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Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book
Tim has worked with over 100 different authors from top best sellers such as Hugh Howey, Daniel Pink, Charles Duhigg, Chip and Dan Heath, Ramit Sethi and Pamela Slim to authors just get started on their first writing project. He has worked with authors across all fiction and non-fiction genres. Along with his client work, he has studied many other successful authors to learn what works and what doesn't.
The result is Your First 1000 Copies where he walks you through the Connection System, a plan that every author can immediately start using. The plan looks like this:
Permission - How to open up communication with your readers where you can reliably engage them and invite them to be involved.
Content - How to use content to engage with current readers and connect with new ones.
Outreach - How to ethically and politely introduce yourself to new readers.
Sell - How all of these steps can naturally lead to book sales without being pushy or annoying
Track - How to use modern online tools to see what's working and what's not working, and how to make decisions based on data.
This is a system that any author can immediately put in place to start building their platform. Whether you're a seasoned author looking to step into the new publishing landscape, or you're a brand new author, Your First 1000 Copies will give you the tools to connect with readers and sell more books.
The result is Your First 1000 Copies where he walks you through the Connection System, a plan that every author can immediately start using. The plan looks like this:
Permission - How to open up communication with your readers where you can reliably engage them and invite them to be involved.
Content - How to use content to engage with current readers and connect with new ones.
Outreach - How to ethically and politely introduce yourself to new readers.
Sell - How all of these steps can naturally lead to book sales without being pushy or annoying
Track - How to use modern online tools to see what's working and what's not working, and how to make decisions based on data.
This is a system that any author can immediately put in place to start building their platform. Whether you're a seasoned author looking to step into the new publishing landscape, or you're a brand new author, Your First 1000 Copies will give you the tools to connect with readers and sell more books.
147 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2013
232 people are currently reading
1320 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 312 reviews
January 14, 2016
As I recently self-published a book of my own, I take great interest in any source of new information regarding improving my writing and bolstering my book sales, so this book certainly felt like something worthwhile. It also came recommended to me by several people with varying degrees of familiarity with the work. In review of the synopsis and looking over the author's credentials, I has to agree that this seemed like a good read. It had good reviews too so I figured this would be well worth a purchase. I'm all about improving myself personally and professionally, but find that self-help and advice books fall flat all too often so I have become a bit skeptical of them. Upon seeing all the positive reviews and reading the lengthy synopsis, I was excited that I finally found something that might actually help me in the way that I need.
What I got, was just not anything that met my hopes for the book in any way. Disappointing and dishonest are the main words that come to mind here. The advice within this work manages to be inconceivably vague despite coming from a supremely narrow experiences. In terms of what I actually think of it, it's actually a 1 for me and only gets a 2 because of some general tips that should be common sense, but many indie authors have proven otherwise. I also got a new idea or two for my own platform which might sound positive but those ideas come more from the spirit of what was said rather than what was actually being said.
ADVICE
I found most of the advice in this book to either be vague or nonsensical. Sure, there are good points about how authors shouldn't spam their twitter followers with countless posts about the same thing or go around demanding attention for their work as if the world owes them something. When it comes to this sort of thing, the advice of what not to do is totally valid. The problem is that those who are reading this book probably care enough about being successful and establishing a positive reputation that they aren't the ones guilty of those types of offenses. It's effectively a "preaching to the choir" type of scenario on this end - at least so far as I see it.
Next up are the bits of "advice" that are really just sweeping and unhelpful. There's a chapter on providing marketing content that effectively states that authors should provide worthwhile marketing content. The book never really bothers to provide examples about what might constitute good, worthwhile content for a fiction author. It provides one or two examples from authors that the writer of this book has worked with, but all of his clients seem to come from self-help and professional development sort of backgrounds so the type of marketing content they provide is NOT going to be what a fan of fiction cares about. If you happen to have an interest in non-fiction writing that is intended to improve people's lives, then please note that YOU may very well like this book. The problem for me is that this is in no way indicative of the type of books I want to write and I feel like this should have been a book marketed as something that only really applies to those who want to successfully write within this niche field. If you're like me and prefer fiction writing then the rest of this review will probably be of interest to you.
As a precursor to the next main section of this review, I want to say how a lot of advice seemed utterly ludicrous to me. The author seems to have strong feelings against social media and prefers things like email lists and pop up ads. I'm sorry but email lists and popup ads?! I have never clicked on a popup advertisement, in fact, if it looks sketchy enough, I literally close that web page and never come back. And as far as email lists go, they do make sense for the type of marketing content that HIS PARTICULAR clients would be providing, but I do not want a fiction author in my inbox, even one I really like. Unless it is a direct interaction that an author is having with me like asking for a review swap or exchanging publishing advice, I really just don't have an interest in emails from authors. At the very most, what I will do is email subscribe to their blog feed. Blogs, in fact are my preferred way of getting updates from the authors I care about and social media - twitter in particular is something I've been getting more engaged in (now that I've un-followed the really spammy writers who were dominating my feed with shamelessly repetitive advertisements and self-promotion). Fortunately this book does bring up blogs as a good way to connect with readers and other writers, but again, the details of how to do this correctly are so hopelessly obscure.
FACTS/INFORMATION
I mentioned above that I had a lot of beef with this author's stance on what tools are good and why. He practically trashes social media in one chapter only to backpedal a bit later on and say how it can be good as a supplement. He is correct in saying that the number of likes to a page does not reflect sales, but you can absolutely use social media as a good way to spread the word about things, its just difficult - like every other form of marketing. He also cited some ridiculous "fact" about how people read only 1% of their news-feeds on social media sites and that the percentage of emails read is much higher. I don't know if it's just an age demographic thing, but I DO NOT read even close to half of the emails that come in, but I WILL read just about everything that shows up on my main feeds. I won't continuously scroll so that more content loads so maybe that's where the 1% comes from since the concept of the feed isn't really defined. It just felt like a really wishy washy fact and a lot of the alleged statistics here definitely felt the same. It might seem arrogant to call out someone who has built up successful marketing platforms, but fishy facts are fishy facts and I just had a really bad gut feeling about nearly everything this author tried to convince me of.
