Author Summer School is now OPEN from June 19 – 29, 2023
For the next 10 days, “Author Summer School” is now available for those who would like to enroll in one or all of my popular video courses. Click on the links below to get course details and purchase:
BRAND NEW COURSE!
Book Marketing for Beginners ($149)
How to Sell Books on a Shoestring Budget ($299)
Mastering Amazon for Authors ($399)
Typically, I open registration for these courses in the Spring and Fall. However, within the past 60 days, over 500 new authors have joined my email newsletter. Many asked if I would reopen enrollment sooner than having to wait another 3 – 4 months.
This is your chance to jump into these courses and use the Summer to further your author education and boost your book sales. Just remember that doors will close at midnight next Thursday, June 29th. If you don’t purchase within the next 10 days, you will have to wait until this Fall before registration opens again.
NOTE: If you would like to purchase more than one course, contact me for a special 20% discount coupon code.
Join me for Author Summer School. Enroll today!
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The Secret to Selling Old Books
If you watch an old movie on Netflix, do you enjoy it any less than a new movie?
If you eat food at a restaurant that’s thrived for 10 years, do you feel ripped off?
If you have kids, do you love your older child any less than your younger child?
Age doesn’t matter when it comes to watching movies, eating at restaurants, or raising kids.
In the publishing industry, however, there is a bizarre bias against “old” books.
For example, publishers are notorious about focusing all of their budget and staff on new books, while old books are left to fend for themselves. It’s a ridiculous mindset where books are classified as “frontlist” or “backlist.”
Once a new or “frontlist” book has been in print for a few months, publishers refer to the title as “backlist” and treat it like an illegitimate stepchild. Many authors follow the same irrational mindset.
In reality, though, “backlist” books keep most publishers in business. A financial report by Publishers Weekly revealed that backlist titles account for more than 50% of total revenue at many major publishing houses. Likewise, authors stand to make more money when they write a lot of books that stay in print over time.
Regardless of these facts, an ageism bias towards books still remains. For instance, I watch too many authors put their primary focus on marketing new books with little effort made to promote their past work. This approach makes no sense. Here’s why:
Readers don’t care about the age of your book.
Readers only want to know if your book will be a satisfying read.
For instance, how many times have you ever cared about a book’s age when shopping for your next read? I’ve read hundreds of books in my lifetime and very few were brand new when I bought them. To most readers, there is no difference between “frontlist” and “backlist” books. Likewise, authors shouldn’t view their books any differently. Every book is “new” to a reader who wants to buy it.
I proved this concept when I helped a 23-year-old book called Boundaries hit The New York Times bestseller list for 14 months in 2015 and 2016 (read the case study). Even though the book was published in 1992, it’s just as relevant today as it was two decades ago.
Here’s the secret to selling “old” books.
The answer is simple. Treat your “old” book as if it was new. Tell yourself that all of your titles are relevant and worth purchasing today.
If necessary, you may need to update the cover art for an old book to avoid letting it look out of date. But, that’s an easy and inexpensive fix.
Then, promote your old book as if it were new, such as:
- Update your book description on Amazon to avoid appearing obsolete.
- Never classify a book as “old” on your author website. They are all “relevant.”
- Run marketing campaigns during the year for “backlist” books as if they’re new.
- Add new content and relaunch an “updated edition.”
- Revive sales of “older” books by running a price discount or offering bonuses.
In other words, take active steps to promote your old book like it’s a new title.
Age is all in your mind. You don’t have to grow old and neither do your books.
If less than 50% of your annual revenue comes from “backlist” titles, then you’re missing out on your full sales potential as an author.
God still wants people to read the Bible – even though it’s a 2,000-year-old “backlist” book. If a book that old is worth reading, maybe you should consider taking the same approach with your own book – no matter how old it might be.
Does the idea of reviving sales for an old book seem confusing or daunting?
Are you nervous about launching a new book?
Purchase my online video courses during Author Summer School this week and learn how to take control over marketing your books – both new and old.
Book Marketing for Beginners ($149)
