Apart from working in finance I like writing books. Novels, to be more specific. I self-published three via Amazon. One of them through a self-publishing company, which help your book become a reality in exchange for many euros. They problem is that you have to sell it unless you pay more to them so that they help you with marketing. An option not many can afford. They make your book nice, though.

Self-published authors can exist thanks to the Internet and the possibilities it offers. Another alternative is to publish the traditional way, sending the manuscript to as many publishers as possible hoping to get an answer someday, that will probably be a ‘no’ unless your name is famous or your book fits what the market wants, according to publishers. If you are lucky and theh accept your manuscript, they will pay for your marketing campaign, contact distributors, correct your book, etc. in exchange for royalties that can go between 10% and 20% of the price of the book. Therefore, many choose the self-publishing alternative. They can earn more as it can increase your margins, since publishers are out of the way, but it’s far more complicated to reach readers as many writers lack resources such as time, money and skills. About the skills, I would like to discuss here is the way some sell.

I’m not good at selling. I admit it, but there are certain ways that don’t offer good results and are often unpleasant. The writer’s ego is a topic that is often discussed in social media. It simply means that a person who wrote or writes a book on a regular basis may have an inflated ego. I’m not talking about narcissism. That is a serious personality disorder that I leave on the hands of mental health professionals. Some writers, it seems that because of the fact that they wrote a book, they think they can be superior to others (therefore the inflated ego) and seek constant recognition, praise, flattering and don’t accept any type of constructive criticisism. Some can go even as far as sabotaging reviews from other writers to damage their reputation, which is unethical and I question even if it’s not legal as well. Also, they try to sell their book by either being too pushy or talking all the time only about it. They discredit other writers and a long etcetera.

Of course not all writers meet these criteria. Some are just pushy but don’t try to damage other writer’s reputation. However, the lesson we can learn from here is that focusing only on making sales in a certain way can be counterproductive. Let me explain.

I observed that some writers, on the other hand, apart from trying to sell by promoting or offering discounts for their books, they try to find connections and partner up with other writers, bloggers, and other professionals. Some they get in touch with readers and seek feedback to keep improving. Also they try to appear in news, write a blog, share texts in social media, participate in contests, among many other options. It’s a difficult road that takes a lot of time, but well done, it’s a better way to obtain sales and stay in the market, since it can help them build a good reputation and personal brand.

These lessons aren’t just limited to the literary world. They can be applied to any business in general. Therefore, aggressive sales strategies, such as pushing prospects to buy your product, discrediting the competence might bring you benefits in the short-term, but in the long-term these techniques can compromise the odds of survival. Therefore, trying to get to know what your customer wants and needs can increase the chances of staying in the market.

In the end, writers usually say they write what they want to express, but if their intention is to reach readers, a good cover, synopsis, well-structured story, etc. are crucial to meet this goal. They aren’t happy by calling their books “mere products” that can be marketed. I respect it (as I love books as well, reading and writing), but in the end, a good package (cover), product description (synopsis), quality (good grammar, vocabulary, spelling and interesting story), and good marketing, is what can help one book from another get the ‘Best-Seller” label, if that is the ultimate goal of the author.

And it’s far more effective than just being pushy.