How many books have I sold in 3 months?

Sale numbers and updates.

Three months post publication of my book We Need Your Art! Today’s updates will include how many books I’ve sold so far. How many books I need to sell until I earn out and begin earning royalties. What my promotion of my book looks like three months on. Has my book being out allowed for more opportunities for me as an author? What am I working on next, and I am sure some other behind the scenes goodies.

Let me know when the updates get boring — to me, they still feel important. Not only do we only hear from authors when they have hit best seller lists, but we also very rarely hear about how book sales go down the line. The industry is very invested in the first few weeks, but books are for life.

How is Amie feeling in general.

Better than I was for that first month back from the book tour, that’s for sure! I am finally feeling energised and creative again! There has been far less stuff on as well - less podcast recordings, less meetings, less emails. Three months out from pub date and the hubub is definitely less. It is giving me space to write my next books and recover.

What’re the sales numbers …

USA + Canada:

I have a little portal for the USA book sales, so here’s a graph!

The total and weekly total for USA and Canada sales:

I would love to see that weekly number hold steady. To me, it speaks to word of mouth and people talking about the book in their lives.

Yung Pueblo

sent me an encouraging message around the time of my launch. I hope he wouldn’t mind me sharing, but he spoke about how his first book never hit any best seller lists, but slowly, over time, sold close to half a million copies.

I love the idea that consistently and without fuss, We Need Your Art finds her readers, her creatives, her artists, just as Diego’s book did.

AUSTRALIAN SALES:

I got an email from my wonderful publisher Ashwin about a month back.

• physical: 1906 (up to the end of last week)

• audio: 319 (up to the end of April)

• ebook: 101 (up to the end of last week)

• Total: 2326

This is out of date, but I don’t want to harass him, as I don’t have a portal for the Aussie sales. As a side note, I had such a lovely moment with Ashwin at my Bondi Sydney launch event. He has such a profoundly gentle and calm aura, and he told me with such authority that these sales are good, and there is so much time for them to grow.

UK

Got a lovely email from my uk Publisher, Phoebe, end of last week with this update:

We have now sold a total of 1578 physical copies of the book on the TCM, we have sold a total of 388 eBooks. I have asked for an update from audio as well and will share as soon as I have it.

We have now sold in 4,533 copies to retailers, and it’s been great to see retailers restocking the book.

Approx total sold: 12,865 copies.

How many books do I need to sell before I “earn out” / start earning royalties, hard to officially say but my estimate would be between 65,000 and 85,000 more books.

How many books until the Publishers make their money back? My guess is around 25,000 sales, so we are half way there, factoring in their expenses for manufactoring the book.

Am I still promoting my book?

Yes. Not in the trying to find as much press as I can way, or cold pitching massive podcasts way, or PUSHING way. But in the podcasts I do go on, in the things I share online, in the conversations I have, in the bottom of each substack. In a consistant, devotional way. I believe in this book, I believe in the power of artists. I believe that you are here to make art, and that you deserve support as you create. So, it is strangely easy to promote her. It is my calling.

I still have my Jay Shetty Podcast to come out. It is very easy for me to pedestal this opportunity as something that will make or break the book - but I am talking myself down from that ledge. Not only does the publication date of the pod change a lot, but I don’t like relying on anything outside of me to “save me”. Hopefully the podcast comes out sometime this summer, hopefully it will find artists who resonate.

I also want to TRUST in the work my book is doing, and the work my readers are doing. People are sharing my baby, and talking about her, my art is working for me! She is spreading the word herself.

Any more events?

There are still a few events in the pipeline this year that I am hoping will bring more creatives to the book, and I am hoping to get to just be with YOU, the artist and bask in your presence:

Upcoming english events:

• James and I are speaking at The Jericho Writers Festival of Writing on Saturday the 28th of June! It’s our first joint speaking gig and I am so excited.

• I am doing a We Need Your Art event in Blackwells Oxford. My favourite book store IN THE WORLD. I am so excited. 16th August.

• I am doing a We Need Your Art event at Canterbury Waterstones on the 18th of August!

Has your book being out there changed anything for you?

Of course, in so many ways. The emails and messages I get from readers are truly life changing on a very personal level. The book tour has permanently altered me in a beautiful way. The growth I have experienced because of this book is irreversible and holy. We Need Your Art has been pivotal for me as a human and an author.

And then in other ways, no. Like, how my life looks from the outside - not really. She hasn’t flung me into a different life, with a different pace and different people - I am back home, in my cozy little cottage writing my books, doing the work I want to do, at the pace I like to work at. Just as I did before.

What are you working on now?

Big question. Lots of answers. I don’t niche down. I have too many curiousities.

James Winestock

and I are editting our SCIFI novel! Turns out writing a book with your partner is fucking amazing.

I am playing around with a we need your art Childrens book.

I am dabbling with the idea of expanding my “I don’t want a job” essay into a book.

I am taking my youtube channel more seriously!

I am drawing stick characters because I want to illustrate the aforementioned childrens book!

I am sitting still.

I am working out.

I am drinking tea.

I am drinking water.

I am living the beautiful, hard, lovely life of a writer.

MAKE THE GRAPH GO UP - BUY WE NEED YOUR ART.

Want to be sale 12,866? (An auspicious and holy number 12866!!) Want to step firmly and definitively into your creative power? Want to stop fucking around and actually make something? You are born to make art, let me remind you.

Thank you for reading this update :) Please feel free to ask me any questions in the comments, I love getting to have open and transparent conversations with you.