Writing a book is a huge achievement, but what if publication day comes round and copies are NOT flying off the shelves?
You wrote a book! It took a long time and it was tough, demanding work. Much harder than you thought it would be.
You carved out time to write around work and family. Your hobbies, fun outings with friends, TV, sleep and even quality family times were sacrificed for this endeavor. But the sacrifices were worth it.
Now your marvelous creation is published so everyone can read it and shower it with adoration.
And… crickets.
No one is buying it. No one is reading it. The dream of a bestseller has turned into a nightmare of a total flop.
What do you do now?
Feel Bad
First, allow yourself to feel your emotions. Don’t pretend it doesn’t matter because it matters. A lot.
You may feel sad, rejected, confused, disappointed, frustrated or annoyed. Or perhaps a whole roar of negativity combined together. You are allowed to feel like that! It is called a feeling because you FEEL it.
Let your emotions move through you. They won’t stay in your body forever, except if you try to stuff them down.
Feeling a bad emotion should be the same as stubbing your toe—intensely painful and all-consuming at first and then fading to less painful so that soon you forget what that pain even felt like.
Feel Glad
Next, work at being happier again. Don’t expect to switch into cheerleader mode any time soon, but you don’t need to wallow forever either.
Remember, you are not replacing the negative with the positive. The negative is gracefully released and you are now inviting the positive back in.
Getting back to a more cheerful state is not just a ‘nice to have’. It is actually essential, according to positive psychologists, to shake off negative emotions in order to rediscover your creativity, productivity and ability to see solutions to the problem at hand.
Sometimes it seems too hard to find the silver lining in a spectacular failure, so here are seven reasons to smile when your book is not a bestseller:
1. You Completed Something
You actually wrote a book. You have achieved something that 99% of the population will never do (even though many would love to).
2. You Created Something
You allowed your creativity to come out and play. The muse who has been in the background whispering to you was freed.
You relished the chance to unleash the creativity that has been stifled for far, far too long, perhaps even since you were a child.
3. You Were in Flow
In the process of permitting your creative side to show itself, you found yourself in periods of ‘flow’.
A flow state occurs where a challenging task that requires some skill brings a person into deep concentration and so the sense of time stops.
Although emotions are absent at the time, flow states are associated with long-term happiness. Sure, sometimes writing a book is exasperatingly hard. But, on occasion, it feels effortless and we forget ourselves for a time. Not everyone experiences this wonderful, magical state.
4. You Grew Through Learning
You will have certainly learned more about the craft of writing, even if it was just that you should only have one space, not two, after a full stop or period.
Learning something – anything at all – means you grow and growth is a major factor in lifelong happiness.
5. You Failed (It’s a Good Thing)
Without a doubt, one thing you have will have learned, whether you wanted to or not, is how to deal with failure.
Failure is a part of life. The only people who don’t fail are the ones who don’t try. Your true character is built not on whether you failed but on how and when you pick yourself back up again.
Maybe next time you will fail better! As billionaire, Sara Blakely, notes: ‘If you’re not failing, you’re not growing’.
You failed – now go and celebrate!
6. You Found Your Author Tribe
You are likely to have gotten advice and help from like-minded writers in courses, blogs, podcasts, forums and online groups. You may feel like people in your ‘real life’ only have a passing knowledge of the writer part of you, but now you have found a whole tribe of people who understand.
7. You Showed Courage
No matter what type of book you write, you reveal some of your authentic self.
Writing a book, whether it be an epic fantasy novel or a how-to on potty training, will leave a piece of yourself on the page for anyone to see. A book is a window to the writer’s soul.
By writing your book, you have let yourself be vulnerable. An uncomfortable thing to do but a truly courageous act. You are extremely brave.
Smile
Pick any of the seven reasons above – finishing a book, being creative, achieving a flow state, growth through learning, celebrating failure, finding your tribe or bravely showing your vulnerable side – and use it to pull yourself out of your negative state. Find your smile again.
Use this newfound positive state to problem solve.