The opinions felt incredible dated and inaccurate despite this being published in 2013. There are tools like Goodreads that I don't recall him touching upon at all and he never really gets into the most important part of book sales: REVIEWS!!! Maybe he mentioned these things in one fleeting statement or two, but it certainly wasn't substantial enough for me to recall even if it was there.
CONTENT/TONE
There's one part where the author gives the example of the shady car salesman and how he is someone who only really cares about selling you the car that is right for him and not necessarily for you. It's easy to shut down and walk off the lot upset because any functional person is going to know when someone is trying to manipulate them into something they don't want to do. The feeling is even worse when we realize that someone has actually succeeded in said manipulation. This is absolutely the the case with authors since there a lot of ways that a writer can oversell or falsely advertise their book. My problem with this point is that I felt like the author is guilty of being the selfish salesman. He's very patronizing in his tone and I think he just tries too hard to make himself sound more knowledgeable than he really is. That sounds insanely harsh, but the bottom line is he keeps bringing up HIS clients and their experiences, none of which felt applicable to ME. This book felt like a car that a salesman tricked me into buying - a purchase that I now somewhat regret. Maybe I still needed that car like I need this information, but at the end of the day, what I ended up with isn't something that fit those needs and now I need to look elsewhere. I feel this is something that needed to have a more specific focus because the way that it tries to be all encompassing, is not only disappointing, but also just plain dishonest.
CONCLUSION
The spirit of this information is simply just a lot more useful than the information itself. It may very well be worth a read to authors who need that high-level overview of book marketing as a general topic, but those genuinely looking for concrete assistance in building a solid marketing platform will probably be just as disappointed as I am. I mentioned before that this thing is really well reviewed so it feels weird that I was so utterly disenchanted with it. If ever there was a review where I'd love to see some comments either in agreement or disagreement with my opinions, this would definitely be the one. Maybe I'm just missing something or too stuck in my ways to see the stroke of genius here. If that is the case, I would be grateful to have it pointed out to me.
What I got, was just not anything that met my hopes for the book in any way. Disappointing and dishonest are the main words that come to mind here. The advice within this work manages to be inconceivably vague despite coming from a supremely narrow experiences. In terms of what I actually think of it, it's actually a 1 for me and only gets a 2 because of some general tips that should be common sense, but many indie authors have proven otherwise. I also got a new idea or two for my own platform which might sound positive but those ideas come more from the spirit of what was said rather than what was actually being said.
ADVICE
I found most of the advice in this book to either be vague or nonsensical. Sure, there are good points about how authors shouldn't spam their twitter followers with countless posts about the same thing or go around demanding attention for their work as if the world owes them something. When it comes to this sort of thing, the advice of what not to do is totally valid. The problem is that those who are reading this book probably care enough about being successful and establishing a positive reputation that they aren't the ones guilty of those types of offenses. It's effectively a "preaching to the choir" type of scenario on this end - at least so far as I see it.
Next up are the bits of "advice" that are really just sweeping and unhelpful. There's a chapter on providing marketing content that effectively states that authors should provide worthwhile marketing content. The book never really bothers to provide examples about what might constitute good, worthwhile content for a fiction author. It provides one or two examples from authors that the writer of this book has worked with, but all of his clients seem to come from self-help and professional development sort of backgrounds so the type of marketing content they provide is NOT going to be what a fan of fiction cares about. If you happen to have an interest in non-fiction writing that is intended to improve people's lives, then please note that YOU may very well like this book. The problem for me is that this is in no way indicative of the type of books I want to write and I feel like this should have been a book marketed as something that only really applies to those who want to successfully write within this niche field. If you're like me and prefer fiction writing then the rest of this review will probably be of interest to you.
As a precursor to the next main section of this review, I want to say how a lot of advice seemed utterly ludicrous to me. The author seems to have strong feelings against social media and prefers things like email lists and pop up ads. I'm sorry but email lists and popup ads?! I have never clicked on a popup advertisement, in fact, if it looks sketchy enough, I literally close that web page and never come back. And as far as email lists go, they do make sense for the type of marketing content that HIS PARTICULAR clients would be providing, but I do not want a fiction author in my inbox, even one I really like. Unless it is a direct interaction that an author is having with me like asking for a review swap or exchanging publishing advice, I really just don't have an interest in emails from authors. At the very most, what I will do is email subscribe to their blog feed. Blogs, in fact are my preferred way of getting updates from the authors I care about and social media - twitter in particular is something I've been getting more engaged in (now that I've un-followed the really spammy writers who were dominating my feed with shamelessly repetitive advertisements and self-promotion). Fortunately this book does bring up blogs as a good way to connect with readers and other writers, but again, the details of how to do this correctly are so hopelessly obscure.
FACTS/INFORMATION
I mentioned above that I had a lot of beef with this author's stance on what tools are good and why. He practically trashes social media in one chapter only to backpedal a bit later on and say how it can be good as a supplement. He is correct in saying that the number of likes to a page does not reflect sales, but you can absolutely use social media as a good way to spread the word about things, its just difficult - like every other form of marketing. He also cited some ridiculous "fact" about how people read only 1% of their news-feeds on social media sites and that the percentage of emails read is much higher. I don't know if it's just an age demographic thing, but I DO NOT read even close to half of the emails that come in, but I WILL read just about everything that shows up on my main feeds. I won't continuously scroll so that more content loads so maybe that's where the 1% comes from since the concept of the feed isn't really defined. It just felt like a really wishy washy fact and a lot of the alleged statistics here definitely felt the same. It might seem arrogant to call out someone who has built up successful marketing platforms, but fishy facts are fishy facts and I just had a really bad gut feeling about nearly everything this author tried to convince me of.
