#ashantethomas
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Diluting Your Manuscript Can Kill Your Book
Your contract is signed. You and the press are both excited, and then I receive an email that is all too familiar. My first-time authors asks some version of, “Should I write the book broader? That is, what if we’re missing out on potential readers by focusing on a single party? A book or school… Continue reading
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Helping Readers Buy Your Book
You’ve officially hit launch window. Your book is available to preorder on retailer sites from Amazon to Bookshop. Yet your captured audience is thinking: I went looking for your book and couldn’t find it anywhere. Sure, there’s a lonely static post on your Instagram buried under a grid, announcing a limited time Barnes & Noble… Continue reading
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Relying Only on Amazon is Hurting Your Book Sales
I promised to share three common mistakes that cripple your book launch momentum and tips to overcome them. (You can check out the first mistake here: https://ashantethomas.com/2025/10/09/building-book-launch-momentum/.) On to mistake 2! I see plenty of author websites making the same critical mistake: they link exclusively to Amazon. While Amazon certainly dominates the landscape (with some… Continue reading
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Building a Business Before the Book Deal
Having a massive social media following is great, but let’s get real: does it actually translate into a business? The answer is no, and traditional publishers know it. Publishers are smarter than ever. We aren’t just looking for vanity metrics or a viral moment that lands you ten thousand new followers overnight. We vetting authors… Continue reading
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Preparing for Your Pitch: Timing and Costs
I have acquired across subjects: education, health and fitness, self-help, to name a few. Two questions pop up almost regularly (including this week) are, “When is the right time to write a book? How much will this cost me out of pocket?” Let’s tackle timing first. The right time isn’t just when you have a… Continue reading
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Finding a Home for Your Scholarly Monograph
I ran into some old scholarly publishing friends and felt a post to that community was warranted. The following are tips for scholars looking to get that first monograph signed. If you’re a scholar looking to turn your dissertation into your first monograph, here is the cold, hard truth: The book is the business of… Continue reading
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Securing Your Book’s Long-Term Success: 6 Tips
I’ve given advice on everything from preorder incentives to finding a press. But what about the journey itself? To stay on track, I’m sharing the following six tips to for your toolkit: Clarify your publishing goals: Before signing that contract, get crystal clear on your goals. Is your book a lead magnet, a tool to… Continue reading
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Untangling Success From Bestseller Status
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… Continue reading
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Building Early Buzz with a Small Budget
Nonfiction authors don’t need a full-scale PR machine to start getting their books into readers’ hands. A few small moves can create real momentum long before launch day. Start by refreshing your online presence. Updating your socials with a clear announcement that your book is available for preorder signals to your audience that something exciting… Continue reading
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Owning the Sales Driver’s Seat
Let’s get real for a moment about what a publisher actually does and what they can’t do. A publisher is your ultimate strategy partner. They will take your manuscript and polish it to a brilliant sheen with professional editing, typesetting, and cover design. They’ll plug it into distribution channels, put it in front of libraries,… Continue reading
