5 Business Things Writers Need to Know

So if you are an indie this will probably make more sense to you, but all authors need to know these things. These are the basics of business and it will improve your ability to sell your books.

1) The markets place does not care about you. I know that sounds harsh, but it's true. And it's true whether your business is writing or restaurants, books or hair spray. The market is a behemoth and impersonal, and though it is made up people, it cannot care about you or your feelings.

 

2) Don't let  your emotions get involved in the market. Another harsh, but true comment here. When dealing with a something as large as the market place a practical approach is best. Largely I've been able to reduce markets to check lists. Did you write your best work? Have you gotten a good platform? Do you have a place to advertise? Have you found a way to get reviews? Do you have something else coming in the pipeline? Do you know who your readers are?

 

You have to be able to answer all of those questions before you can make a sale. It's not really different than selling anything else, you're just doing it for you not some one else.

 

3) Most businesses fail due to lack of planning. I know if you look it up many articles will say under capitalization, but not having enough money to get your business up on it's feet is a failure of planning. In writing this usually means perseverance and the ability to connect with an audience. Plan on this taking a long time. I read somewhere that the typical best selling author takes 5 books. If you figure a publishing company is basically only willing to risk money on an author once a year, plan on it taking you five years to make good money at writing. Also make sure if you are an indie author that you pay for the things you need, a good editor and a great cover artist.

 

4) It's three times more expensive to get a new customer as it is to keep a customer. So read those reviews, especially the low starred reviews. I know it hurts, but if you get the same comments over and over again, this is where you are losing readers. Change it to get more fans.

 

5) On average the successful business person has five failures before they get a success. That means five times they have made their plan, spent money and become their own boss only to have it all go down the drain. It's difficult to lose a business and can wreak havoc on your relationships, but good business people learn from their mistakes and keep pushing on. They do find success and are generally optimistic people, believing in themselves. So believe in yourself, a good business person does this, and your dream is as important as theirs.

 

One last thing, if you think your writing is good enough and you're doing what everyone else is doing, but not getting the same result, it's time to get a better editor. It doesn't mean your writing is bad, it means you haven't hit the top of your craft yet. Don't give up, but the market is telling you something. Either your genre is really competitive and you have to up your game or you need something else to get eyeballs clicking on your books. What's your sell through rate. If you have a series, 30% is a good sell through rate and is about normal amongst other sales jobs. The higher your sell through rate, the better your writing. That's what you want to improve.

 

And if all of this seems brutal, well now you know why I write for a hobby and not for money.

 

Love,

 

Melanie