The opinions felt incredible dated and inaccurate despite this being published in 2013. There are tools like Goodreads that I don't recall him touching upon at all and he never really gets into the most important part of book sales: REVIEWS!!! Maybe he mentioned these things in one fleeting statement or two, but it certainly wasn't substantial enough for me to recall even if it was there.
CONTENT/TONE
There's one part where the author gives the example of the shady car salesman and how he is someone who only really cares about selling you the car that is right for him and not necessarily for you. It's easy to shut down and walk off the lot upset because any functional person is going to know when someone is trying to manipulate them into something they don't want to do. The feeling is even worse when we realize that someone has actually succeeded in said manipulation. This is absolutely the the case with authors since there a lot of ways that a writer can oversell or falsely advertise their book. My problem with this point is that I felt like the author is guilty of being the selfish salesman. He's very patronizing in his tone and I think he just tries too hard to make himself sound more knowledgeable than he really is. That sounds insanely harsh, but the bottom line is he keeps bringing up HIS clients and their experiences, none of which felt applicable to ME. This book felt like a car that a salesman tricked me into buying - a purchase that I now somewhat regret. Maybe I still needed that car like I need this information, but at the end of the day, what I ended up with isn't something that fit those needs and now I need to look elsewhere. I feel this is something that needed to have a more specific focus because the way that it tries to be all encompassing, is not only disappointing, but also just plain dishonest.
CONCLUSION
The spirit of this information is simply just a lot more useful than the information itself. It may very well be worth a read to authors who need that high-level overview of book marketing as a general topic, but those genuinely looking for concrete assistance in building a solid marketing platform will probably be just as disappointed as I am. I mentioned before that this thing is really well reviewed so it feels weird that I was so utterly disenchanted with it. If ever there was a review where I'd love to see some comments either in agreement or disagreement with my opinions, this would definitely be the one. Maybe I'm just missing something or too stuck in my ways to see the stroke of genius here. If that is the case, I would be grateful to have it pointed out to me.
June 4, 2017
If there is only one book you’ll read on book marketing, make it this one. It’ll take you less than two hours, and it’ll give you a clear roadmap on where to go and what to do and how, plus lots of resources along the way for you to accomplish it. A little gem of a book I wish I’d read earlier in my writing career. SO GET ON IT.
November 22, 2013
I found this book to be straightforward, easy to read, and full of excellent marketing tips for authors. Although it is aimed at those who self-publish, it is applicable to any author, as publishers nowadays do very little to market the books they print. The best thing about it is that the marketing ideas are easily applied by new authors as well as those who have some experience marketing their books. So often, I find books like this are written for those who have very advanced technological skills, and those who aren't there yet can't apply the advice. Or the advice is really for non-fiction writers. This book, however, is equally useful to fiction writers and non-fiction writers. I highly recommend this book to any author from beginner to intermediate levels in their book marketing skills.
Tim Grahl always gives good, practical, down-to-earth advice and tips. So often I follow a "teaser" to attend a free webinar or receive free advice on someone's blog or in their newsletter, and it turns out all I get is more promises of what I'll get if I buy his/her book or take the paid course. Tim Grahl NEVER does that. When he offers free advice, he gives free, excellent, useful advice and marketing tips. Any author who hasn't checked out his website and enrolled in his newsletter, is really missing out.
Tim Grahl always gives good, practical, down-to-earth advice and tips. So often I follow a "teaser" to attend a free webinar or receive free advice on someone's blog or in their newsletter, and it turns out all I get is more promises of what I'll get if I buy his/her book or take the paid course. Tim Grahl NEVER does that. When he offers free advice, he gives free, excellent, useful advice and marketing tips. Any author who hasn't checked out his website and enrolled in his newsletter, is really missing out.
February 1, 2020
This book is like a mirror, or the reflection in the water, showing you all your business scars, wrinkles and flaws, but also the ways and means to correct them. No one claims it’s easy; it takes time, effort, and commitment, but it can be done. Building a Connection System to fuel your platform and connect with your fans and readers could be the way for the first thousand copies you sell, and then even more books. For those thinking of a successful and long-term writing career, this guide will be a great help.
May 20, 2015
Clear, concise, and open for interpretation between fiction and non-fiction writers. I would probably give this a 4.5 because I wish he focused more on fiction authors in some sections, which leads me to figure out ways to adapt certain tactics. Can't wait to implement some of his ideas.
June 16, 2014
At a general level this is a book well worth reading, simple to digest with pragmatic advice - But it´s missing something important for new authors & those new to assembling their social media platform presence (SMP) de novo (esp. www-site/blogging around your area of expertise).
This book is predicated on Tim´s Connection System: Permission, Content, Outreach, and Sell. Within each chapter he provides good common sense / practical guidance on how to implement this system. HOWEVER - look at the title "Your first 1000 copies" and his first system component "Permission" i.e. getting email addresses from your readers &/or via your SMP. Permission assumes the person bought the book and/or has accessed you via your social media platform (esp. www-site/blog) and you have been effective in getting their email, whereupon the 3 other parts of the system can be implemented. Its a little bit of chicken & egg here because you need readers who have bought your book and then subscribed to your list, or you already have a SMP presence and have been establishing email permissions beforehand (or still need to). In my view this book could have gone further in detail in focusing on how to actually promote & market (1-2-1 or 1-2-many tactics & channels; this is not an easy thing to figure out...). This latter point is a huge learning curve in itself, and i did not really find this book helpful in this regard. In my view the connection system is a little more medium term in impact (1 year plus), and longer term if you need to build your online/niche expertise. Bottom line, in my view, is its only half the answer.
