8 Out of 10 Books Don’t Sell More than 100 Copies
Just hit “enter” after you read a book and write that review!
Hope Clark wrote a post titled “When You Go to Amazon, Don’t Just Buy a Book” last Friday, and I have been thinking about it all week. The stat that really struck me was that “8 out of 10 books sell less than 100 copies on Amazon.” Maybe it’s because I HAVE a book for sale on Amazon, Couple Friends, that has yet to break this 100 books sold mark, but this post just made me sad. Think about all those authors that feel like a failure because they haven’t sold over 100 copies. In reality, even 100 copies doesn’t seem like much, but you can bet your ass I am now on a mission to hit that mark as soon as possible so I can rise above this grim reality.
How does this number make you feel? Does it bother you? Does it make you want to go out and buy more books? Do you suddenly want to show support to the authors that you love more now? I know I am biased because I am now an author as well as an avid reader, but I have a day marked off on my calendar next week to go through and leave reviews for every book I have ever loved (even if that book is already popular, but ESPECIALLY if it’s not) because I know firsthand that writing a novel is an excruciating experience, and these authors have worked damn hard to get their book out into the world.
If you’ve ever written an email, letter, or even a Facebook post that was of extreme importance, you already know what I mean. Heck, even if you’ve ever had an important conversation (who hasn’t?!) like the birds and the bees talk with your kids or the don’t do drugs speech, having to break up with someone, or even put in your two weeks’ notice at work, you know how painful it can be putting together the right words to say what you mean to say. Words can bring us joy, but they just as surely can bring pain. And trying to make sure you don’t have any mistakes, keep people interested, and tell a meaningful story that will actually make a difference in peoples’ lives by getting them to think about their own decisions and actions? It’s A LOT of pressure.
Writing is a weird career for a number of reasons, but probably the strangest aspect is that you have to get other people to root for you publicly in order to be a success. I guess every job has a measure of this because you will not advance if your boss and coworkers don’t like you and you don’t work hard. However, there are probably just a handful of individuals that you have to impress and get on your side in order to be a success in most industries. With writing books, you have to get hundreds (and of course, ideally thousands or even millions) of people to fall in love with your work and help spread the word about it in order to make a living from writing. There are no guarantees, no steady paychecks, no healthcare or retirement benefits (not that every job has these anymore, of course).
Clark’s post made me realize how authors really depend on us (and how I know this to be painfully true because I am living it with my book debuting two weeks ago). Isn’t helping spread the word about work we love (including art, photography, great food, and other creations) a small gesture we can all do more to help make a BIG impact on the life of the person who created it?
Are there some authors that you love that you could go leave a review on Amazon for today? Please leave a recommendation in the comments below of an author or book we should check out, and then click over to Amazon and leave some reviews. You WILL make an impact on that author’s life and livelihood 
