Change- Made 500,000 Sales

[Change]

The title, is my result 1 year after I hit publish of the book I have started working on exactly 10 hours from when I hit create thread, on this thread. This will act as my daily/weekly/monthly guide and I hope/know I can contribute some great information along the way for people to learn.

I have always loved to write, have even been told I should be a writer, something about my descriptions plunges the reader right in the middle of it all.

My goal- Make 500,000 sales in hard-copies within a year of self-publishing. Make 500,000-1,000,000 in sales for online versions.

This thread is to..from start to finish, outline what I am doing to make those 500,000 sales for a book I have yet to start writing. This 500,000 sales is to be for physical copies of the book, not online kindle books. Though, I feel I will keep track of those as well in the coming months and will set the 2nd goal of 500,000-1,000,000.

Rules To Meet Goals: I am to spend at least 1 hour per day for this single purpose and larger goal. This 1 hour is to have my complete and undivided attention, no distractions whatsoever. It is quality that I strive for, and as such, it is science which has proved- to do things in a single setting, the results of such setting are greater in quality as compared to it being done in pieces or sections with unnecessary breaks in between.

I will also share my new book title with 1 person on this forum- and who better than to share it with MJ DeMarco, with the bearing that it is not to be discussed with anyone furthermore. But, that is if he so chooses, and that will be exactly 24 hours before I hit put it up on Amazon or other forms/locations to be sold, to be discussed later.

I would like to say, thank you MJ DeMarco, for writing the Millionaire Fastlane. Never have I finished a book in a single day, it was just that darn good and informative.

Goals, to meet so as to meet Goal 1...
A. Choose a Purpose (projected 15 mins) I cannot do anything, or get anywhere if I have no single purpose to accomplish.

B. Choose a Theme (proj. 15 mins) How can I write without knowing what special angle will bring about my purpose?

C. Choose a Book Title (proj. 30 mins) A title, is a books gold. Changing the title and republishing the book, does in fact result in more sales, and does show that some title-types "sell" more than others.

D. Create an outline or a mind map of everything I can think of that would fit the books purpose. (proj.3 hours)

E. Organize the above and group them to create chapters. (proj. 2 hours)

I know 500,000 hard copies to be sold in a year may be "hard." I know 500,000-1,000,000 sales in electronic versions would likely be...double as hard- since its double the books? I need to remember those are just numbers.

One Plus Two, Does Not Equal 3. It Equals 10.
1 + 2 NOT EQUAL to 3.

Why? How? I need to remember the combination of unlike things creates or can create synergy and synergy is what can propel things and magnify things to catastrophic proportions.

There is always a process to forms of success. I leave nothing to chance, therefore luck does not exist! My deliberate action is... success.


--------------------------------
I added a poll...Do you believe I will accomplish my goal of 500,000 physical copies sold and 500k-1,000,000 sold electronically within the 365 days to come from the moment I hit publish/post it on amazon/anywhere else I deem it necessary? Please answer truthfully/honestly.

-----------
Goal 2...Get all those "no's" to a "yes" on a poll by the time I hit publish.

Updates soon.

Hope you all bookmark this. I'm going to walk mankind down the right path?


Edit: Note: I voted "Yes You Will Accomplish Your Goal."
ChickenHawk, thanks for the inspiration.
MJ DeMarco, thanks for writing the Millionaire Fastlane, I wouldn't be here if it were not for it.

 

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[AndrewNC]

Anybody else read the title of this thread expecting to hear a story of sales already made?

 

[GuestUser113]

 

[Charnell]

I am to spend at least 1 hour per day for this single purpose and larger goal.

You may want to increase this number.

How's your budget looking for advertising, assuming you self publishing? Have you setup any blog tours? Radio appearances? Television? Do you have a budget for editing? Line editing? Cover art?

Do you have credentials? Why should I buy your book?

How long do you plan on making it? How long will it take you to write?

Do you really think it takes a 15 minutes to brainstorm the idea for a book that will sell half a million copies? Followed up by another 15 minutes to try and put your special spin on it.

Half a million sales of anything isn't a small achievement by any means.