Would i buy this book to receive guidance on selling my first 1000 copies if i was starting from scratch; NO, not by itself because its missing marketing & promo tactics while this system delivers. Would i buy this upfront to ensure i guide tomorrow´s author platform (1 year plus out) and guide this system´s implementation; ABSOLUTELY YES. In that regard its a good book.
This book is predicated on Tim´s Connection System: Permission, Content, Outreach, and Sell. Within each chapter he provides good common sense / practical guidance on how to implement this system. HOWEVER - look at the title "Your first 1000 copies" and his first system component "Permission" i.e. getting email addresses from your readers &/or via your SMP. Permission assumes the person bought the book and/or has accessed you via your social media platform (esp. www-site/blog) and you have been effective in getting their email, whereupon the 3 other parts of the system can be implemented. Its a little bit of chicken & egg here because you need readers who have bought your book and then subscribed to your list, or you already have a SMP presence and have been establishing email permissions beforehand (or still need to). In my view this book could have gone further in detail in focusing on how to actually promote & market (1-2-1 or 1-2-many tactics & channels; this is not an easy thing to figure out...). This latter point is a huge learning curve in itself, and i did not really find this book helpful in this regard. In my view the connection system is a little more medium term in impact (1 year plus), and longer term if you need to build your online/niche expertise. Bottom line, in my view, is its only half the answer.
Would i buy this book to receive guidance on selling my first 1000 copies if i was starting from scratch; NO, not by itself because its missing marketing & promo tactics while this system delivers. Would i buy this upfront to ensure i guide tomorrow´s author platform (1 year plus out) and guide this system´s implementation; ABSOLUTELY YES. In that regard its a good book.
April 2, 2017
This little book is packed with information that I can't wait to apply to my next book release. My last book release had me dreading promotion, but Tim Grahl's handbook has given me the tools and the perspective to dive into the next book launch with gusto. I can't believe how helpful this book is! Thanks, Tim!
July 7, 2014
This book is easy to read and easy to comprehend. For a tech-challenged fantasy lover like myself, some of the suggestions are less easy to implement (Start a blog? Create a legal mailing list?), but I did it, and if I can do it, believe me, so can you. And if you really can't, get a teen to help you. I still don't 'have it all together', but I'm doing better as an author and I'm having more fun than I used to. Mr. Grahl's teaching on building a platform and marketing is SO important, and putting it into practice has opened all kinds of doors for me. I write fantasy, totally fiction, but I've still been able to build a viable platform and follow the 'relentlessly helpful' method. Will I be the next Suzanne Collins? Probably not, because I have a kind of small niche, but I'm already seeing that I have a much bigger audience than I originally thought I would.
I should probably mention that Your First 1000 Copies and the posts on Mr. Grahl's blog are intended for people who are selling or intend to sell a worthy product. It's not a get-rich-trick-people-into-buying-your-book way of doing things. It's hard work, but it's rewarding and I've enjoyed most of it while doing it.
I've decided not to go into any detail on specifics within the book. You can read the table of contents for an idea, and better yet, you can subscribe to Mr. Grahl's blog for all kinds of free information. I admit that I followed him for a while, slowly putting his ideas into practice, before I bought the book. I wanted to see if there was anything to it before I invested any actual money in it. I have not been disappointed.
I also want to say that you don't have to be a writer to get something out of this book. The principles are foundational to any kind of internet sales, and really, to sales in general. A fantastic book that I'll continue to return to for as long as I'm in this business.
I should probably mention that Your First 1000 Copies and the posts on Mr. Grahl's blog are intended for people who are selling or intend to sell a worthy product. It's not a get-rich-trick-people-into-buying-your-book way of doing things. It's hard work, but it's rewarding and I've enjoyed most of it while doing it.
I've decided not to go into any detail on specifics within the book. You can read the table of contents for an idea, and better yet, you can subscribe to Mr. Grahl's blog for all kinds of free information. I admit that I followed him for a while, slowly putting his ideas into practice, before I bought the book. I wanted to see if there was anything to it before I invested any actual money in it. I have not been disappointed.
I also want to say that you don't have to be a writer to get something out of this book. The principles are foundational to any kind of internet sales, and really, to sales in general. A fantastic book that I'll continue to return to for as long as I'm in this business.
December 18, 2014
A really valuable book. This man knows more than all these 'gurus' who sell courses. Good, solid advice from a man who walks the walk and who has helped countless people. I've recommended it to other people.
July 10, 2021
I am an Author myself so these writing-self-help books are always enjoyable to me! I can read through these kinds of books very quickly! "Your First 1,000 copies" by Tim Grahl was no different. This book is a step-by-step guide to marketing your book. The author even adds 'Chapter Takeaways' or bullet point topics after each chapter. Tim talks about the winning system of connecting to your readers long-term and building lasting relationships that will serve as future book sales, add-on's to email lists and so much more! He stresses that an author should be helpful with their content, using online tools and social media resources as much as possible. Tim gives great advice about building your email list, adding subscriptions and how to produce greater content and giveaway's, citing specific examples from successful authors. There's is a lot of genuine wisdom in this book and I rate it 5-stars!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2025
A practical, straightforward, guide that left me feeling pumped for the long term of marketing my books rather than overwhelmed.
I read the ebook and immediately I’m going to order a physical copy to highlight!
The focus is all about serving your audience and pointing them to your email list. Two ideas I’ve heard before and completely stand behind. I haven’t had it all put together quite so straightforward though!
I read the ebook and immediately I’m going to order a physical copy to highlight!
The focus is all about serving your audience and pointing them to your email list. Two ideas I’ve heard before and completely stand behind. I haven’t had it all put together quite so straightforward though!
December 17, 2018
Lots of food for thought, with some actionable ideas. Somewhat vague in areas, but good for anyone whose looking for ideas to market his or her book.
