Comments on: No Sales or Lackluster Sales: It Isn’t the Reader, It’s the Book…Really

By: 176 Resources and Tools to Market and Launch Your Book - Digital Pubbing

176 Resources and Tools to Market and Launch Your Book - Digital Pubbing — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 17:02:18 +0000

[…] “No Sales or Lackluster Sales: It Isn’t the Reader, It’s the Book…Really” on Kristen Lamb […]

By: Marketing 101 | Why Isn't My Facebook Advertising Working?

Marketing 101 | Why Isn't My Facebook Advertising Working? — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 19:01:48 +0000

[…] (I’m not the first person to point out that if a book isn’t selling, the problem is likely to be the book. For example, see this excellent post from Kristen Lamb: It Isn’t the Reader, It’s the Book … Re….) […]

By: wendygoerl

wendygoerl — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 20:27:43 +0000

First off, self-publishing was the FIRST publishing–it’s ALWAYS been there.

Second, if “No sales=bad book” then all manuscripts are “bad”–no matter how many revisions or how many people say it’s wonderful. ALL books have been “zero sale” books at some time in their lives, unless you’re such a big name you can pre-sell thousands of copies just on a half-baked concept. (And there have been a lot of bad books that sold thousands of copies that way.)

It goes along with my pet peeve of people who feel they should only leave a review if they liked to book–they’re saying all “new releases” (and by “new release,” I mean books that don’t have a lot of copies out for people TO review) are automatically the worst thing to ever see print until proven otherwise. Such a system makes anything less that a five-star a bad book, when there are several good books in the 3-4 star range, and even a 2-star book can have buy-worthy qualities. At the other end of the scale, a truly stand-out book is lost in the numbers, because people are so afraid to give less than 5-star reviews for a book that doesn’t have any outstanding flaws, they haven’t reserved space in their ratings for what is truly exceptional.

By: This Week in the Blogs, January 10 – 16, 2020 – Plugins Test

This Week in the Blogs, January 10 – 16, 2020 – Plugins Test — Sun, 19 Jan 2020 08:28:38 +0000

[…] Lamb on Kristen Lamb – Author, Speaker, Professional TroublemakerNo Sales or Lackluster Sales: It Isn’t the Reader, It’s the Book…Really“No sales or lackluster sales. It isn’t the reader’s fault. It’s the book. Really. This is […]

By: rjrodda

rjrodda — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 08:49:27 +0000

Thank you for your insights.

By: Kristen Lamb

Kristen Lamb — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 04:55:58 +0000

In reply to mydanube. How about I do a blog on it? :)

By: Top Picks Thursday! For Writers & Readers 01-16-2020 | The Author Chronicles

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 18:03:56 +0000

[…] Anne R Allen recommends BookBub reviews as an alternative to Goodreads, Cristian Mihai lists 9 tips to help you start your blogging journey like a boss, and Kristen Lamb shares the reasons your book isn’t selling. […]

By: Raymond Walker

Raymond Walker — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 17:20:37 +0000

I enjoyed the article and believe that you are right; sometimes it is the book. One of mine I expected to sell, did not and I was dumbfounded until a couple of years ago when I decided to reread it on a whim and realised that there is nothing wrong with the book other than it is terribly dull.
I did wish to make a point however, occasionally books just have their time. One of my traditionally published books hardly sold at all upon release and I suspect that of the few copies that were sold many were bought by my mother who gave a copy to everyone she knew and many that she did not.
Three years or so later, the book miraculously started selling. I had no idea why nor did my publisher who had to hurriedly reprint to cope with demand. It turned out that a fellow by the name of Paul Hoffman had just published a bestseller called “The left Hand Of God” and so many had likened it to my earlier novel that it started selling. Alas, he had the bestseller I did not but it ended up doing well for me. Just a stroke of luck perhaps.

By: mydanube

mydanube — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 13:44:27 +0000

I’ve been following your blog for a couple of years now, because your advice, and tips are so decisive, and full of humor. But this post has me curious. I’ve read it many times before, but I still don’t understand what exactly is a platform. Could you please explain it to me, (excuse me for being so dim), but I just don’t understand. I’ve written and self- published two books now on Amazon, sales are not going as well as I hoped. Thanks for any advice you can give me, and thanks for all your past words of wisdom for all us dim writers.

By: Wednesday Weekly Roundup | Barbara G.Tarn - writer

Wednesday Weekly Roundup | Barbara G.Tarn - writer — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 07:05:17 +0000

[…] interesting article about no sales or lackluster sales. Yes, it might be the book. You might either need to write more, or maybe you only need to let your […]