It’s been three months since I published my first book, Log Off: How to Stay Connected after Disconnecting. In that time, this is what I’ve learned: 

1. Selling books is hard. Going in, I genuinely believed I’d have a hard time finding an audience, but I secretly hoped the book would naturally catch on. It didn’t. In just over three months, I’ve managed to sell little more than 200 copies across paperback, e-book, and audiobook formats. That’s not so bad when you consider that the average non-fiction book sells fewer than 250 copies—no more than 2,000 over its lifetime. But I have a long way to go if I want my first book to perform better than 99% of books that fail to reach an audience. Fun fact: the paperback is the most popular version by far, followed by e-book and audiobook neck and neck for second.
2. The reception is invigorating. For the few that have read the book, the positive reviews and response has been incredibly validating. It feels good to know that my book currently reviews on average of 5/5 stars (many of which from strangers I don’t know). What’s more, I’ve been invited on a dozen radio shows, been featured in several online book reviews, and have received lots of emails from readers saying how much they enjoyed the book, and how it’s changed their lives. That makes me feel proud and encouraged and willing to spread the good word over the long haul—for my entire life even.
3. I want to write another book. Although I plan on spending all of this year promoting Log Off, I’ve decided to start writing my second book in early 2019. It has nothing to do with this book, I’m just as excited to write it. Although selling books is hard, it’s an idea and platform (if not mechanism) that I still believe in and hope to influence over.

Thanks for reading.

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