One of the best aspects of indie authorship is being the top decision-maker concerning our publishing schedule. On the flip side, one of the most stressful aspects of being an indie author is navigating the in-between season between book releases, especially if the releases are a year or more apart. In those months, or years, between releases, we may see a significant dip in sales, struggle to come up with fresh content ideas to promote our backlist, or may experience FOMO (the fear of missing out) watching other authors publish faster than we can.

How can we survive the months between releases? Well, I’m not an expert on navigating this treacherous journey, but here’s how I’ve learned to cope over the past 7 years of being an indie author.

1 | Familiarize Yourself With Indie Book Sales Trends

Back in 2017 when I published my debut novel, I was spoiled during those first couple post-release months. To date, February-March 2017 is still one of the best sales periods my books have experienced. Family and friends brought in a few dozen sales, mostly in paperback, and seeing that kind of response out of the gate, I couldn’t wait to see what the future held.

If you’re an indie author, you’ll probably empathize with the fact that sales tapered off soon after, and I experienced the first of many No Sales months. Talk about hopes crashing and burning!

As I mentioned in my nonfiction book for Christian authors, Writing by Faith, navigating those No Sales months can be brutal, especially for new authors who see their peers boast about selling hundreds or even thousands of copies on social media.

So, how can we combat the negative mindset that often comes when those infamous No Sales months rear their ugly heads? Simple. We familiarize ourselves with indie book sales trends.

While indie sales trends don’t apply to every book on the market, they can help us feel better about why our book may be experiencing a decrease in sales. Here are some basic things I’ve picked up over the years that have helped me not throw in the towel on my dreams when sales have been few and far between:

Most Books Experience a Dip in Sales a Few Months After Release

It doesn’t mean the book is bad; rather, it just means that newer releases may be taking priority for readers. It doesn’t mean your book will never sell another copy. Keep the momentum alive by marketing the book!

Research the Average Sales Stats for Indie Books

This could either help or hinder your mindset towards indie authorship, so make sure you’re in a good headspace before diving down this rabbit hole. However, most of the time, researching the average sales stats for indie books often reassures me that I’m not alone in the struggle. The truth is, despite what we often see on Instagram, most indie authors don’t hit Number 1 in their Amazon categories right out of the gate, nor sell hundreds of copies during their first sales month.

The Instant Success On Debut Indie Authors 1) either spent a ton of money on ads to make that happen (and may even be in debt because of it despite hundreds/thousands of sales), or 2) published the right book at the right time to the right audience… basically just had everything going for them without experiencing the learning curve most indies have to endure. There’s nothing wrong with Instant Success Debut Authors, but just know that they are few and far between, and that social media makes them appear more rampant than they actually are. There’s nothing wrong with your books, nor your journey, just because your first book wasn’t an instant success.

Familiarize Yourself with the Normal High/Low Book Sales Months During the Year

Keep in mind that some months typically have a better outlook for book sales than others. For example, December is likely going to be a higher sales month because books are often bought as Christmas presents. January, on the other hand, may be a slower sales month because avid readers 1) probably just received a bunch of books for Christmas or 2) are saving money because the holiday season can take a toll on the pocketbook. If your books are seasonal reads, those books may sell more copies during the season in which they take place, and sell less copies in the opposing season. For example, in the United States, a beach read would sell less copies during winter than it would from May to August.

2 | Remember That Book Promotion Doesn’t Have to Be Repetitive or Salesy

When we space our book releases out over the span of a year or two, marketing the books on our backlist can feel like a repetitive chore. We may worry if we’re promoting the same books too much, or stress over coming up with new ideas on how to market those books. We don’t want to come off as too sales-focused, even though we are trying to market the books to reach more readers. What on earth are we to do?

This is an area of marketing where I struggle, as I’m sure you do too. Something that has helped me is remembering The Rule of 7. The rule states that average potential customers need to come across a product’s marketing message seven times before they make the decision to purchase the item. Keeping this in mind makes me feel better about continually promoting the same books, because there are always fresh faces who will see the posts for the first time on social media. As long as we’re not posting about the same book every single day and interweave other content in between, we’re good to go.

Another thing to remember is that we don’t have to approach sharing about our books on social media with a sales-driven mindset. When we do this, we may inadvertently push away potential readers because we’re coming off as desperate for book sales. Instead, when we share about our books in ways that are fun for us, we present ourselves more authentically to potential readers.

For example, if we decide to share posts with the mindset of, “I’m going to share this quote from my book because it’s personal for me and may resonate with readers” or, “I’m going to share this character art I drew of my characters because I had fun drawing them”, we’re being more vulnerable to our potential readers by sharing our personal thoughts on and/or relationship with our books. If they know how much the book means to us, they may be more inclined to read the book. So, when we’re in between book releases, figuring out ways to promote our backlist in a fun yet relatable way can help us not only increase our marketing skills, but strengthen our relationships with both new and future readers.

3 | Don’t Compare Your Path to the Journeys of Others

I don’t know about y’all, but as an author who publishes at what is often considered a snail’s pace in the indie book community, I experience extreme FOMO when seeing other indies publish three or more books each year.

First, I can’t even wrap my head around how they can write that fast! Second, how do these incredible people have time to publish so quickly? Especially when they have kids. Those authors are, like, super humans or something.

And then I’ll look in the mirror and see myself as pathetic because I can *only* write a book a year on average and have *only* published 5 books in the past seven years, when the truth of the matter is, that’s still amazing! Writing just one book in a lifetime is amazing, and we needn’t forget that.

Whether we like it or not, if we’re built to write and publish at a slower pace, we need to honor that. If we force books out for the sake of speed and don’t give them our best shot, we may end up with a bigger mess than we thought we were in when we were “too slow”.

So, when we scroll on Instagram between book releases, see all those new, shiny covers for all those new, shiny book releases and feel the dreaded FOMO coming on, let’s pause, close the app, and remind ourselves that God made all of us unique and that He also has unique plans for each of us. That means that some of us are going to have speed-of-light publishing journeys, and others, like myself, will thrive with slower timelines.

As long as we’re following God’s will for our current season, that’s all that matters. He may ask us to pick up the pace in one season, and take it slower in the next. And both are acceptable. As long as we’re keeping God at the forefront of our Why for writing, and strive to make Him known, we’re good to go and should not feel “less than” for not being like someone else.

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

If you’re an indie author who publishes at a slower pace like me, what are your tips for navigating author hopes and goals between book releases?

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