Ashante Thomas's Blog

I typically post 1-2 times each month, but this topic really hit me.

Recently, I’ve heard two authors (including one of them mine) share that she felt like a failure because the book didn’t hit a bestseller list and she didn’t land an interview on a major podcast. I’ll tell any aspiring or published author what I’d tell them: making The New York Times list or being featured on a top podcast doesn’t define your book.

That’s the myth so many authors quietly carry, and it’s the myth that leaves them feeling like they’ve somehow fallen short when the confetti doesn’t fall on launch week. And many nonfiction authors are high performers: well educated leaders in their fields that charge four or more figures for keynotes and PD, have magazine profiles, and their clients are household names. But I want them, and all authors, to understand this:

• Bestseller lists are often the result of strategic buying patterns that even major publishers can’t reliably engineer.
• Big podcast features can move a few hundred copies, sure, but they rarely transform a career overnight.

So, I’ll tell you what success can look like beyond hitting a list. It looks like credibility. It looks like communicating your thought leadership with clarity. It looks like helping readers solve (or beginning discussing) a problem they’ve been carrying for years. It looks like a book that becomes a business growth engine, a lead magnet.

And yes, the energy shifts after publication. The inbox quiets. Your publisher isn’t asking you to review proofs, offer a preorder incentive, or post your unboxing video. That “blah” feeling? Completely normal. It’s not the end of the road; it’s the beginning of your book’s real job. This is where you stop choosing cover colors and start baking your book into your PD, your speaking, your client work, your ecosystem.

Good luck!