 

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[Digamma]

500k hardcover copies? One hour a day? A poll about it? Consider my mind blown.

 

[theag]

Anybody else read the title of this thread expecting to hear a story of sales already made?

Yup.

Poll results dont look so promising either. Maybe you should focus on action not just big proclamations OP. didnt read your post btw and only voted based on the stupid click bait.

 

[Mattie]

I believe this is just unrealistic. Anything I've learned, you have to have the right niche, written the right way, and not be something that is saturated. I keep seeing the outline thing, but realistically, and out line is just a few ideas, and you're ideas might not be fitting with the customers idea of what a good book amounts too. 500,000 is a high expectation, and you might have a pile of hard copy books you'll never be able to get rid of and probably sit around your house for years. Marketing and distribution is a huge part. And you might do your research, because just by reading this, it suggests you haven't done your homework, and know most authors don't become successful over night and not off one book.

 

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[Knight_Writer]

You don't have a book out yet and looks like you're just starting out which makes me draw one conclusion, you're underestimating what 500k/100k/10k/1k/x sales entitles.

I wouldn't call those Goals but rather rough steps in other to achieve what looks to be your divine book of salvation.

 

[EricZ]

Never make the mistake of setting your goals too low.
Well you didn't fail there my friend!
Here's my favorite post about what it really takes to do what you want to do, Charlie Hoehn and Tim Ferriss have done it, you should call them and get on it. But if you want people to take you seriously, you will seriously have to devote more than 1 hour per day, more like 26+ !
http://okdork.com/2014/02/17/hit-1-amazons-bestseller-list/

When you get around to making the Ebook, let me know, that's my specialty.

E.

 

[randomnumber314]

Yellow. You should buy a yellow Ferrari.

The Millionaire Fastlane has sold tens of thousands of copies, and it's a very well written book. It took MJ years to write the book. What topic are you knowledgeable enough about to write a book and sell 500k copies this year?

 

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[Charnell]

Yellow. You should buy a yellow Ferrari.

The Millionaire Fastlane has sold tens of thousands of copies, and it's a very well written book. It took MJ years to write the book. What topic are you knowledgeable enough about to write a book and sell 500k copies this year?

A kid with horrible legal guardians who ends up being the dankest wizard of them all.

 

[randomnumber314]

A kid with horrible legal guardians who ends up being the dankest wizard of them all.

True, but the timeline won't make OP happy.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/harrypottertimeline.html

 

[Even Steven]

@Change, I like your enthusiasm and ambition, but as others have noted, I think your aim may be a bit unrealistic. There's a tough balance to strike between setting goals that are ambitious but still achievable.

But here's the bright side. You threw it out there. Most people wouldn't even have the balls to announce their plans in a public forum. You did that and, most importantly, you got feedback. Now take that feedback seriously and re-adjust your goals a bit. Keep at it.

 

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[Charnell]

Most people wouldn't even have the balls to announce their plans in a public forum.

Public forum, anonymous username.

 

[Change]

Anybody else read the title of this thread expecting to hear a story of sales already made?

Apologies for the click bait- though to get views was the purpose of the thread's name.

You may want to increase this number.

How's your budget looking for advertising, assuming you self publishing? Have you setup any blog tours? Radio appearances? Television? Do you have a budget for editing? Line editing? Cover art?

Do you have credentials? Why should I buy your book?

How long do you plan on making it? How long will it take you to write?

Do you really think it takes a 15 minutes to brainstorm the idea for a book that will sell half a million copies? Followed up by another 15 minutes to try and put your special spin on it.

Half a million sales of anything isn't a small achievement by any means.

Increase the number of hours I spend on this? Duly noted. You are right, my 1 hour a day was benign. I'll update later as to how long things really took.

My budget on advertising, is $ 0.00. I have not set up any blog tours. No radio appearances and of course no Television. A budget for editing- nope. Line editing...what does this mean? And cover art...I'm well covered in this department, I guess this is one plus.

