How You Too Can Sell 80,000 Books—but Not by “Just Writing”

By guest blogger Alinka Rutkowska

Sitting on the porch from dawn to dusk, pouring genius thoughts and plots onto paper. Isn’t this every aspiring author’s fantasy? For most, however, it will remain only a fantasy. Why? Because an author who says, “I just want to write,” is like a company that says, “We just want to make things.” 

Artists and businesses share a common requirement to become successful: they must get the things they produce into the hands of consumers. This requires marketing. And to market your books effectively, you need to understand what your consumers—your readers—want. In the business world, this is called market research.

For authors, market research should start before writing a single word. How else can you know if what you want to write is what readers want to read? Market research should be built-in to your writing process. This is where most authors fall short. Instead of researching their readership first, they just start writing.

Writing a book that readers will want should guide everything you do as an author.  From the manuscript to the cover to the layout, you want to create a book product that readers will love. That takes market research. In fact, preparation through market research is the first step in becoming a financially successful author. Preparation is also the first “P” in the “4P” methodology that I have used to sell thousands of copies of my books. There other three—Place, Price and Promotion—are also necessary.

l walk you through my “4Ps” methodology in detail during my Bublish Lunch & Learn Webinar, “How You Too Can Sell 80,000 Books.” Access this free, live webinar by clicking the orange button below.