Question from a reader:”I am going ahead and publishing my own fiction book despite what you have said about fiction not selling. I think, no, I know that the book will be a hit. What was the talk about non-fiction outselling fiction when books like “Twilight” and the Harry Potter series have taken off so well?”
My answer is that for the most part, fiction, though it may sell well in brief flash in the moments for already established best selling authors (and even they are hurting) is dead. Non fiction sales are decent because people want and are looking for straight answers for their problems. This isn’t to say that people are trying to escape their issues in the Depression we are in.
Far from it.
They are just choosing other avenues for their form of escapism. People are playing video games, surfing the Internet too much, going back out to the movies, taking dance lessons and even turning to physical sports or hobbies. The sound of your email is that you are trying to get an alternative world series out there and trying to cash in on it. I wish you well and please keep us posted as to how things are going.
The sobering statistics are though that unless you have a huge, spectacular budget for marketing, you are going to have to pray that you go viral and that can only happen if you give the book away for free, something that it sounds like you aren’t willing to try.
That in fact, has been one of my litmus tests for most authors. Try giving your book away for free or having somebody try to read your stuff for free and see if they like it or would be interested in reading more.
If somebody doesn’t want to read it even for free, that should be an indication that something is wrong or the person reading the book wasn’t your target audience.
Non-fiction self help books that deal with physical, practical matters like making a living, gardening, saving money in making one’s own clothes, car repairs, home repairs, etc are doing well. You won’t get rich but you can make a living even though the market is pretty glutted there as well.
Again wishing you well and keep us posted as to how your climb to success is going.
But if you have a dayjob for the love of life, please don’t quit it!
May 04 2009
If you are looking for a day job, part time work, suggestions for saving money or investing, please check out my book, Practical Money Making, that is listed right after his paragraph in this very post. There are some great suggestions and ways to survive the Depression we are in.
Interested in any of my books? You may want to make a stop over here. Please click through to purchase my books and some other interesting items that actually ARE on sale.
Have you read my book, “Bad Tax Idea, Good Tax Idea“? Please order it today. The tips inside can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars! Tax planning should be done year round and not just two weeks into January or later.
Part of all the proceeds from the sales of that book go to Rett Syndrome research. One girl is born with Rett Syndrome worldwide every fifteen minutes. My daughter Arianna has Rett Syndrome and we are working to do all we can to make her life easier and find a cure in her lifetime. Boys born with the Rett gene generally die at birth.
Kim Isaac Greenblatt
Fiction Dead and Non Fiction Decent
Tags: Business