Sales figures in Australia: what's good, what's not

Let's talk actual numbers

When I had my first Australian book out (Dear Banjo), I pestered my publisher for sales numbers every day until a week and a half in she could finally give me a figure. Then I was like…

“Is that good?”

She said yes. My agent said yes. Then I was like…

“How good?”

The answers were vague: “We’re so happy with how it’s going!” “This is great!”

But I wasn’t satisfied. All my life, the only figures I’d ever heard about were huge ones - the millions, or the hundreds of thousands of bestsellers in the US or Europe. I realised I had zero idea what to expect from book sales in Australia. What I really wanted was a benchmark.

10 years later, I have learned what “good sales” of a commercial title means through my own experience with adult and kids’ books, and through gossiping - ahem, consultation with - other authors. And I’m willing to share.