Did you know the average book—sold through a publisher—sells around 500 copies. When you take into account the phenomenal sellers that make the New York Times list…that means most books sell less than that. Most sell 400 or below.
I wrote a short e-book that sold 500 copies in less than two months. And no, it wasn’t free. It wasn’t even a book that has broad appeal. It’s for church workers who create sermon series’—very small audience. And I did it all without a publisher.
The world is a different place. I can, on my own, sell as many copies as I could with a publisher.
Now, I don’t really believe that. I believe a publisher will help me make a better product and reach more people. That’s why I’m opting to publish my devotional through Moody Publishers.
But the point I’m trying to make is that the old rules don’t apply anymore. You no longer have to go through the “big boys” of industry to be successful with anything you make. You could easily sell 500 copies, or even 5,000 copies like my friend Tim Schraeder, on your own.
You don’t need to wait until someone else gives you their seal of approval to start doing things.
I think so often we wait until all the stars align before we start on our big idea. We want the appropriate permission or the seal of approval from someone we consider larger than ourselves. But you don’t need it.
Yes, I think there’s still value in going with the industry “big boys”. But they don’t have to be your limiting factor. You can branch out on your own and still be successful. Pretty cool.
Where did you see a stat that the average book sells only 500 copies? And is this stat reached, if it is true, by averaging every book by every single person who uses CreateSpace on Amazon, or only by traditional publishing houses? I’m not sure I buy it. 🙂 You only land on the NYT lists if your sales are in the hundreds of thousands. Maybe tens of thousands on occasion, but I’m not sure of that. I think your post is a bit misleading.
Check it. 🙂 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110201173405AANfzfJ
http://stevelaube.com/what-are-average-book-sales/
Steve is a well-known agent and his comments are more accurate because they don’t cite one answer across the board. Averaging every copy of every book ever sold leaves you with an inaccurate number.
Noted. 🙂 Well I’m still happy with my 500 e-book sales. 😛