Most Authors Want Sales. The Smart Ones Want This.
Steve Sarner spent eight years at Amazon and was VP of sales at Goodreads, which means he understands something most authors don’t:
Book sales are not the point.
What Steve focuses on now is something I think more people should be talking about: not selling books, but seeding them—that is, getting them into the hands of the exact people who can turn them into something bigger.
This, you could say, is my obsession.
We get into:
- How many books you actually need “out in the wild” before anything starts working
- Why giving your book away can be more valuable than selling it
- How books turn into $10,000+ clients (and the rough math behind that)
- The surprising places he’s putting books—from niche events to inside massive companies
- Why reviews matter…even though getting them is borderline impossible
There’s also a story about someone finding their company through AI, requesting the book, reading it and becoming a client—which is basically the entire thesis in action.
Find out more about the company where Steve works, ShelfLife, here.
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