David Kadavy

✨ 📚 10 things I’ve learned selling 100,000 books

I recently surpassed 100,000 copies sold of my self-published books. Here are ten things I’ve learned:

10. WRITE SHORTER BOOKS. Full-length books are great, but most books just don’t need to be that long.

9. KEEP LEARNING. Each book you publish is a chance to try something different and learn something new.

8. TAKE CHANCES. Sometimes you write a book about a weird idea, and it turns out to be a hit.

7. GET THE PRICE RIGHT. Price can greatly affect how many copies you sell, and the royalties you earn.

6. CHOOSE A TITILLATING TITLE. Your title has to hit subtle psychological triggers to be a hit.

5. BOOKS ARE JUDGED BY THEIR COVERS. Don’t skimp on your cover. Study your genre and blend in, while standing out.

4. KNOW YOUR GENRE. Be clear what category your book belongs in, and study other books in that category well.

3. RUN ADS. Trust that your book is good enough that if people see it, they will buy it.

2. BUILD YOUR AUDIENCE AS YOU BUILD YOUR BOOK. Social media isn’t how you sell your book, it’s how you write it.

1. SELL DIRECT. You make way more profit through Shopify than Amazon.

I’ve learned so much more, I’ve written a book, How to Sell A Book. Save 10% on preorders through October 18th. Click on this post and use the code FACEBOOK at checkout.

It still blows my mind that in school I'd dread writing a 3-page essay, yet I can now voluntarily crank out something like this and have fun doing it.