December 11, 2021
Mr. Grahl gives those writers seeking a path to marketing their books a solid foundation, following some basic concepts of sales: provide a service, make personal connections and relationships, offer values and give away free content. A good resource.
January 1, 2018
Great system
This book has been an eye opener for me. I'm an aspiring author and reading this book allowed to better understand what works and why. I was about to fall into the same pitfalls as many authors. This system is comprehensive, easy enough to apply and Tim Grahl explained the reasoning behind each step, which makes this system, a well educated and applicable process.
I would recommend this book to any authors because information provided is applicable to all writers.
This is a great read and an amazing share! I love the concept from top to bottom.
This book has been an eye opener for me. I'm an aspiring author and reading this book allowed to better understand what works and why. I was about to fall into the same pitfalls as many authors. This system is comprehensive, easy enough to apply and Tim Grahl explained the reasoning behind each step, which makes this system, a well educated and applicable process.
I would recommend this book to any authors because information provided is applicable to all writers.
This is a great read and an amazing share! I love the concept from top to bottom.
May 12, 2020
This is my second time reading this book, this time while taking careful notes and making actionable to-do lists.
I feel like my brain is crammed with so much important information and I'm trying to make sure it all sticks. 😳
I keep recommending this book to other authors, and after a second reading I definitely stand by that recommendation!
I feel like my brain is crammed with so much important information and I'm trying to make sure it all sticks. 😳
I keep recommending this book to other authors, and after a second reading I definitely stand by that recommendation!
dnf
April 25, 2017Not even done with my outline yet BUT let's have a glance in case it has some kernel or pearl portion of wisdom that I should be embracing well-before it's all said and done.
April 14, 2014
Must read for self-published authors. Great info!
April 26, 2014
Super helpful look at the self-publishing world. More practical advice than Seth Godin (under whom Grahl studied) but equally inspiring.
May 31, 2018
I’ve been a professional book marketer for a dozen years, but I’m never not looking to learn from others in the game. Tim and his book have been on my radar for years; I’ve attended his webinars, watched his videos, and learned from his content.
When I stumbled upon his book that’s been in my pile for almost five years, I had to read it if just to find a different way of working with authors to make them better, even just a new case study or metaphor.
Of course this book has them (even some case studies from books I’ve worked on!). And it can either help you get started if you don’t know how to start or feel confident that you’re already well on your way.
But it’s very basic 101 marketing stuff, more focused on mindset (“If you want to sell your books, you have to ask people to buy. And you have to be enthusiastic when you ask. You have to believe that you’re being relentlessly helpful in every area of your platform, and that the offer to buy is a fair and honest part of that system.”) and what he calls The Connection System (seek permission; share content; engage in outreach; then sell) with emphasis on building your email list, developing relevant useful inbound content, retaining and converting that audience into sales, repeat.
And we know this works, no matter what the fancy new social tools are, because it has worked for years and continue to work for authors today. There’s no shortcut or magic bullet. So I enjoyed this short focused manifesto but realize unless you’re trying to market a book (or packaged content), it may not be for you of course.
When I stumbled upon his book that’s been in my pile for almost five years, I had to read it if just to find a different way of working with authors to make them better, even just a new case study or metaphor.
Of course this book has them (even some case studies from books I’ve worked on!). And it can either help you get started if you don’t know how to start or feel confident that you’re already well on your way.
But it’s very basic 101 marketing stuff, more focused on mindset (“If you want to sell your books, you have to ask people to buy. And you have to be enthusiastic when you ask. You have to believe that you’re being relentlessly helpful in every area of your platform, and that the offer to buy is a fair and honest part of that system.”) and what he calls The Connection System (seek permission; share content; engage in outreach; then sell) with emphasis on building your email list, developing relevant useful inbound content, retaining and converting that audience into sales, repeat.
And we know this works, no matter what the fancy new social tools are, because it has worked for years and continue to work for authors today. There’s no shortcut or magic bullet. So I enjoyed this short focused manifesto but realize unless you’re trying to market a book (or packaged content), it may not be for you of course.
October 18, 2017
I know Tim Grahl does great work, but this was even more useful than I expected. His 'connection' system is based on sound marketing principles, is well explained, well set out, and given good examples. That's what I expected from him. The 'bonus' material is online and integrated seamlessly. Tim is as he suggests we be: relentlessly helpful.
What I didn't expect and also really value are the "this is how the big kids play" insights that pepper the book. Sometimes the mindset is what helps to completely reframe activities and issues. Plus, he's a friendly, intelligent guy and his voice makes for nice company when you're sitting alone in your study wondering why the hell you try putting all these words together.
I made a lot of notes and I know I'll be referring to this book in the future.
What I didn't expect and also really value are the "this is how the big kids play" insights that pepper the book. Sometimes the mindset is what helps to completely reframe activities and issues. Plus, he's a friendly, intelligent guy and his voice makes for nice company when you're sitting alone in your study wondering why the hell you try putting all these words together.
I made a lot of notes and I know I'll be referring to this book in the future.
March 25, 2021
A bit outdated in parts, a bit repetitive, more geared towards non-fiction writers, but easy to read and useful basic advice. Wish it had more examples for fiction writers, e.g. re: content marketing.
October 17, 2021
Um livro fabuloso e que nos ajuda a refletir sobre a importância de nos mantermos conectados aos nossos leitores e na melhor forma para tal. Pela mutação constante do mercado, seria interessante uma nova edição adaptada aos tempos modernos.
July 9, 2017
3.5 stars. Useful information that is good to know, if a bit repetitive.
February 11, 2014
How would life be different if you had 5,000 friends you could reach out to tell about your new venture? How would 15,000 fans of You, Inc. change your luck? Would it make it easier to launch a company and get traction with 50,000 person engaged mailing list? Sounds impossible? Most startup founders don’t even try. What if there was a book that gave you step-by-step advice on how to accomplish this feat?
