Last Four. Get 'em While They're Hot!
The perfect beach read or for carpooling downtime
This August, my little book that could, Raising Empowered Athletes (Triumph Books), will reach its TWO year birthday. Hooray! I remember when I finally landed the two interested publishers, my agent, Tim, told me, “The one publisher, Triumph, really likes your book because it reminds them of one of their all-time best sellers, Throw Like a Girl, by former USA Olympic softball player, Jennie Finch.”
When I got on the zoom call with them in 2022, they explained, “We see this book like Jennie’s, it’s an evergreen topic. Sports parenting isn’t going away. Parents are only investing more into it in the coming years. We see your book having a very long trajectory. Jennie’s book came out in 2011 and it’s still selling well.” (note: when the manuscript when to the editor, youth sports was a $20B business. In 2025, it is now a $37.5B business, expected to reach $70B within the next five years.)
That was music to this rookie author’s ears! And while the publishing world is a little archaic in how it tracks sales, i.e, I only receive a hard copy report twice a year on sell-through, the only “real time” lead indicator of how it’s selling, is Amazon. Good ole Amazon’s algorithm is telling us daily where the book is in the global rankings (#19!) as well as by how little or much it is being discounting. For a book with this level of marketing push (word of mouth, primarily) the deeper the discount the larger the volume they are most likely sitting on. (It’s not the only lever, but it is a major one.)
So, a year and ten months after my book launched, it’s fun to see the end of the hardback run is here… “only 4 copies left in stock.” The publisher won’t do another hardback run, so from here on out it will be paperbacks, which are selling at full price, $19. Keep it going…
According to ChatGPT (for what it’s worth), the 50-70% of traditionally published books sell less than 500 copies. The publisher did a 2,500 copy run of the hard back, so knowing that those are gone feels like a decent start.
Thank you to all who have bought, shared, read or listened to my book (it’s great for those long rides to the fields!). I love hearing from parents, coaches and athletes about their journey and how it may have helped inspire or guide them. Please share your stories with me… you never know when your experience may help someone else going through the exact same challenge.
Keep doing the good work. Anything worth creating is going to take time, some sweat equity and whole lotta luck. I’m here for all of it.
Let’s do this-
K
P.S.
Speaking of writing… please check out this week’s podcast with Karen Scholl, a seasoned copywriter and creative director who’s spent the past 25 years bringing big ideas to life for clients like Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Wendy’s, Sirius XM, Scotts Miracle-Gro, and Greater Good Charities.
In this episode, Karen shares how her professional world of crafting web copy, video scripts, and executive articles collided (beautifully) with the chaos of family life—especially the wild, wonderful ride of raising soccer-playing kids.
From carpooling to the pitch to capturing the hilarity and heart of everyday moments, Karen opens up about finding inspiration in the little things, the charm of Central Ohio, and why creativity doesn’t clock out when you close the laptop.
Whether you’re a parent, a creative, or just someone who’s ever juggled a deadline with a sideline, this one’s for you.
Make sure to buy Karen's New book, Surviving Soccer on presale now!