Look back: find possible reasons why the book has not sold and come up with ways to improve its sales. Or use being happier to look forward: tap into that creativity and productivity from before and write the next book.
Instead of being a sad, rejected loser you are now a courageous and creative author. Yes, it is simply a variation in language, but you are a writer so you know just how powerful words can be.
Have you had to deal with less than inspiring results after a book launch? What strategies – emotional and practical – did you use to pick yourself up and carry on? Please leave your thoughts below and join the conversation.
Her new Nourish Your Soul series, starting with Crappy to Happy, shares delicious wisdom to help you feel calmer, happier and more fulfilled.
Julie lives with her family in a small, magnificent country at the bottom of the world where you may find her trying to bake the world’s best chocolate brownie.
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1 2 Next »My frustration was that I wrote what I thought was a decent and maybe a good book. It was praised in the local newspaper that reviewed it (by an English teacher!) It was praised in our local Rotary Club. Maybe 50 books were given away in a limited free promotion through Amazon. A fellow writer praised it in his review on Amazon. Still, nothing.
I learned some lessons in the meantime. When I offered the book online I changed the cover from a "woodgrain" plain background cover to a full-color photo I took that went along with the story of my novelette. Still - "crickets" as you say. So I am working on my marketing plans for the future.
Thanks for your personal share Frank. And yes, sometimes I think my own marketing 'plans' are like throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks!
I needed this! Can I print this out and pin it to my wall?
Of course :)
I was thrilled to write my first book and get it up on Amazon, and then .... nothing!!! Most people who have read it (my Launch Team!!) loved it and gave me wonderful feedback, but commercially it's been a failure. I spent several months feeling overwhelmingly disappointed, but I"m now hard a t work on my second book because I still feel called to share what I've learned. Since the book launch, I've focused on building up a following for my blog and while and that is slowing taking place. I've done several online courses on marketing, creating a course and building an online business, so am moving forwards feeling slightly better prepared, though very aware of all I have still to learn. I've also taken the pressure off myself by focusing on the process of writing because I love it and feel called to it, rather than seeing my books as a means to an end.
It has been a time of growth, introspection and struggle, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel I'm a better person and understand myself more because of the experience. Still hoping for a better outcome with my next book, and so thankful for all the encouragement so many people have given me.
I loved your 'Superhero Me!' book Glenda. It was so well written and had so many great takeaways. So happy to hear you are writing another book.
As an author with a book coming out next month, this post is really important for me, and I'm bookmarking it to come back to next month with tears in my eyes. Because of Joanna's awesome guidance (and the others I've discovered through her like Mark Dawson, Tim Grahl, Nick Stephenson, etc.), I've got a platform and an audience, and preorders are doing REALLY well -- much better than I'd hoped! But that said, I'm still absolutely terrified that my first book is going to flop.
One perspective on failure I also bring with me from my background in paramedicine: failure is an excellent teacher, as long as you choose to learn from it. You can let failure destroy you, or you can let it teach you. Some of my greatest lessons in life have come at the cost of peoples' lives. (Hopefully no one dies from a failed book launch!)
My thoughts are this: grieve, because failure is loss, and it hurts. But take the time and do the post-mortem. Dissect what went wrong, what you did and how you'll do it better next time. I will make an actual list of Ways In Which I Failed, write it in a notebook, and, when the time comes to write the next book, look at it. Look at it HARD. And whatever you failed at before, whatever your mistakes were, do it better the second time around.
You might still fail, but you will fail BETTER. Your future failures will not be so bad as your first IF you open yourself to the wisdoms that failure can offer.
One last thing -- don't forget to make the other list, the list of Ways I Succeeded. (This is MUCH easier if you, like Joanna suggests, figure out what "success" means to you beforehand!) Don't just analyze what you did wrong, but what you did right. Eliminate the latter, accentuate the former, and do better next time.
As someone whose failures have cost people their lives, it's the best way I know of to stay sane and make the most out of your failures.
xoxo, Samantha Keel
All the best with the book, Samantha :)
Well those kind of failures put my poor book sales into perspective. Thanks for the well thought out response, Samantha.