You’re in luck, because just a few months ago, Tim Grahl wrote it: Your First 1000 Copies.
Your First 1000 CopiesHave you ever read a book that applied so perfectly to your life even though it wasn’t supposed to? Two books that did this to me years ago were Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Zen in the Art of Archery. I have never been very interested in motorcycles or archery, but both of these books shaped my high school years profoundly. Books like this are rare and transformative. I found a new one in Your First 1000 Copies. It apparently teaches writers of fiction and non-fiction books how to sell 1000 copies of their book by building a platform of fans. Or does it?
I originally picked up the book because I have written a few books and am thinking about writing another. But while reading this book, my eyes opened widely. I thought: “What if I used the same techniques to build fans of my startup?”
I realized the strategies and tactics in Your First 1000 Copies lays out an amazingly powerful platform building concept applicable to startup founders and entrepreneurs just as easily as is does for authors.
Overview. Getting attention for your startup in today’s world is difficult. To many founders I talk to, they don’t even know where to start so they don’t even try. Start by reading Your First 1000 Copies. It lays out a simple 4-layer strategy for building a following of fans for whatever you are doing: a startup, a book, a movement, anything.
Permission. The first and primary strategy is permission for email newsletters. Quantifying a fan base is done by counting the people who opt-in to inviting you into their email inboxes. Email is still the #1 sales conversion tool by orders of magnitude. When you tweet 100,000 followers, only a small fraction of them will see it. When you email 100,000 people, a large percentage of them will see it.
Content. How do you create fans? Create fantastic content and distribute it widely and freely to as many people as possible with a call to action to sign up to get more free content on a regular basis. Easy to say, hard to do. What are you passionate about? What do you get obsessed with? What would your spouse or significant other say you can’t stop talking about? Why not blog about that. After you put it on your blog, re-post it on Medium and Quora for even wider distribution.
Outreach. What about Twitter and Facebook? They are great places to deepen your relationship with your fans, but not a place to quantify a fan base. You can’t send multiple email newsletters a day, but you can certainly tweet and post useful updates multiple times a day. Treat your social accounts like mini bite-sized versions of your long form blogs. Keep them helpful and interesting. Use the 20-to-1 rule from another great book I will review soon: Platform by Michael Hyatt. For every 1 tweet to promote your own content, do 20 useful tweets with links and quotes that are not self-promotion.
Sell. After you have cultivated your fan base, you can let them know about your new ventures, whether they are a new novel or a new startup. Once a fan is a fan, they not only won’t mind a tiny bit of sales coming from you, they will want it. Think of your favorite football team. Not only do you expect to see overpriced mugs with their logo for sale at their home stadium, but you want to buy stuff with their logo on it. That’s because you are a fan.
Creating fans is an overlooked and underused startup technique that can pay huge dividends. DigitalOcean has created fans using the same playbook as SliceHost, creating tons of free and useful unix tutorials. Buffer has created fans by posting useful blog posts every day and encouraging users to join their daily newsletter. Even Paul Graham built a powerful personal platform using similar techniques of giving away tons of free content, one of the original entrepreneur advice bloggers. Think you can’t do it? Don’t have enough time? Read another book I will be reviewing soon: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
You’re in luck, because just a few months ago, Tim Grahl wrote it: Your First 1000 Copies.
Your First 1000 CopiesHave you ever read a book that applied so perfectly to your life even though it wasn’t supposed to? Two books that did this to me years ago were Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Zen in the Art of Archery. I have never been very interested in motorcycles or archery, but both of these books shaped my high school years profoundly. Books like this are rare and transformative. I found a new one in Your First 1000 Copies. It apparently teaches writers of fiction and non-fiction books how to sell 1000 copies of their book by building a platform of fans. Or does it?
I originally picked up the book because I have written a few books and am thinking about writing another. But while reading this book, my eyes opened widely. I thought: “What if I used the same techniques to build fans of my startup?”
I realized the strategies and tactics in Your First 1000 Copies lays out an amazingly powerful platform building concept applicable to startup founders and entrepreneurs just as easily as is does for authors.
Overview. Getting attention for your startup in today’s world is difficult. To many founders I talk to, they don’t even know where to start so they don’t even try. Start by reading Your First 1000 Copies. It lays out a simple 4-layer strategy for building a following of fans for whatever you are doing: a startup, a book, a movement, anything.
Permission. The first and primary strategy is permission for email newsletters. Quantifying a fan base is done by counting the people who opt-in to inviting you into their email inboxes. Email is still the #1 sales conversion tool by orders of magnitude. When you tweet 100,000 followers, only a small fraction of them will see it. When you email 100,000 people, a large percentage of them will see it.
Content. How do you create fans? Create fantastic content and distribute it widely and freely to as many people as possible with a call to action to sign up to get more free content on a regular basis. Easy to say, hard to do. What are you passionate about? What do you get obsessed with? What would your spouse or significant other say you can’t stop talking about? Why not blog about that. After you put it on your blog, re-post it on Medium and Quora for even wider distribution.
Outreach. What about Twitter and Facebook? They are great places to deepen your relationship with your fans, but not a place to quantify a fan base. You can’t send multiple email newsletters a day, but you can certainly tweet and post useful updates multiple times a day. Treat your social accounts like mini bite-sized versions of your long form blogs. Keep them helpful and interesting. Use the 20-to-1 rule from another great book I will review soon: Platform by Michael Hyatt. For every 1 tweet to promote your own content, do 20 useful tweets with links and quotes that are not self-promotion.
Sell. After you have cultivated your fan base, you can let them know about your new ventures, whether they are a new novel or a new startup. Once a fan is a fan, they not only won’t mind a tiny bit of sales coming from you, they will want it. Think of your favorite football team. Not only do you expect to see overpriced mugs with their logo for sale at their home stadium, but you want to buy stuff with their logo on it. That’s because you are a fan.
