Are you an author feeling trapped? You're not alone!
The catch-22 loop
Books don’t make money unless they’re seen.
Visibility costs money.
The people who sell visibility take the money the book would have made.
It is a catch‑22 — but not in the way most writers think. The trap is real, but the mechanics are different.
But here’s the deeper truth
Most of the “promoters” who take the money aren’t actually selling sales — they’re selling hope, reach, or vanity metrics. And authors, especially early in their careers, are the most vulnerable to that.
Why do the economics feel rigged?
A few structural realities:
Royalties are tiny — $1–$3 per book for most authors.
Ads are expensive — a profitable ad campaign is rare without skill or scale.
Publicists charge $2K–$10K/month and cannot guarantee results.
Traditional publishers expect authors to self-promote anyway, unless you’re already famous.
So yes — if you pay someone $3,000 to promote your book, you’d need to sell 1,500–3,000 copies just to break even. Most books never hit that.
That’s the trap.
So, what are the authors to do if they don't wish to fall into the trap? They do the promotion on their own, hoping to catch readers' attention by posting stories on their blogs and creating short videos on social sites.
In my experience, word-of-mouth advertisements are the best. So, if you've read any of my books and like it, please tell a friend about the story. Thank you!