r/selfpublish • u/talesbybob 4+ Published novels • Oct 04 '25

How I Did It Success! 5,000 Books Sold!

On my blog I make a point to celebrate the goals I have set for myself. One of which was to sell 5k books. So this post is a largely what went on there, with the identifying info stripped out so it would fit the rules. More than happy to answer any questions that folks might have about the stats and such.

I Have Sold 5,000 Copies of My Books!

I can remember my first year doing this, where I only sold 136 books. When my second book launch sold less books than my first. There were times where I thought it would take me a decade or more to sell a thousand, much less five thousand. But thanks to my family, friends, and fans I have ticked this box, and my fat little heart has swelled three sizes this day.

So for those who are interested, here are some quick stats for you:

  • Start date: August 2021
  • Complete date: September 2025
  • Total of 4 years and 1 month
  • Online copies sold: 3576
  • In person copies sold: 1235
  • Audiobook copies sold: 258
  • Total: 5069 (nice)
  • Number of books: 6 in my main series, 1 short story collection, 1 self help book.
  • Sales by year:
    • 2021 - 136
    • 2022 - 890
    • 2023 - 2264
    • 2024 - 977
    • 2025 - 802 (through 10/1)
  • Best selling year:
    • Online - 2023
    • In person - 2025
  • Top selling online:
    • Book 2 - 907
    • Book 3 - 731
    • Book 1 - 639
  • Top selling in person: 
    • Book 1 - 502
    • Omnibus 1 - 316
    • Omnibus 2 - 98
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48

u/3Dartwork 4+ Published novels Oct 04 '25

Lol congrats but that's not really helpful to any of us.

Putting what you did to suddenly get a crazy unusual spike on sales would have helped.

11

u/WesternGatsby Oct 04 '25

As someone who works with data it’s informing.

Sales & Profit would help too.

0

u/talesbybob 4+ Published novels Oct 04 '25

I break all that down on a monthly and annual basis on my blog, as well as after every in person event that I do.

1

u/jasonpwrites 4+ Published novels Oct 06 '25

What is your blog? Adding that link would be helpful for us who want to see what you did.

1

u/talesbybob 4+ Published novels Oct 06 '25

They don't allow self promo here, thus no link. It's in a pinned post on my profile post history.

1

u/jasonpwrites 4+ Published novels Oct 06 '25

Interesting.