Uploaded May 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Book sales! What's normal... if you don't sell 1K copies your first week are you a failure? What should you expect after three months, six, a year? I'm sharing some thoughts and real numbers for the non-bestsellers/breakouts... which is most authors.
Mostly I want to reassure the average author out there--you're probably doing better than you think!
Obligatory disclaimers: I'm sharing as best I can from the perspective of a midlist author. I also have the most context for YA sales numbers, though some adult genre knowledge is mixed in (and some YA stats are applicable generally to adult).
00:00 Introduction
02:11 Background & Context
04:33 Sales Benchmarks & BookScan
07:29 1st Week Sales
09:30 Peak & Drop Sales Trend
12:14 Long Term Sales Tail
16:03 Release & Build Sales Trend
17:12 Earning Out & Publishers Making Money
19:06 Career Strategy & the Long Game
23:43 Conclusion
Add Pretty Dead Queens on Goodreads: goodreads.com/book/show/57121698-pretty-dead-queens
Add The Ivies on Goodreads! goodreads.com/book/show/48896122-the-ivies
MERCH
alexa-donne.creator-spring.com
+BUY MY BOOKS+
Buy The Ivies from your favorite book retailer!: bit.ly/3mkxyYj
Buy The Stars We Steal from Book Depository (ships worldwide!): bookdepository.com/Stars-We-Steal-Alexa-Donne/9781328948946?ref=grid-view&qid=1603728315664&sr=1-3
Buy Brightly Burning from Book Depository (ships worldwide!): bookdepository.com/Brightly-Burning-Alexa-Donne/9781785659423
Buy BRIGHTLY BURNING on Amazon: amazon.com/Brightly-Burning-Alexa-Donne/dp/1328948935/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1500334638&sr=1-1
Get Brightly Burning on Audible.com! audible.com/pd/Brightly-Burning-Audiobook/B07H41CPVC?asin=B07H41CPVC&source_code=AUDOR2220912189OII
AFFILIATE LINKS:
Shop Clever Fox Planners: https://cleverfoxplanner.com?aff=54
Use my code "ALEXA10" to save 10% on your order!
+LINKS+
Goodreads:
goodreads.com/author/show/16817128.Alexa_Donne
Twitter:
twitter.com/alexadonne
Instagram:
instagram.com/alexadonne
Newsletter Sign-Up:
alexadonne.com/newsletter
Website:
alexadonne.com
Wattpad:
wattpad.com/user/alexadonne
+FILMING SPECS+
Camera: Canon 90D
Mic: Rode VideoMic Pro+
Lighting: Limo Studio Soft Kit
Editing Software: Magix Movie Edit Pro
Book sales! What's normal... if you don't sell 1K copies your first week are you a failure? What should you expect after three months, six, a year? I'm sharing some thoughts and real numbers for the non-bestsellers/breakouts... which is most authors.
Mostly I want to reassure the average author out there--you're probably doing better than you think!
Obligatory disclaimers: I'm sharing as best I can from the perspective of a midlist author. I also have the most context for YA sales numbers, though some adult genre knowledge is mixed in (and some YA stats are applicable generally to adult).
00:00 Introduction
02:11 Background & Context
04:33 Sales Benchmarks & BookScan
07:29 1st Week Sales
09:30 Peak & Drop Sales Trend
12:14 Long Term Sales Tail
16:03 Release & Build Sales Trend
17:12 Earning Out & Publishers Making Money
19:06 Career Strategy & the Long Game
23:43 Conclusion
Add Pretty Dead Queens on Goodreads: goodreads.com/book/show/57121698-pretty-dead-queens
Add The Ivies on Goodreads! goodreads.com/book/show/48896122-the-ivies
MERCH
alexa-donne.creator-spring.com
+BUY MY BOOKS+
Buy The Ivies from your favorite book retailer!: bit.ly/3mkxyYj
Buy The Stars We Steal from Book Depository (ships worldwide!): bookdepository.com/Stars-We-Steal-Alexa-Donne/9781328948946?ref=grid-view&qid=1603728315664&sr=1-3
Buy Brightly Burning from Book Depository (ships worldwide!): bookdepository.com/Brightly-Burning-Alexa-Donne/9781785659423
Buy BRIGHTLY BURNING on Amazon: amazon.com/Brightly-Burning-Alexa-Donne/dp/1328948935/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1500334638&sr=1-1
Get Brightly Burning on Audible.com! audible.com/pd/Brightly-Burning-Audiobook/B07H41CPVC?asin=B07H41CPVC&source_code=AUDOR2220912189OII
AFFILIATE LINKS:
Shop Clever Fox Planners: https://cleverfoxplanner.com?aff=54
Use my code "ALEXA10" to save 10% on your order!
+LINKS+
Goodreads:
goodreads.com/author/show/16817128.Alexa_Donne
Twitter:
twitter.com/alexadonne
Instagram:
instagram.com/alexadonne
Newsletter Sign-Up:
alexadonne.com/newsletter
Website:
alexadonne.com
Wattpad:
wattpad.com/user/alexadonne
+FILMING SPECS+
Camera: Canon 90D
Mic: Rode VideoMic Pro+
Lighting: Limo Studio Soft Kit
Editing Software: Magix Movie Edit Pro
