How to Sell a Lot of Nonfiction How-To Books
Every so often I see moaning and groaning about how publishing works. Most of the time, these complaints come from authors saying that only celebrities get published or that books sell poorly because publishers do nothing to support authors and the books being published.
There’s a kernel of truth here, because both of these things are true. Celebrities do get published, often, because there’s a track record of those books selling lots of copies. And often, books and authors do flounder for a lack of support.
But that’s not always the case.
I don’t work with celebrities, but have helped my clients — entrepreneurs and experts — land dozens of book deals. 100% of the clients that we collaborate with on book proposals land a literary agent and 80% land a book deal. Partly, that’s because I know what literary agents and editors are looking for — and because I am super careful about who I decide to work with. I’m not taking on clients that I know will be rejected for their lack of an audience, for example, or who have an unproven book idea.
Similarly, the books my teams and I work on also defy common statistics for book sales. The most recent data I can find comes from Kristin McLean, an analyst at NPD Bookscan (which tracks book sales nationwide). She estimated that 51.4% of new books sold less than 1,000 copies. In contrast, the four books my team and I took from idea to published in 2023 have sold over 160,000 copies total.
Lesson being: You need to consider the source when you are trying to learn about publishing. As an insider, I can acknowledge that the moans and groans are partially true — particularly for fiction (which is not what my team and I work on). But I also want to acknowledge that there’s an equally true reality where traditional publishers help experts and entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams. That’s the reality where my team and I dwell.
Our authors are successful — partly because of themselves.
Their proven concepts, their engaged audiences, their ability to market and sell that’s been honed over time is what sells each copy. What my team and I bring is the publishing know-how that transforms their ideas into a book that is an Editor’s Pick on Amazon, that receives dozens of 5-star reviews, that makes our authors’ dreams come true and maybe — just maybe! — that hits a bestseller list.
So — when you hear that publishing is dying, that there’s no point in chasing your dream of becoming a traditionally published author, that you have to be an influencer to get a book deal, or some other bullshit just know: The stats don’t have to be you.
Instead, you can do three things right now to help yourself sell a ton of books when it's your time. Namely —
Prove your concept. Share what you know, receive feedback, iterate, get results.
Grow your audience.
Learn how to market and sell what only you know.
Because that is the key to your success — as an author and otherwise.
