Writing Your Next Book Won't Sell Your Last One

This might cause a bit of a ruckus. But the point is worth being made.

Writing your next book is not the answer to why your last or current book won't sell.

Let me explain...

I was scrolling on Threads the other day and saw some bad author advice that I see all the time:

Original poster: How do I get people to buy my books? 

Comments: Use your next book to sell your current book.

Maybe you haven’t heard this before, but it's a common misconception in the author community.

I see it multiple times a day.

Personally, it drives me up the wall. (see photograph for my expression lol) 

Now I'm not here to bash others...

But you’re one of my people, and I don’t want you to know that as a self published author, this advice just isn’t for you. 

Here’s why: 

1. As an indie author, you get to make your rules about when you release               your books and your methods of marketing. You don't have to wait for the next book to be released. You also typically have more freedom around how you can market your book(s). This also means you don't have to wait multiple years to build up a backlist           to be profitable. You have the flexibility and freedom to create experiences around your book that fit your needs, including income.

2. If you aren’t sure how to sell your current book, writing another isn’t going to solve this problem. Though you can use your next book to help sell your backlist, this shouldn’t be a primary strategy. You need to understand how to sell your book to sell books. Writing a book doesn’t solve this problem. It gives you more ways to sell, but it doesn't just automatically sell your books.

PLUS, waiting until the next book is done means you’re waiting even longer to make a profit from publishing.