Author Milestone Complete: 10,000 Book Orders!
Plus three takeaways from how I did it.
As a self-published author, you need to celebrate every victory.
This week, I just hit a significant milestone in my self-publishing journey:
10,000 book orders!
I watched intently as the 200 orders rolled in to put me over the top. There is something particularly magical about seeing that number roll.
It was the same feeling I got when one of my books had 1,000 orders when I first published it. And then again, when I hit the 5,000 order milestone too.
Now that I have hit that 10,000 book order milestone, I am excited about the next ones. Yet, I want to celebrate the journey and share some insights with you today.
The Self-Publishing Journey
A long time ago, in a city far, far away, I started to dream about publishing a book. I would wake up early and type from my kitchen table.
During this time, I would grow an email list, write blog posts, and share social media posts. This content was rough, unpolished, and still part of a discovery process.
Finally, after moving to a new state, the work began writing and publishing my first book. I had decided before the project that I would self-publish.
Yes, partly because I was afraid of rejection. However, I was very focused on wanting to control the story and what I learned. So, I decided to do it on my own.
Delusions of Grandeur
During the writing process, I was reading and watching as much content as possible about self-publishing and started thinking I would be an overnight success.
As I continued to work on my book, I thought I would be like some of the stories I read about selling tens of thousands of books on my first book launch.
Finally, launch day came. And on my first day, I sold a dozen or so books. Then I did a few promotions and had 238 orders.
Ultimately, I was disappointed. I had these big dreams of how my book would do, and it didn’t happen. But I continued to push my book for a year.
***Get my first book, Productivity Success Now!***
A Change in Mindset
For my second book, I had a dream that I needed to change what my readers would be about. Or at least work on specific content first.
So, my second book was a devotional. I felt utterly compelled to write that book. And, over the next year and a half, I did it. But something was different.
The success mindset for this book wasn’t about dollar signs. It was about getting it into the hands of people who wanted to grow in their faith.
I wanted numbers in order, but not because I wanted to be rich and famous. Ultimately, I wanted numbers so that I could reach more people.
My second book had about 500 orders during launch week. To me, this was a great success. At this point, I had about 1,000 orders between the two books.
***Get my second book, a devotional on the Gospel of John!***
A Breakthrough Moment
For my third book, I wanted to find a way to reach a bigger audience. And with that particular book, I look into ways to promote my book that could reach even more people.
So, as I started working on the book, I shared it with everyone who would listen to me. I grew a small email list. But, I had a small group of committed people.
Then, I found one of my greatest. I share resources for sharing books and a promotion website with everyone who asks.
When launch day came around, I was blown away. I had over 1,000 orders on the first day. It was miraculous to me. I couldn’t believe what had happened. It blew me away.
From that point on, I have seen at least 1,000 orders or more during launch week. And five of my six books have become #1 Bestsellers on Amazon.
3 Takeaways from 10,000 Book Orders
These three takeaways will help you understand what success looks like for you and help you move books too. Most of all, it will help you in your self-publishing journey.
No.1 - What is Your Definition of Success?
If you define success as having 10,000 orders in your first year, you can do it. But it will take a crap ton of work. Are you prepared to do that? Because it will most likely take you more than one book to make it happen.
If you want to reach as many people as possible, it will take a lot of work, but it will give you the freedom to do it. For example, a few of my orders have come from free book promotions.
If you want to make a regular income off your books, you must realize it won’t happen with one, two, or even three books. It can, but for the majority of authors, you are going to need a few books.
What is your definition of success? If you have the space to put in a ton of work, you can have crazy huge goals. If you don’t decide what the success will be.
No.2 - The first 30 days after publishing is essential.
For my first book, I had five reviews after 30 days. It had only sold about 240 books. And sales died quickly after that. My second book was no better.
I have learned that you need to move a lot of books in the first 30 days for regular sales after that time frame. My third book had nearly 2,000 orders after the first 30 days. Since then, it has sold an average of ten books a week.
What happens in the first 30 days is essential, so don’t let that time frame go to waste. You need to push, push, push. And you may need to purchase promotions to help get things going.
Don’t let your book die after 30 days.
No.3 - Publish your first book, then create a plan for your next five.
Self-publishing success, at least in financial terms, is a long-term gain. Every book is a deposit into your account for future dividends.
However, you must get your first one out to know the process. Then, create a plan for a series of books or know where you are going after your first one.
This will help you succeed in getting lots of orders, producing more books, and ultimately, starting to make a decent little income.
Get your first book out, and start working on the next ones.
Final Thoughts on 10,000 Book Orders
Beware: The average self-published book does about 250 sales lifetime.
If you don’t want this to happen to your books, you must create a quality book and be prepared to sell it.
I didn’t reach 10,000 orders by publishing and hoping people would buy. I did it by learning how Amazon works with book sales and spending a lot of time figuring out how to share my book without being sleazy.
You need to become a student of self-publishing, and you need to connect with other self-published authors.
This is why I created my Unlimited Email Coaching Program.
When you sign up for the paid subscription to my Substack Newsletter: J.R. Heimbigner Writes, you will get access to how to communicate directly with me for all the help you need to self-publish a book.
Check it out today!
Start Here!
Are there other books to read? Sure are. I have two short lists of them in my Writer’s Starter Pack on Gumroad (It’s free, you should check it out). The only other book I want to highlight is my own.
It’s called Transform Your Medium Stories.
Initially written for writers on the Medium platform, the content of this book works for any online content. And it is a great short guide to help you write and publish your first book. So grab your copy today!
J.R. Heimbigner is a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon who loves helping people grow in their faith and help writers become authors. You can connect with him on Medium, his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Substack!
Congratulations! This is a huge milestone. I hope to release my first book before summer, so I'm sure I'll be reaching out with questions. Thanks for helping to keep me motivated.