For Writers

3 Reasons Books Sell Best Now and What You Can Do About It

Mary Wiley

Oct 29th

Every year, 40% of all books sold are purchased during the holiday season. Yes, 4 out of 10 books sell in the window of time between stuffing ourselves at Thanksgiving and wearing ourselves out by Christmas. If you are an author, this wide-open window of opportunity only comes once a year, and it’s worth taking a moment to consider how you might leverage the season so that your God-given message might make it into a few extra hands.

Why should you care?

Seeking out this opportunity is not simply to sell more books, but that in selling more books, you also expand the potential for change that God might make in hearts through your book.

So, why do book sales explode during the holidays?

3 Reasons:

  1. Christmas buying.
    Stockings are being filled and presents are being wrapped, and in most cases, people are looking for a thoughtful gift that “fits” the receiver. Books communicate a shared passion and are a way to bless another with content that can far outlast the holiday season – whether that be with content that increases their prayer life or renews their anchored trust in Jesus. The more you can help purchasers know your content so that they might intuitively know who might need your message, the better.
  1. Timing.
    Toward the end of the year, both adults and kids tend to have more free time to fill because of vacation time and Christmas break, and we’d love to help them fill that time with a good book.
    Not to mention, stores have trained us to want to buy on Black Friday and holiday travel supports a need for audio books and ebooks. Then, the new year approaches with goal-setting and efforts to re-focus. Your content can be what helps readers center their year on Jesus from the beginning, they just need to know about it.
  2. The After-Christmas Gift Cards.
    You know great-aunt Sally once removed will be getting you a gift card because she has no idea what else you might like, and you are probably really thankful for that. Gift cards are like cash money, and everyone has a few of them burning in their pocket after Christmas. An interesting new behavior is the amount of people buying ebooks on Christmas day after receiving these cards. What an opportunity for a reader to get the book they’ve been eyeing for a while, but just haven’t purchased yet!

So now what? Practically speaking, what can you do to help others be familiar with your book and the message housed within it without being overly pushy or so annoying that you completely lose the credibility of your message?

3 Things You Can Do About It:

  1. Watch your calendar and post accordingly.
    Focus in on Black Friday, the day after Christmas when people are looking to spend gift cards, and right before New Year’s Day, when people are setting goals and charting out the year. Just a note: Ebooks tend to sell rapidly during these peak times!
  2. Help people make meaningful purchases rather than impulsive buys. Focus on your content instead of “BUY! BUY! BUY” Purchasing gifts is a sacred dance for some, and a quick run through Target for others. Make sure you are helping both of those people make wiser choices for the people they love by sharing about your content.
  3. Work with your publisher to provide specific print or ebook deals for your books. You never know what they will be willing to do for you if you just ask!

If B&H is your publisher, feel free to contact us to talk further about this if you’d like more tips or to talk about deals we might be able to make available. We look forward to this season and all the lives that might be touched by the messages you have written!