Most authors give up.
Most authors overemphasize their book’s launch and completely forget about everything that comes after. They think once the book is “out there” it will either turn into a hit or it won’t, and it’s just up to fate.
Wrong.
This is the single biggest mistake you can make as an author with a book.
Take on the mindset that you are the founder and CEO of your book, and it is solely your responsibility to make it successful, through fire or famine, no matter how long it takes.
If I could only say two things to every author it would be:
- 75 percent of your book’s success is determined in the writing and publishing process.
- The other 25 percent consists of never giving up on promoting it.
—
I have the perfect way to visualize this and always remember it.
Imagine the writing of your book like folding paper to make a paper plane. That’s #1 above. The most important thing you can do is to fold an impeccable design that is capable of staying aloft a long time.
Your book launch is your first toss. No matter how well you fold and how hard you toss a paper plane, it won’t stay up forever.
You must craft something elegant with the long journey in mind, and then you stay under it, supporting it gently. If you crafted your book well, even gentle whispers will keep it moving.
Scribe’s founder, Tucker Max, gave me this advice when I launched my first book with Scribe in 2020: “Just do something every week to promote your book—for years. Never give up.”
Yes, book launches matter. During the launch, you can spike sales to hit bestseller lists, coordinate media blitzes, and get some easy coverage about your launch.
But too often, authors sprint for eight weeks on their book launch and then never mention it again.
Sometimes authors feel their launch let them down. They get this little pit of shame in their stomach that paralyzes them, and they get stuck. Or they get tired of talking about it. Or they worry others are sick of hearing about it.
But you cannot give up.
Because the big breakthroughs for books or authors often come months or years into their promotion efforts.
Think about your own behavior:
What do you do when you hear about a book for the first time?
Probably nothing. You’ve got stuff to do. It might not even register with you.
What about the fifth time you hear about it?
Maybe you think, “Wow, I’ve been hearing about that book everywhere. I should pick it up.”
The sixth time?
Again you think, “Wow, I’ve been hearing about that book everywhere. I should pick it up.”
The seventh time?
Again you think, “Wow, I’ve been hearing about that book everywhere. I should pick it up.”
But this time you’re actually not driving, at dinner, or in a meeting, so you pop open an Amazon tab, search the title, and click “buy.”
Then, it sits on your shelf, desk, or nightstand for a while.
Until you hear about it four more times, and you think, “I’m going to read that next. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I’ve heard so many good things.”
Then maybe a friend asks you, “Have you read that book I told you about yet?”
And you lie and say, “I was planning to start it next!”
But now you actually do start it next.
And you read it, and you love it, and now you are recommending it to other friends.
This is how growth in readership actually looks. It is more like waves eroding rock than a
fireworks show.
It takes years and dozens of repetitions to reach people and actually affect their behavior. But once you start to win fans, they can help you spread the word.
Big breakthroughs for books or authors often come months or years into their promotion efforts, and I showed you why. But this is true at every level. Here’s what it looks like in practice:
https://x.com/JamesClear/status/1741899384881664410
David Goggins got where he is because he has one product, a book called Can’t Hurt Me, that has now sold over five million copies. He sold just that book, relentlessly, for years. He was not “David Goggins” when he launched that book in 2018—he used that book to create the David Goggins phenomenon you know today.
It may take years to break through. Prepare for that. Plan for it. Expect it.
Launch like your life depends on it. But never stop launching.
Do something to promote your book every week—forever. Never give up.