Credentials- Are? I have seen people tactfully create themselves from a nobody to a somebody through association. Do I really need a PhD to write about something medical? (as a mere example)...and the answer is no. How long I plan on "making it?" Well that is a good question. If to make it, you mean to write the book, gain exposure etc up until the second before I release it for sale...I am not sure yet. I was aiming to have it written, and ready to hit publish within 365 days of starting. To hit publish is one thing- to gain the 500k sales I need is going to take tactfulness and execution in varying degrees and tasks, I have yet to come forth with.

I really did think it would take 15 minutes to brainstorm the general "idea" for the book and another "15 minutes" to put a spin on it.
My estimate was wrong- Took 7 minutes maybe even less to come up with the general purpose of the book. I had a few ideas written down on my window as time passed. The special spin, I am a firm believer in taking what works, reinventing it, offering more value in combination to something else and releasing it as a "new" product. So this book, is in some nutshell, a combination of prior books that have been successful.

Yes I know its not a small achievement. But if I'm going to waste my life away doing something, it might as well doing something I want and on my accord.

Yup.

Poll results dont look so promising either. Maybe you should focus on action not just big proclamations OP. didnt read your post btw and only voted based on the stupid click bait.

No proclamations were made, just goals being written publicly.

I believe this is just unrealistic. Anything I've learned, you have to have the right niche, written the right way, and not be something that is saturated. I keep seeing the outline thing, but realistically, and out line is just a few ideas, and you're ideas might not be fitting with the customers idea of what a good book amounts too. 500,000 is a high expectation, and you might have a pile of hard copy books you'll never be able to get rid of and probably sit around your house for years. Marketing and distribution is a huge part. And you might do your research, because just by reading this, it suggests you haven't done your homework, and know most authors don't become successful over night and not off one book.

If it were easy to do what I want to do, then I would not have wanted to do what I have set out to do.

You don't have a book out yet and looks like you're just starting out which makes me draw one conclusion, you're underestimating what 500k/100k/10k/1k/x sales entitles.

I wouldn't call those Goals but rather rough steps in other to achieve what looks to be your divine book of salvation.

You say divine book of salvation? Oh wow. What a great book title. I just added it to my list of things to consider. But you are right, I do hope this is hmm, a book that will undoubtedly help others while helping myself.

@Change, I like your enthusiasm and ambition, but as others have noted, I think your aim may be a bit unrealistic. There's a tough balance to strike between setting goals that are ambitious but still achievable.

But here's the bright side. You threw it out there. Most people wouldn't even have the balls to announce their plans in a public forum. You did that and, most importantly, you got feedback. Now take that feedback seriously and re-adjust your goals a bit. Keep at it.

Yes, I am re-adjusting them, perhaps it was childish to choose such a high number?

----
To sell 500,000 copies within the year, was to sell 41,666 on average a month. Around 10,416 a week with rounding etc. I honestly did not see 41-42k a month as "impossible."

Update: Overall Goal Changed: 100,000 hard copies sold within 365 days of putting it on the market and 200,000 sold electronically.

Does this sound more believable? At only 8,333 a month, or 2,083 a week I guess it seems it will be 1/5 the "hard work" (2083/10416)?

Regardless- now I have added what I think is even easier to accomplish as my goal? I add a question mark, because if something is out of the ordinary than it must be impossible to accomplish.
---

 

[theag]

only 8,333 a month

lol

C'mon man you can do better than those lowly goals.

 

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[Aimee]

You have no advertising budget, no credentials, no editing, and you're planning to sell over 2k books a week?
I'm all for setting big goals and I'd love for you to achieve it, but bloody hell...you want to make over $100k in a year from writing one book and selling it?

Perhaps try setting achievable goals instead. For example, instead of saying, 'I will have xxx sales,' say 'I will write xxx words.' Setting targets for something you have absolutely no control over it setting yourself up for failure.

Have you ever tried self publishing before? It's not as easy as people seem to think. What's your niche, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Mattie]

If it were easy to do what I want to do, then I would not have wanted to do what I have set out to do.

Ha ha! Almost a year ago I had the same idea! And through trial and error you find out, you're not going to be the Babe Ruth without a lot of hard work, trial and error, and I thank M.J. for setting me straight on that last year. And boy there were lots of lessons along the way here the last year. Lot of learning, growth, and experimentation. So yes, my goal is big for my novel, but I'm not so naive as I was a year ago, and frankly see all the improvements that have been needed to reach that goal. So, I wish you luck if you believe it's going to be fast and furious with your first book.

