How a single reader makes a huge difference to a writer.
Robert Solomon
Consultant, coach, and workshop leader, author of the widely read and respected book, "The Art of Client Service," expert in achieving behavior change with advertising/marketing/PR agencies, clients, and individuals.
I can’t describe exactly how it feels when an Art of Client Service reader like Samantha Spaulding or Alena Jain sits down to say something kind about the book.
Elated comes to mind, as does validated, but the thing I feel most strongly is deep and abiding gratitude, meaning I’m beyond grateful when any reader takes the time to buy the book, read it, photograph it, comment on it, then post it on LinkedIn for others to see.
A couple of months ago, when Samantha published her piece – yes, I know, protocol stipulates I should refer to her by her last name, but I now think of her as a friend and using a last name strikes me as awkward – 33 others weighed in with support. When Alena followed more recently with commentary of her own, there were 22 others who commented.
Beyond that, these two posts generated more than 1,600 “impressions,” exposing the book to others – I wish my own posts could generate anything close to this activity – proving the enduring and timeless power of word-of-mouth advertising.
My publisher John Wiley & Sons tells me that to date there are more than 24,000 people who’ve decided the book is a worthy investment and made a purchase. As I pointed out in a post last month, when the book previously crossed the all-important 20,000-copy threshold, the congrats extended by my Wiley editor Richard Narramore essentially were confirmed by New Yorker author Louis Menand, who claimed,
“two-thirds of the books released by the top-ten trade publishers sell fewer than a thousand copies, and less than four per cent sell more than twenty thousand.”
Research conducted by Thought Legion Leverage founder Peter Winick along with several sponsors isn’t quite so bleak, suggesting the median number of books sold from so-called “traditional” publishers is 4,600. Better than 1,000 surely, but even so, “a fraction of what authors were expecting.”
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Book sales notwithstanding, the number one stated goal among authors is to “share knowledge,” with 78% claiming this as a priority. As someone who participated in Peter’s study, it should come as no surprise I am among that 78%.
As I’ve said more than once before, I didn’t write The Art of Client Service to get rich; I surely never will compete with the likes of a Michael Lewis, a Malcolm Gladwell, or even a Simon Sinek. I didn’t write the book for fame or recognition; I am the furthest thing from a household name. If you’re waiting to see it in lights, you will need to continue to wait… indefinitely.
Why did I write the book?
I wrote it for Samantha, for Elena, and for those few others who’ve seen fit to let me know they found the book helpful in their work.
And that, for me, is more than reason enough.
Come this Friday Roberta and I will begin serving as Vote Center “Leads” for Napa County, starting with the town to the south, American Canyon, before heading North to St. Helena to oversee that Vote Center through election day. If previous elections are any indicator, I will have time on my hands.
Assuming time permits, I’ll post from there, but given this election is unlike any other, there is no predicting how things will go, even in the bubble that is Napa.