This post by Anne R. Allen originally appeared on her blog on 3/22/15.
Ruth and I get lots of email from fledgling authors, both indie and trad-pubbed. The majority ask pretty much the same question:
“I’ve got great reviews, I’m on social media, and I send out a newsletter—just like [my publisher/agent/a blog guru/this book I read] told me to: why isn’t my book selling? It’s been out for six months!!!”
In other words, everybody wants us to tell them how to achieve sure-fire publishing success.
But we won’t.
That’s not because we’re meanies. It’s because we are fresh out of magic spells. And our wands have been recalled to Hogwarts.
Yes, Ruth has had a number of books on the NYT bestseller list and I’ve been an Amazon bestseller.
But we couldn’t tell you exactly how a brand new author can climb up the charts right now. What we did worked for our books at the time. But times change. What worked even three months ago may not work now. Each new book, each new Amazon program change, and each new search engine algorithm change requires a different strategy.
Here’s the thing: there IS no sure-fire formula. There never was. Traditional publishers don’t have one and neither do indies.
Anybody who tells you otherwise is lying. Marketers only know what worked for certain books at a certain time.