A staggering publishing statistic and what you can do about it

Last week I attended Independent Book Publishers Association 's #PubU2024 conference and it was so refreshing to be among a group of publishing colleagues who are ready to be innovative and disrupt the industry.

On Saturday morning IBPA's CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbet shared a pretty staggering statistic about the traditional publishing model: 8 out of 10 books are not profitable.*

This is something that I've known, mainly from my own personal experience working at a Big 5 publisher, but it's still so shocking to hear.

What does this mean?

At its core, it means that publishing houses are acquiring books knowing that 80% of what they acquire likely won't make back the advance paid to the author (at least not in the immediate future).

This is a big deal because it means that 80% of these authors will end up confused, disappointed, and discouraged at the fact that their book isn't "successful."

What can you do about it as an author?

1. Be open to different paths

One of the most beautiful parts of PubU was hearing about some of the different and innovative ways independent publishers are tackling the industry and their work with authors.

A lot of authors get caught up in the traditional route of publishing--only wanting to pursue it if they can get a deal from a Big 5 imprint.

But I encourage you to be open and do your research.

Advances from indie publishers might be lower than those from traditional publishing houses, but many of them offer fantastic author support, distribution to and relationships with major retailers, and innovation promotion opportunities. And in turn some of these authors end up selling more copies than they would somewhere else.

2. Set proper expectations

If you are an author--regardless of what publishing model you're using--you need set realistic expectations for your publishing experience.

Just because you slap a publishing house logo on the spine of your book does not mean it's going to magically sell thousands of copies.

The main driver of your book sales will come from your willingness to invest time (and maybe money) into marketing.

My friend Caroline Malloy, Ph.D. summarized this quite well in a recent post asking authors, "What are you willing to do for your book?"

You need to go into your publishing experience with the expectation that you need to invest your time and resources in promotion if you want to get your book in front of more people and ultimately sell more books.

3. Take time to learn the process

Piggybacking off of the last point, you need to learn the marketing process and understand the why behind the different strategies if you really want them to pay off.

This means diving into the world of marketing, getting your hands a little bit dirty, and gaining experience.

I know that many authors claim they don't have time to market their books. And in same cases this is true.

But going to Fiverr and finding the cheapest social media assistant isn't the final answer.

As an author you should empower yourself to understand the why and how behind your marketing strategy, and then find people who can step into this strategy to support you.

Blasting social media posts out into the world with no strategy won't sell you many books. This same thing can be said for email newsletters, ebook promotions, etc.

Final thoughts

• If you are publishing traditionally, ask your publishing team about their plans for marketing and promotion so you have clarity on what they are doing and where you can fill in the gaps on your own.
• Regardless of your publishing path, you should be taking control of your marketing strategy and steering the ship--whether you're tackling it yourself or outsourcing to marketing pros.
• Do your research and go into opportunities with clear goals. Publishing should be a partnership, so make sure you are choosing a partner who aligns with the goals you have for yourself. Even if they can't be the main driver for reaching those goals, they should be providing you with the proper resources so you aren't completely on your own to figure it out.

If you're ready to take the next steps with your marketing strategy:

• Book a single consultation so you can make sure you're on the right marketing path.
• Join the waitlist for the next 60-Day Marketing Bootcamp.

Keep rocking,

Aryn Van Dyke

Founder, Book Rockstar

*Books become more profitable over a long period of time. In some instances, it might be 10+ years before a book begins to turn a profit for a publisher. Sometimes less, sometimes more.