When people decide to become authors, they do not always realize how difficult it is to sell the books they write. Fortunately, there are authors like Sarra Cannon, who help people learn the key to success. Cannon is an author who shares her experience on her YouTube channel Heart Breathings. 

Cannon began selling books in 2010, and since then has sold over 600,000 books. Her success came from writing what she calls an “anchor series.” With a series, once readers finished a book, they wanted to buy the next one. 

Cannon shared her secrets to success writing an anchor series. Cannon is not alone in her experience as other authors have done what she has done and sold even more books. These are her suggestions on how to build a readership that sells over 500,000 books: 

  • Write in a single series. Cannon suggests beginning just with a series and sticking with that genre until your readership grows. 
  • Focus on that single series for two years. She recommends not moving away from that series because it is easier to stay focused on the same characters and story arch. 
  • Make sure the first few books are released quickly. The first three or four books should be published within a year so readers can fall in love with the series and want to buy each new release. 
  • Brand books by using similar covers. Authors can update them as time goes by, but the books should have recognizable people, keywords, or colors. 
  • Push people to read book one. The first book can be the loss leader because readers will then buy the next ones in the series. 
  • Write about what you love. When you write about characters and stories that you are passionate about, your love of the topic shows in the quality of your reading. 
  • Continue to improve. Your newest books should be better than your first book, as all authors should continually strive to be better at their craft. 
  • Keep fans engaged. Use social media to engage fans while you are between books and remind them that you are working on a new title.

 

The authors who have sold over 500,000 books or 1 million books did it with an anchor series. With an anchor series, fans find something to connect to and help writers continue a storyline.

Pay close attention to your branding to keep it timely, and update the branding, so the books fit with the cover trends. Covers can be valuable tools for bookselling. The titles should be connected, so readers can quickly tell that the books fit together. Readers tend to notice a keyword in a series, and it strengthens the branding. 

The best way to get people to begin the series is to start people at book one. She offered it for free because it generally got them to buy the next ones in the series. She called it a “loss leader.” For example, if you are selling your series books for $3.99, you could sell book one for $0.99. Having a loss leader allows readers to keep promoting the first book to bring in new fans. 

Writers should write what they love. They shouldn’t write about what is trendy. If writers do not write in a genre they like, readers will tell, and they will not continue to sell books. You might be writing about a series for several years, so you have to write about something you love. Writers must have a story to tell and a character they love. 

Writers who want to see 500,000 books need to always work on their writing. It is helpful to read books about becoming a better writer. Do not write quickly to lose quality. Authors should be the best authors they can be and continually push themselves to get better. Quickly releasing books might pay off for a moment, but it will not pay off in the long run. 

Readers should be able to see the improvements between book one and the latest books. Look for ways to increase conflict and tension and improve character development to keep feeding the fans’ needs. 

Fans love staying engaged with the stories they love. It is good to stay involved with fans on social media by giving them little nibbles of what you’ve built. The anchor series should become something that provides a baseline of money while you are busy writing the newest books in the series. 

Cannon is well known for her anchor series, The Shadow Demons Saga. She is also the author of the Fairhope series.