What Next? I've Done Everything Perfect but my Book still Failed

Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash

Buckle up, buttercups. I’m in the mood to write something raw and vulnerable, in the hope there are others out there my words will either help, support, or soothe.

This career is truly a roller coaster ride. Up, down, sideways, upside down, pause, stop, go. One of the most important pieces of advice is to keep going. Believe in yourself and your stories. Cultivate grit. Keep your head down and focused on you and move forward.

But sometimes, you feel like the universe is lining up for a lightning strike. That perfect opportunity where the world aligns and you sense your book is going to blow up.

I’ve had this only a handful of times – not many. I go into every book launch with positivity, grace, and the knowledge I gave it my all. It’s enough for me to sleep well at night, even with the occasional regret no writer will ever avoid. Once, this belief changed my life. Another time, I made a quiet ripple in an industry that meant a lot to me.

This time? Well, I failed.

What book is it?

Book of the Month.

Peeps, the moment I brainstormed this story I felt the knowledge shimmer that I had something special. Even my bestie who hears about the choices I make in deciding what book to write next said she felt it. “This one is going to be huge!” she said to me excitedly.

And I agreed. Quietly. Inside, where no one could hear. The story was a dream to write. I signed with a publisher I loved and knew would treat me like gold. They poured a ton of money into marketing and I always felt valued. The title was a perfect hook. The cover a dream. The reviews poured in with praise. Influencers posted about it and talked about it. Barnes & Noble made a special Nook edition with bonus content and it hit big on the charts.

Everyone worked so hard, but this felt special. We all chattered in low voices, dug in, and got ready for the explosion.

But—it never came. The book simply never took off. Sales were below average, and not even close to what we all expected. And months later, I’m still sitting here puzzled and confused because it’s still one of my faves, and I still believe it has untapped, fantastic potential for growth.

What happened? How did it all quietly die when we were on 24 hour watch? What could I have done different?

Simply put, I don’t know. I just don’t. I had a long talk with my publishers and readers and my content creators. I had great swag! It had the best hook! The spice was delicious! It was funny and emotional!

But it just sank, no matter how many times we put lifejackets on it.

This is a very hard thing to not only accept, but live with. It kind of haunts me, like an ex who I still love and believe we can be each other’s soul mates but it never was the right timing. It’s the one who got away.

I’m sure you’re waiting to hear what I did. How I made that book take off. How I took the failure with grace and made the best of it.

But I can’t, because I’m still stubbornly mourning and determined to give it life. I have one more shot. The second book in the series comes out this summer, and it may resurrect Book of the Month. It’s called The Reluctant Flirt and it’s so good, guys. I simply love it. So does the team. It’s got a great cover. It’s a summer romcom taking place in the Outer Banks.

Once again, I’m hopeful, yet I know I could be disappointed. You can have everything go perfectly but something is misaligned and it’s simply not your book’s time. Maybe it can come later. You always wait, bring it back out, tinker and see if there’s a sale, a tweak, a newsletter, fresh ads, an opportunity for it to pop.

I’m putting my all into the new book and going big. I have to, or I’ll always wonder.

We all need to make hard decisions with our books. There will always be certain ones that never sell. I have a few. I’ve mourned, done my grieving, and moved on. You need to move on after a certain amount of time or face the risk of getting stuck. Our minds need to be clear on the road ahead. The next love affair, not the ones in the past.

But like the lottery, every day is a possibility to win. That’s what’s so cool about being an author. We have all these wonderful children in our nest ready for their big moment. Every piece of content is valuable. That is the one thing I teach over and over and believe in at my core.

Forget about closing.

Always be writing.

For all my peers who loved a book and mourned its failure, I’m sending hugs. But let that not define us. We are not failures because of a failed book. We did nothing wrong. A book not doing well feels personal, but it’s separate. Once we put that book into the world, it no longer belongs to us. Therefore, we cannot allow it to define us—neither by success, or failure.

It was simply not our time.

PS: I’d written this post while in my “feels” and had it scheduled for today. What I didn’t expect was the Bookbub my pub did for Book of the Month in the free category a week ago that gave it new life and launched it to #1 on Amazon for a few days. **I wrote that post here** Which totally gives validity to my essay today, that backlist is always available for a second launch, or to take off in a different way. I’m hoping all those downloads will lead to renewed sales and the second book, The Reluctant Flirt, but we shall see!