Creating fans is an overlooked and underused startup technique that can pay huge dividends. DigitalOcean has created fans using the same playbook as SliceHost, creating tons of free and useful unix tutorials. Buffer has created fans by posting useful blog posts every day and encouraging users to join their daily newsletter. Even Paul Graham built a powerful personal platform using similar techniques of giving away tons of free content, one of the original entrepreneur advice bloggers. Think you can’t do it? Don’t have enough time? Read another book I will be reviewing soon: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
March 17, 2017
Invaluable info!
I've already implemented several of Tim's ideas and I'm looking forward to getting more of my connection system built. I love the links with up to date info. Thank you for being so helpful and genuine.
I've already implemented several of Tim's ideas and I'm looking forward to getting more of my connection system built. I love the links with up to date info. Thank you for being so helpful and genuine.
July 14, 2014
A strong 3.5 but I'm feeling generous. Furthermore the book is currently priced at $0.99 or £0.99 on Kindle which is a very fitting price tag.
Let me explain how I came across this book as it goes a long way to highlight Grahl's key messages and takeaways.
I'm a long time listener to the Self Publishing Podcast, on which the author Tim Grahl was a guest a few months ago. He shared worthy comments about Internet Marketing, a term that makes me feel both icky and inadequate as an independent publisher. So I clicked through to his website. Then I signed up for his free 30-day course. I probably read 50% of the emails he sent (which you'll learn from Your First 1000 Copies is significantly higher than average) and I downloaded a few of the free resources available online too.
Following the end of the 30-day course I continued to receive Grahl's newsletter and I continued to dip in and out of them, in other words, they weren't immediately deleted.
After reading 3 or 4 of his emails documenting his book sales - he has set himself the goal of selling 10,000 copies in one year - I received the email that shared a more personal story. He was openly acknowledging to us that he may not meet his target of selling 10,000 copies of this book in one year. And he asked his readers for help.
But still then I didn't buy or read his book. (I have to be honest and found myself questioning this tactic, was it as genuine as he portrayed, but I am one of the most cynical people I know!)
I only then bought and read this book when a friend of mine on Facebook shared it as a worthwhile read and also notified me that it was 99p.
That's when I downloaded it and read it in a quick single sitting.
This is the lengthy process of book buying. Here I am an independent author who wants to sell more books and I was not convinced this book could help me until many declarations and reinforcements later.
I MUST REMEMBER THIS: SELLING ONLINE IS NEITHER QUICK NOR EASY AND IT IS MULTI-FACETED. But it doesn't have to be cheesy or sleazy. It is a slow but methodical process of asking permission, being of value to those who give you permission, and being creative when it comes to the content I make and share, the platforms I use to share it on and the ways in which I think about outreach. Oh, and it's okay to ask people to buy things.
Your First 1000 Copies does give you many ideas and strategies on how to do this. I now have a list of actionable items and changes to make about how I approach Internet Marketing. In other words, it no longer makes me feel quite as icky. And maybe one day I'll also feel a little less inadequate.
A star and a half lost because I'm simply not convinced (yet!) about Pop-ups, and also I found myself wrinkling my nose at his claim that all the things he suggests are quick to implement and maintain. As someone who tracks a lot of my marketing efforts and takes time to consider guest posting and "outreach"; this does take A LOT of time when done write and when most independent authors are writing their books in their spare time, it's not realistic to say it doesn't take long or can be easily fitted around their writing. That's another book I'll have to look out for...
Let me explain how I came across this book as it goes a long way to highlight Grahl's key messages and takeaways.
I'm a long time listener to the Self Publishing Podcast, on which the author Tim Grahl was a guest a few months ago. He shared worthy comments about Internet Marketing, a term that makes me feel both icky and inadequate as an independent publisher. So I clicked through to his website. Then I signed up for his free 30-day course. I probably read 50% of the emails he sent (which you'll learn from Your First 1000 Copies is significantly higher than average) and I downloaded a few of the free resources available online too.
Following the end of the 30-day course I continued to receive Grahl's newsletter and I continued to dip in and out of them, in other words, they weren't immediately deleted.
After reading 3 or 4 of his emails documenting his book sales - he has set himself the goal of selling 10,000 copies in one year - I received the email that shared a more personal story. He was openly acknowledging to us that he may not meet his target of selling 10,000 copies of this book in one year. And he asked his readers for help.
But still then I didn't buy or read his book. (I have to be honest and found myself questioning this tactic, was it as genuine as he portrayed, but I am one of the most cynical people I know!)
I only then bought and read this book when a friend of mine on Facebook shared it as a worthwhile read and also notified me that it was 99p.
That's when I downloaded it and read it in a quick single sitting.
This is the lengthy process of book buying. Here I am an independent author who wants to sell more books and I was not convinced this book could help me until many declarations and reinforcements later.
I MUST REMEMBER THIS: SELLING ONLINE IS NEITHER QUICK NOR EASY AND IT IS MULTI-FACETED. But it doesn't have to be cheesy or sleazy. It is a slow but methodical process of asking permission, being of value to those who give you permission, and being creative when it comes to the content I make and share, the platforms I use to share it on and the ways in which I think about outreach. Oh, and it's okay to ask people to buy things.
Your First 1000 Copies does give you many ideas and strategies on how to do this. I now have a list of actionable items and changes to make about how I approach Internet Marketing. In other words, it no longer makes me feel quite as icky. And maybe one day I'll also feel a little less inadequate.
A star and a half lost because I'm simply not convinced (yet!) about Pop-ups, and also I found myself wrinkling my nose at his claim that all the things he suggests are quick to implement and maintain. As someone who tracks a lot of my marketing efforts and takes time to consider guest posting and "outreach"; this does take A LOT of time when done write and when most independent authors are writing their books in their spare time, it's not realistic to say it doesn't take long or can be easily fitted around their writing. That's another book I'll have to look out for...