I just launched a book I spent two years researching the background for - and silence!!! I totally agree with feeling an emotion in order to move through it. My biggest thing was disappointment followed by anger at myself for not doing any marketing but even if I had- it might have bombed. I had a day off writing to analyse what I can do better next time, and now I'm back at the page. I guess the only weapon against failure is sticktoitness!!! Thanks for this article, it really helped :)
The other thing to remember is that (especially if you are indie), the sales can take time to ramp up and are more likely to be a trickle over time. The spike sales at launch are a traditional publishing thing that is based on physical stock in store when customers couldn't buy anytime. So take a deep breath and plan ongoing marketing :)
It doesn't have to be the 'next time' either Jill, there is no time limit for marketing a book. Consider what you did a soft launch, and make a plan to push the book starting right now; if the book is good (and the topic still relevent), don't give up on it! :-)
Hello Joanna, thank you for a wonderful and much needed look at what happens to the author of a book that doesn't sell. I have written 3 novels in 3 different genres (one is not yet published!) The first two have only sold moderately, no great hooray by any standards. However, I have never felt disappointed. I knew from the beginning that it takes time and hard work to do the marketing and promotions. I also knew that many successful authors, were not successful the first or second book, but just kept on writing anyway. Even Stephan King was rejected 75 times before his writing took off and they started making movies of his novels. Just write what you love and many people will love it too, it doesn't have to be a blockbuster book. Self-accomplishment, for me, is the highest reward! Karen :)
Karen, your journey in often tough terrain I can identify with. I enjoy writing and the joy of discovering new genres to write in. New ways to portray and develop characters, that readers will appreciate. Ultimately, how, from a blank canvas a final manuscript is arrived at. Even, then with publication you understand that your publicity campaign is inadequate and that it can never reach many of your potential readers, but you have the immense satisfaction of developing the craft of writing through and in this demanding environment.
Thanks, Joanna, this post made me smile. We authors spend our time doing something we love. In my view, that makes us all successes
Novel writing is like an expedition into undiscovered territory. Each novel is like some separate specie. My first was a sea adventure. Admit to telling myself that I was writing in a lessor appreciated genre and not to expect fantastic reviews or pick up! Consequently any sales achieved were given accolades. My second novel was voted most popular read on a kindle promotional site. This certainly lifted my spirits and I completed a final manuscript for forty poems, which were composed from 2010 to 2016. The adrenaline rush from readers positive replies has enabled the completion of a science fiction novel and now the writing of a sequel to the sea adventure. The intention is to promote my next novel, more effectively than the first three! My second novel achieving positive reader replies was a breakthrough and confidence booster. Your article, explains how a well written novel is an accomplishment, even when not on the best seller list for Amazon, Foyles. Barnes and Noble, Waterstones or WH Smith in the UK.
A much needed shot in the arm, Julie and Joanna! As an indie author of chapter books for children, I just launched my fourth book in as many years. (All the best with your first children's tale, Julie!).
While each book gets easier to write and publicize and my platforms broaden, kid lit is such a competitive market! It's discouraging when book sales and interest wane after launch, and ongoing marketing feels like climbing Mt. Everest. Grateful for posts like yours and my tribe of child literacy folk I've met along the way. There's always someone feeling down we can lift up; another's finding that joy and success to keep us sparking on.
Thanks for your kind comments, Cat.
Thank you Julie and Joanna for this post.
I would like to echo the sentiment that we writers are brave. To write is to go against the current. Everyone else is going downstream doing all the same things that everyone else is doing. We writers are the ones going against the current saying: Imagine if life was like this or wouldn't it be wonderful if these things happened.
Everyone I know in real life thinks I am foolhardy for spending so much time writing but I am creating worlds filled with wonderful people where interesting things happen. And I will not give that up for anything.
Plus now I am meeting amazing people (like Joanna!) I recently went to my first writer's conference and received really positive feedback about my writing. It was a fantastic experience that wouldn't have happened without my writing.