Hello fellow quarantiners, mask wearers, and hand washers,
As of now, we’ve officially entered the “it gets worse before it gets better” phase of COVID-19. The latest publishing news is tough to swallow. But, I believe it’s always best to deal with reality and face the truth head-on. Here’s where we are at the moment:
- NPD BookScan reported print book sales dropped 9% over the previous week ending March 28th. Bright spots were books in juvenile fiction and Easter books.
- Barnes & Noble just closed 500 stores and furloughed thousands of employees.
- Big 5 U.S. publisher, MacMillan, laid off staff and cut employee salaries.
- Hundreds of independent bookstores are fighting to survive.
- Amazon has “deprioritized” warehouse space for books and pushed back delivery dates for many print titles into late-April or May. But, e-books continue to sell well.
Not the easiest news to digest. Yes, this crisis will be temporary, but it’s going to leave permanent scars on the industry. So, here’s my question to you:
Will you be ready for the new future of publishing?
Here’s what I mean. The Los Angeles Times ran an interesting article last week called, “How the Coronavirus Will Change Publishing – Now and Forever.” Here are some interesting quotes to consider:
The publishing industry as a whole is now frozen. And, the great debate is over what to do with forthcoming books: Do you move them at the risk of doing the once-unthinkable, putting out a big book in the middle of a presidential election? Or, do you plow ahead?
Publishing’s glacial production schedule, in which even a hot book takes a year or two to reach the market, means that some of the most urgent stories will not get told as quickly. And, because of its complicated business model, it will be well into the latter half of 2020 before we know whether or not gains in e-book sales will mitigate lost print revenue.
Who is likely to benefit most from all this chaos? The last publisher assured to be left standing, the one that has a built-in audience and will never have a shortage of customers, the one with a parent company that is actually benefiting in this dire moment, the inventor of the Kindle and self-publishing…
Amazon.
Friends, those aren’t my words. That is reporting coming straight from the Los Angeles Times.
You’ve heard me beat the drum that Amazon is the unchallenged dominator of the publishing industry. This current crisis will only make their advantage grow stronger.
Therefore, authors who master selling books on Amazon will be the ones who succeed going forward. Seriously, Amazon may be the only retailer left standing for a while.
That’s why I created my online video course, Mastering Amazon for Authors.
Over 375 authors have gone through the instruction and are quite glad they did. Here’s what you’ll learn how to do:
- Increase sales with an Amazon book detail page that readers can’t resist
- Identify categories that propel your book up the Amazon bestseller charts
- Secure influential customer reviews that convince readers to purchase
- Leverage little-known marketing secrets within Author Central
- Achieve maximum visibility for your book with low-cost Amazon ads
- Grow your author email list for free using Amazon’s massive audience
I know times are difficult and money is tight. But, reality is not going to change. If you want to keep your book sales afloat, you must learn how to tap into the full power of Amazon and use it to your advantage.
Mastering Amazon for Authors is available right now at the lowest price ever of $349, which includes 17 teaching videos, downloadable checklists, and open access to ask me questions for a year. There’s also a 3-month payment plan available at $133 per month.
The COVID-19 crisis isn’t going away anytime soon. But, it will end and a new normal will return. So, I ask you:
Will you be ready to sell books in the new future of publishing
when Amazon becomes even more powerful?
Together, we’ll get through this. Here’s how I can help:
Purchase Mastering Amazon for Authors
Book a 90-Minute Private Author Coaching Session
Request my Book Marketing Master Class – remote video option
