Authors keep track of book sales for a variety of reasons. One is because of the publishers we work with, or hope to work with. When an author pitches a new book to a publisher, the proposal includes the number of books sold in the past. Publishers are in the business to make money, so they like to know how widely-read an author to help them estimate how many copies of a new book might sell. When an author can demonstrate that readers will buy their books because they have bought their previous books, their project is more attractive to a potential publisher.

Another reason numbers mean something to authors is because it’s one indication of the effectiveness of our work. People who work in sales evaluate the effectiveness of their work by how many products/services they have sold. Those who work in non-sales related jobs get evaluations from their employers, or kudos from their customers, or pay raises. Writing is a pretty solitary business much of the time, especially writing fiction. Authors spend long hours alone at their computers pounding out stories. (Well, we’re alone except for the people who live in our heads, and trust me – those people are real to us, even though they’re not permanent.) So when an author hears that a bunch of people have read their work, have fallen in love with their fictional friends, it’s a kind of validation. It’s our pat on the back.

Plus, book sales tend to have a snowball effect. People find an author whose work they enjoy and they tell their friends. Those friends tell their friends. And all those readers buy a copy of not only the newest book, but if they like it, they say, “Gee, what else has this author written?” and they buy copies of older books. Which leads to the next reason authors keep track of sales…

Money. Writing is my job, my primary source of income. Believe it or not, the vast majority of people who write books do not get ginormous advances. The ones you hear about are the outliers, and there aren’t many of them. In fact, for most writers, writing is more of a hobby than anything else. A hobby we’re passionate about, but still a hobby. Especially novelists. Most of us have to work a day job to keep the lights on. Plus, the amount of money an author receives for each book sold is much, much, much less than readers think. On most of my traditionally published books, with the royalty I receive when a reader buys the book I can get a cup of coffee – and not Starbucks coffee. McDonalds coffee. So contrary to popular opinion, I will not be retiring to the Caribbean to lay on the beach and sip drinks with umbrellas in them. (Though a girl can hope, can’t she?!) We all want to write that one big blockbuster bestseller and get staggering royalty checks. But for most authors, the money comes in a little bit at a time. Drip. Drip. Drip. Our hope is to keep those drips as consistent as possible.

Finally, we keep track of the numbers because it’s kind of a rush to know our work is getting Out There! Having a lot of people read our work means we’ve made a significant impact within the literary market. And who doesn’t want to touch other people with the work they’re passionate about?

Keeping all that in mind, you can imagine how excited I was when I got the news recently that I reached a significant milestone in terms of book sales. I can proudly say that over one million copies of my books have been sold worldwide! Not a single title, but the cumulative total of all 53 (so far) of my book since the first one came out in 2006. I confess when I got the news, I let out a loud “WOO HOO!” and did a little dance around my office! Celebrate with me, I’ve got a million books sold!

Now, you’ll have to excuse me. I need to get back to work. (Drip. Drip. Drip.)