Penn Cole

And it grew and grew and grew. I think by the end of the first year, I think we'd sold like 300,000 copies of the books. Those numbers were just kind of mind boggling.

There's still a huge segment of the market that doesn't read e-book at all. So I knew that I had the potential to really grow my reader base in a significant way if I could get into those bookstores. But that door was pretty much shut to me, other than a handful of bookstores that had stopped my books.

There's still a huge segment of the market that doesn't read e-book at all. So I knew that I had the potential to really grow my reader base in a significant way if I could get into those bookstores. But that door was pretty much shut to me, other than a handful of bookstores that had stopped my books.

There's still a huge segment of the market that doesn't read e-book at all. So I knew that I had the potential to really grow my reader base in a significant way if I could get into those bookstores. But that door was pretty much shut to me, other than a handful of bookstores that had stopped my books.

I think by the end of the year, we're going to hit a million copies sold in about a year and a half of the books being on the market, which is unheard of. I mean, even the average traditionally published book is only selling maybe five figures if they're lucky, right? It's just, it's crazy to think about.

I think by the end of the year, we're going to hit a million copies sold in about a year and a half of the books being on the market, which is unheard of. I mean, even the average traditionally published book is only selling maybe five figures if they're lucky, right? It's just, it's crazy to think about.

I think by the end of the year, we're going to hit a million copies sold in about a year and a half of the books being on the market, which is unheard of. I mean, even the average traditionally published book is only selling maybe five figures if they're lucky, right? It's just, it's crazy to think about.

It's very real. I actually just had a conversation with my publisher. They, you know, wanted to put viral book talk hit, you know, book talk sensation, Penn Cole, putting it in ads, pretty much everywhere that you need to sort of describe the book. Because that communicates to booksellers in particular, bookstores and buyers for these big book chains.

It's very real. I actually just had a conversation with my publisher. They, you know, wanted to put viral book talk hit, you know, book talk sensation, Penn Cole, putting it in ads, pretty much everywhere that you need to sort of describe the book. Because that communicates to booksellers in particular, bookstores and buyers for these big book chains.

It's very real. I actually just had a conversation with my publisher. They, you know, wanted to put viral book talk hit, you know, book talk sensation, Penn Cole, putting it in ads, pretty much everywhere that you need to sort of describe the book. Because that communicates to booksellers in particular, bookstores and buyers for these big book chains.

That's sort of a code word for this book has a lot of fans. It has a big reader base. But for readers, I think it has a very different connotation. And I had to sit down with my publisher and say, I'm not sure that putting this in reader-facing spaces is necessarily the best idea because there is a big group of people that feels as if book talk books are not any good.

That's sort of a code word for this book has a lot of fans. It has a big reader base. But for readers, I think it has a very different connotation. And I had to sit down with my publisher and say, I'm not sure that putting this in reader-facing spaces is necessarily the best idea because there is a big group of people that feels as if book talk books are not any good.

That's sort of a code word for this book has a lot of fans. It has a big reader base. But for readers, I think it has a very different connotation. And I had to sit down with my publisher and say, I'm not sure that putting this in reader-facing spaces is necessarily the best idea because there is a big group of people that feels as if book talk books are not any good.

It sort of gets painted with a broad brush where people discount my books and assume they're going to be fluff. They're not going to be serious. The writing quality will be bad. They'll be unedited or they were, you know, make all these assumptions about what's inside my book without ever giving me a chance.

It sort of gets painted with a broad brush where people discount my books and assume they're going to be fluff. They're not going to be serious. The writing quality will be bad. They'll be unedited or they were, you know, make all these assumptions about what's inside my book without ever giving me a chance.

It sort of gets painted with a broad brush where people discount my books and assume they're going to be fluff. They're not going to be serious. The writing quality will be bad. They'll be unedited or they were, you know, make all these assumptions about what's inside my book without ever giving me a chance.

I can't even count the number of times I have cried or, you know, had to just go and get offline because someone said something really mean. And of course, they have every right to say that, right? Like, we want people to give honest reviews, but as an author, seeing it can be hard.

I can't even count the number of times I have cried or, you know, had to just go and get offline because someone said something really mean. And of course, they have every right to say that, right? Like, we want people to give honest reviews, but as an author, seeing it can be hard.

I can't even count the number of times I have cried or, you know, had to just go and get offline because someone said something really mean. And of course, they have every right to say that, right? Like, we want people to give honest reviews, but as an author, seeing it can be hard.

Of course, most of my readers were so supportive and so kind about it and said, take all the time you need. But, I mean, to be very honest about it, I had to start going to therapy. I had to seek professional help because it was— I felt so guilty. I really beat myself up over it.