Basically worked on that Novel for two years, and found out the last year, I need to tear it apart. Sorry! Just the way it is if you want be the Babe Ruth.

 

[Digamma]

Yadda yadda yadda (cut for space)

Ok, I want to bite.

What you are saying is absurd. Clearly you don't know what realistic numbers in book publishing are.
What you are saying is in the ballpark of "I'm buying a Physics book, I plan on putting a man on Mars in a year".

I don't like being a naysayer, but to be clear, if anybody told you that there is no impossible goal, that guy is selling you something or screwing with you.

Just write stuff that solves a real problem for your customer, and sell the first copy. Then the second. Then the third. And so on, in a boring ad libitum that we like to call business.

 

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[AgainstAllOdds]

Don't make projections before starting. If 1% of my pre-starting projections were right, I'd be a billionaire now.

 

[GuestUser113]

Yellow. You should buy a yellow Ferrari.

Drool. Yellow looks good on a 458.

 

[theag]

Dont listen to the naysayers dude.

Also, dont listen to randomnumber314. Ferraris should be RED.

 

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[Charmander]

I wonder how many people make those sales. Is it the 1% ? Or 0.1?
Because a lot of people might think that writing books is the road to the riches.

And maybe it used to be.
.....
But I think that TODAY, it is the road to hell


Because seriously, who does really buy books today? obviously only those that would reply to this post, but the majority DOWNLOAD THEM FREELY from the net!
And besides, they do not even need to go through the hassle of finding them, as the "most popular books" are allready freely on youtube as audio books, so searching for them only takes 2 clicks.
Wonder when they will close the book stores down allready... They allready did so in our country - we basically have only 2 major stores left... Only people who buy books are old grannies like mine...
.................
Better have something "good" to sell 500k

 

[axiom]

I wonder how many people make those sales. Is it the 1% ? Or 0.1?
Because a lot of people might think that writing books is the road to the riches.
View attachment 9310
And maybe it used to be.
.....
But I think that TODAY, it is the road to hell
View attachment 9311

Because seriously, who does really buy books today? obviously only those that would reply to this post, but the majority DOWNLOAD THEM FREELY from the net!
And besides, they do not even need to go through the hassle of finding them, as the "most popular books" are allready freely on youtube as audio books, so searching for them only takes 2 clicks.
Wonder when they will close the book stores down allready... They allready did so in our country - we basically have only 2 major stores left... Only people who buy books are old grannies like mine...
.................
Better have something "good" to sell 500k

no actually 99% buy legitimately... If there is value, most people are honest and pay the author what they deserve. Except you I guess.

 

[Charmander]

I meant that there is a much greater ratio of people(not good to the seller)who do not buy the book(but read/listen to it), compared to the total of books which are sold
Example:

Some have MILLIONS of VIEWS on JUST AUDIO BOOKS ON YOUTUBE!
And that is not including the much bigger numbers that some books have been downloaded (would not be surprised if it even surpassed the sales)

What do i mean to say with it ? That 500 k sales seems just too high for me. Really, it better be something good.

 

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[EricZ]

First steps:
1.) make a cover
2.) market the sh*t out of it - take 1 year and do massive marketing like Tim Ferriss did for 4hwwk.

Otherwise be prepared for this:

That book is in prime real estate in a website that gets 200+ uniques per day.
Dismal innit?

What are you going to do different?

 

[Digamma]

I meant that there is a much greater ratio of people(not good to the seller)who do not buy the book(but read/listen to it), compared to the total of books which are sold
Example:
View attachment 9314
Some have MILLIONS of VIEWS on JUST AUDIO BOOKS ON YOUTUBE!
And that is not including the much bigger numbers that some books have been downloaded (would not be surprised if it even surpassed the sales)

What do i mean to say with it ? That 500 k sales seems just too high for me. Really, it better be something good.

This thread gets better and better.

By the way, who wants a Ferrari when you can get this?

 

[Charnell]

Where's @Luffy when you need him?

 

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[theag]

 

[theag]