Time to level up

I don't sell tens of thousands of copies. Yet.

It’s been four days since my new book was published and it’s already sold out. The distribution company still has lots of copies, but it takes days or sometimes weeks for them to be available in bookstores and libraries. So as I write this post, Stop igra can’t be bought anywhere. You can order it, but you’ll have to wait for about ten days to get your copy.

I acted swiftly and the book is already being reprinted. Another hundred copies will join the initial four hundred. That number may seem low to you. Top bestselling authors sell tens of thousands of copies of their books, even in Slovenia. What they have and I don’t is a big publishing company behind their back. There are exceptions, of course. I know indie authors that have sold thousands of copies. Most of them are lucky if they cover the cost of their books. Some of them sell nothing.

Money. People. Bookstores.

What do big publishers have that my small publishing house doesn’t? First of all, money. Second, people. Third, bookstores. I’m actually a one-man band. I have a pretty regular team of people that work with me, but that’s it. I have no employees. My cash flow varies a lot. At the moment I’m operating solely with the money I make from book sales. As I don’t have a physical bookstore, the majority of sales go through my online bookstore and to libraries (via a distributor that takes his fair share). There are some sales in major bookstores across the country, but it’s almost not worth mentioning. I hope that changes with Stop igra.

A hundred and fifty copies sold before the book was published mean the world to me. Because I know how hard it is to sell so many books being an author, a publisher, a marketing specialist, and a salesman. I’m proud of this achievement. I’ve earned it.

What now? Now I sit back, relax, and wait. It’s been a wild ride. First I need to refill my batteries, then it’s time to step up the game and level up. Again.