen and to a broad audience of many different authors, is likely trying to hook that audience into scam.
That is not to say that when planting your own “success flag” to aim for, having a sales figure in mind is impossible or that you shouldn’t aim high. We’re never here to tell you to dream small or give up before you even start.
When you’re moving from writing into publishing and making industry decisions, we do encourage you to write out you goals, including your sales goals, but also include those more nebulous and qualitative goals. Perhaps you hope your book will work in correlation with a speaking or academic career, or perhaps you hope your book connects to future generations to carry on as a form of legacy. Many of the writers we speak to express a desire to help an audience learn the same lessons they learned through their lived experiences, and we agree that there’s no better goal for a memoirist. Practically, this goal becomes even clearer when you can define that target audience in concrete terms. When you write these goals out clearly for yourself, you’re planting a flag you can walk towards in a straight line.
The book industry is not all or nothing
Often, as readers, we will get the impression about books that they somehow work differently than other products, especially in their sales numbers and figures. We assume the books we see and hear about must be the books everyone is reading and the sales figures are in the millions—but that is not usually the case because that’s not how book marketing and promotion really works. Book promotion is targeted and often the ones that are most successful are those that find ways to reach their ideal audience. This happens through many strategies and also through organic ways like word of mouth. The impression we have that books are either NYT best sellers or mediocre failures is a false dichotomy—there is enormous range of book sales that are successful at finding the audience the author wants to reach. And that, in the end, is what’s important—finding that audience.
In the memoir space specifically, there is even more of a growing trend towards niche. The better the industry is able to define and target that niche audience, the more strategies there are for getting the book in front of those readers and getting that crucial word-of-mouth traction that drives books sales.
Getting to know the space
As you prepare for your book launch and you have written out your goals—both concrete and personal—for your book in the market, we encourage you to spend some time getting to know that space. Go to the book store, either online or in person, explore book readers sites like Goodreads, and look for memoir titles that you haven’t heard of (ie, that are neither household names or being advertised to you in targeted ads) but that look like the type of book your audiences might also reach for. You audiences might be represented by multiple demographics and cross interests, so some of the books you reach for can appeal to part of your audience and others another part of your audience.
Take some time for the research and make it part of your regular routine as a writer whose preparing to publish a book. Read these books and consider what makes them good and appealing to audiences. Look at where they are being advertised and how they are finding their readers. This experience will not only function as market research and inspiration for your own strategies, but also show you what real sales figures for your kind of book really look like, so you can plant your flag for your personal goals.
PS. Searching the internet for writing, publishing, and book marketing advice can be exhausting to say the least! If you’re ready for hands on, one-on-one support for your memoir, check out The Memoir Method. We’d love to welcome you into this nine-month group program specially designed for women writing their first memoirs. And don’t forget, if you’d like to chat with Amanda about the program (or any other services we offer), you can book a free consult any time!
