No Name Author? No Problem: How to Sell 50 Copies in Your First Week
“This is so perfect! I’m literally doing a live interview tomorrow, and I was starting to get nervous!”
-Talisha Taylor
If you’ve been following me for a while now, you know I will always give you the real and the raw! As a new author, I can definitely tell you that it hasn’t been easy–so don’t doubt for one second that I don’t feel you on this book hustle journey! That’s exactly why I wanted to share what I know with all of those no-name authors who will one day become a BIG name! I’m touching and agreeing with you that this will happen. With that said, let’s jump right in to show you the six steps I used to soft launch my FIRST ebook and sell 50+ copies in a week.
Drumroll everybody! Two words–MY NETWORK!
I kid you not, at exactly 2:32 p.m. on February 27, 2026, a text popped up that said “Done.” Talk about power right there!! That text was from my friend’s mom, who’d just purchased my ebook, So You Think You Can Speak: The Confident Communicator’s Guide to Owning the Mic. This is my second book, and I honestly just wanted to try something new. So, I decided to write a text to send out to family, friends, co-workers, sorority sisters, and allies. Take a look at the screenshot below. You’ll notice a few things in this text: excitement, an invitation for my network to be a part of something new, a discounted rate, how this will help, my why, and a call to action. Now, some would argue the text was too long (yes, I wrote it and had my homeboy ChatGPT sharpen it for me because artificial intelligence can be really helpful with your marketing) — but the sales show that my network wanted to support me no matter what. Can we say: #supportgamestrong? This all happened while I was attending my first alumni leadership conference as a board member at the University of Florida, and I’m more than grateful!
First, I had to remove the fear of no one responding. Of course, I had my natural “what ifs,” and then I decided that if I don’t send the text, then how will anyone know the book exists?
Second, I identified the folks I speak to regularly and those who would benefit most from the ebook. I probably texted about 30 or so people on day one. This step was the easiest because I knew I’d just have to scroll through my latest text messages and copy and paste all the way down. By the way, I hate texting, so this was indeed a task, but 50+ copies tell you that it was worth it.
Third, I made sure the text included the deadline to reach my goal. This is important to getting people to move right then, before they forget.
It read, “For the next 24 hours, I’m asking my community (my family, friends, sorors, allies ☺️) to help me sell 100 copies of my ebook at a special $11 rate.”
I know my network loves me wholeheartedly, but like anyone else, they, too, will sometimes forget to respond to my requests. I expressed that I’d love for them to purchase the ebook right now with a sense of urgency.
Okay, so not everyone responded right away with a “Yes, I’ll grab my copy today.” Some only loved the message, and that meant there was still work to do.
Fourth, on day two, I followed up with my first round peeps, who responded with emojis without action. This led to selling more copies.
Fifth, on day three, I started flipping through my text archives and pulled the names of folks I hadn’t spoken to in a while, but those who would likely be happy to hear from me and vice versa. Yes, these turned into life update texts–but certainly conversations I needed to have. This continued from days three to six. Needless to say, they bought copies.
Lastly, on the final day of week one, I decided to scan alphabetically through my contact list of those whom I hadn’t reached out to yet. Yes, starting with A to Z, I’d scheduled texts to go out at 9:00 a.m. that day, asking for their help to meet my goal before the month ended.
Though I wanted to sell 100 copies in 24-hours, I’m so excited and so grateful for the 60+ copies I’ve sold in less than two weeks, and I have my network to thank for that. Of course, I’ve published thousands of stories as an award-winning journalist for 16 years, co-authored books, and self-published my first award-winning children’s book of the Mike the Friendly Firefighter series–but this was my first time tapping into my network to accomplish a new goal. Trust me, I’m not Oprah Winfrey (yet!), so I’d categorize myself as a no-name author right now, so only God and my network are what made this ebook a soft launch to remember. Don’t be afraid to tap into who you know because you’ll never know how much they’ll help until you try it! Apply these six steps, and let me know how it worked out for you! I know you’re going to soar and become the BIG NAME author you desire to be!