[00:00:00] Picture this. Each year between 500,000 to a million, do books enter our world. And that's only counting the traditionally published books that are put out by publishers. Add in the estimated self-publishing books. And you're looking at a staggering 4 million new titles every year.
[00:00:26] I'm Zach Kristensen, and this is Beyond the book presented by Juxta book.
[00:00:32]
[00:00:40] Now, these figures include all the different formats that are out there for how books can be put out. So it's not solely representative of print books. It includes audio books, eBooks, and print books, because those are all in the mix. And here's a little secret. That number of 4 million might actually even be [00:01:00] higher because not every book is assigned an ISBN, which is a number that tracks a book throughout its lifetime.
[00:01:08] Now if that wasn't discouraging enough, consider this sobering fact in the U.S., the average book now sells fewer than 200 copies a year and less than a thousand copies over its lifetime.
[00:01:23] Shocking. Yes.
[00:01:24] Surprising. Not really. Publishing a book has become easier than ever because the barrier to entry to get your book up as an ebook print book and audio book has become so much lower.
[00:01:37] So, what does this mean for you as an author who wants to publish a book?
[00:01:41] Not only do you need to put in the hard work to write your book, but you also need to put in the hard work to sell and market your book, which may be even harder than getting your book finished.
[00:01:53] So let's dive into some realistic expectations, even though there's close to 4 million books, estimated [00:02:00] published every year. There are books that stand out right and yours can be one of them.
[00:02:05] So the first thing is you need to consider is figuring out what makes your book unique. What makes it different? If you've got a book idea brewing, I'm guessing you've identified a certain need or problem that you want to solve. So here's some questions for you to think about. What am I trying to say in this book? What do I want my readers to take away when they close the final page of my book?
[00:02:31] Thinking about these questions will hub guide you to clarify. What the message of your book is and What the major takeaway is that your reader will have when they're finished with your book
[00:02:44] You need to be viewing this through a marketer's lens. If you can summarize your book in one line, it will help you focus as you write, because you're going to keep in mind the main message of your book for your target audience.
[00:02:59] Now, [00:03:00] due to all the books that are already out there, there's more than likely already a book that has been published on the subject that you want to write about. But that doesn't mean you can't write another one.
[00:03:11] I once heard an author say there's not an original idea in any of my book or an, any book on the subject. His point, it wasn't about the subject of the book or the main idea of the book. It was how the idea was being presented. It was about the approach and it was about the process and the way that the book teaches a reader to understand and solve their problem or challenge.
[00:03:43] That's something you need to keep in mind.
[00:03:46] While there might be some new and unique ideas out there with all the technology advancements like artificial intelligence, you will still need to quickly identify what makes your book different from those already out there are those that are coming out at such a [00:04:00] rapid pace.
[00:04:01] One of the best ways to figure out how your book is unique is look at what books are already out there. get on and start looking at Amazon and Google for books that are similar to yours or books that have a style that you want to reflect and how the content is presented or written. Get those books, read them, understand them, understand how they're structured, understand how the ideas are presented. This is going to help you figure out how your book will be different and how it will be able to resonate with your audience.
[00:04:34] And at the end of doing all that research, what you're going to do is you're going to take what you liked about those books and presented, but also identify what's missing. And what's different about your approach and how you view things in your experience has the author. And that brings us to the next thing.
[00:04:52] Is that the most important thing that's going to make your book unique is you.
[00:04:57] Your experiences, your stories. These are [00:05:00] unique to you. Nobody can be you or be your personality, and that's what people will remember the most from your book is the stories that you share and the process that you present.
[00:05:14] So get out there today, start figuring out what makes your book unique and different and how it's going to be a reflection from you.
[00:05:21] When you do that, you'll figure out how you can best launch and market your book, and clearly tell people what's different about your book, which will lead them to buy your book.
[00:05:33]
[00:05:37] To get help with determining what makes your book different
[00:05:41] Visit juxta book.com. To set up your author coaching session today.
[00:05:48] If you have any questions about a recent episode, I'd love to hear from you. Visit juxtabook.com/beyondthebook and click the appropriate button to leave your question and [00:06:00] we will include it in our weekly Q&A episode.
[00:06:03] Your book is just one chapter in your author journey. Think beyond the book as you craft your path. Thank you for your questions and thank you for listening.