October 2, 2013
Any truly useful guide to navigating the new media landscape is necessarily going to provide a flexible, "basic" framework, and leave the specifics to be covered elsewhere.
So while there are other great guides for authors who publish (and self-publish)—Booklife is probably the most thorough one I've come across, and Christina Katz's Get Known Before the Book Deal was written especially with "writer mamas" in mind—Tim Grahl's is my current go-to book both for writers looking to understand the concept of platform, and to start building their own.
This lean, easy-to-read guide covers all the bases of modern digital life in an easy-to-grasp sweep. He wisely forgoes cramming in specifics, opting instead to link out to pages on his site with updated recommendations.
Best of all, for now, anyway, everything Grahl recommends is fully road-tested. His business for the past several years has been building platforms for published authors, both NYT-bestselling and those who want to be.
Full disclosure: Tim is a friend, and has been a loving champion of my own work. This, even though we have agreed to disagree on certain marketing tactics I find overly aggressive—modal windows (aka "pop-ups"), I'm looking at you. That I would still recommend this book above others as a first read speaks to how beautifully he lays out a viable framework the beginner can grasp immediately and start working with. Details and degree, I leave to each to decide for himself.
So while there are other great guides for authors who publish (and self-publish)—Booklife is probably the most thorough one I've come across, and Christina Katz's Get Known Before the Book Deal was written especially with "writer mamas" in mind—Tim Grahl's is my current go-to book both for writers looking to understand the concept of platform, and to start building their own.
This lean, easy-to-read guide covers all the bases of modern digital life in an easy-to-grasp sweep. He wisely forgoes cramming in specifics, opting instead to link out to pages on his site with updated recommendations.
Best of all, for now, anyway, everything Grahl recommends is fully road-tested. His business for the past several years has been building platforms for published authors, both NYT-bestselling and those who want to be.
Full disclosure: Tim is a friend, and has been a loving champion of my own work. This, even though we have agreed to disagree on certain marketing tactics I find overly aggressive—modal windows (aka "pop-ups"), I'm looking at you. That I would still recommend this book above others as a first read speaks to how beautifully he lays out a viable framework the beginner can grasp immediately and start working with. Details and degree, I leave to each to decide for himself.
September 28, 2013
As we begin the run-up to the publication of A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas, this marketing guide had good advice for authors about the four things they must do to build up interest and make book sales: Permission, Content, Outreach, and Sell. As author Grahl says, surprisingly, authors often have the most trouble with the 4th thing, since they don't want to come across as all "sales-y." Lots of practical (if technical) advice and links from a book marketer/web designer who's spearheaded the launch of more than a hundred big books over the past 5 years. (I gave the guide 4 stars vs 5 stars because sometimes the how-exactly-to-do-it details were a little sketchy and the cheerleading a little too robust.)
By the way I would encourage people to read the Kindle version of this in order to see what people are finding useful via the highlights, searching for info, and accessing the various links the author sprinkles throughout the text. Goodreads, for some reason, just lists the paperback version here.
By the way I would encourage people to read the Kindle version of this in order to see what people are finding useful via the highlights, searching for info, and accessing the various links the author sprinkles throughout the text. Goodreads, for some reason, just lists the paperback version here.
June 19, 2015
I Was Disappointed
I bought this book after reading a 5 star review. In particular it was a comment around this book tells you what works and what doesn't.
Hmmm I didn't find the answer except the author is pro email marketing and questions the effectiveness of social media marketing. But I don't think he gave enough clarification to support his argument. One thing I did find amazing was the authors choice examples to promote his point of view. I was interested in discovering CJ West's email campaign until I checked out his book rankings. Hmmm obviously his email campaigns are not helping his book sales.
Overall I found this book hard to read. I wasn't engaged early and as I moved further into the book I began to firstly skip paragraphs which quickly became pages.
I didn't finish the book. I was looking for an action plan. I didn't find it. In fairness I didn't finish the book and perhaps I missed some hidden gems.
Sorry I've found other book marketing books more enlightening.
I bought this book after reading a 5 star review. In particular it was a comment around this book tells you what works and what doesn't.
Hmmm I didn't find the answer except the author is pro email marketing and questions the effectiveness of social media marketing. But I don't think he gave enough clarification to support his argument. One thing I did find amazing was the authors choice examples to promote his point of view. I was interested in discovering CJ West's email campaign until I checked out his book rankings. Hmmm obviously his email campaigns are not helping his book sales.
Overall I found this book hard to read. I wasn't engaged early and as I moved further into the book I began to firstly skip paragraphs which quickly became pages.
I didn't finish the book. I was looking for an action plan. I didn't find it. In fairness I didn't finish the book and perhaps I missed some hidden gems.
Sorry I've found other book marketing books more enlightening.
November 10, 2021
“Your First 1000 Copies,” by Tim Grahl is a nonfiction book that claims to teach you a step-by-step guide to building a system for marking your books.
However, most of the information is out of date, superficial, and geared towards nonfiction writers.
Grahl often repeats the same information multiple times in lieu of giving in depth details, and the book reads more like an extended blogpost.
Overall, this book didn’t keep its promise of teaching me how to market my work, as most of the information wasn’t relevant to me or things I already knew from free resources online.
If you’re looking for a book on marketing your novels, then this isn’t the one for you.
I give “Your First 1000 Copies” a 1.0 out of 5
However, most of the information is out of date, superficial, and geared towards nonfiction writers.
Grahl often repeats the same information multiple times in lieu of giving in depth details, and the book reads more like an extended blogpost.
Overall, this book didn’t keep its promise of teaching me how to market my work, as most of the information wasn’t relevant to me or things I already knew from free resources online.
If you’re looking for a book on marketing your novels, then this isn’t the one for you.
I give “Your First 1000 Copies” a 1.0 out of 5
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