Is your book working hard enough?

Fifteen yes-or-no questions that show where your book stops bringing in clients. You can answer them in one sitting with your book and your Amazon page open in front of you.

WHAT IT CHECKS

Four places a book goes quiet after launch

Most business authors have gaps they can't see because they're too close to their own book. Each section of the self-assessment looks at one of them.

1 Online presence

4 QUESTIONS

Your Amazon page, author bio and description work together as your storefront.

2 Lead generation

4 QUESTIONS

Whether a reader who finishes the book has anywhere to go, and whether you ever hear from them.

3 Ongoing marketing

4 QUESTIONS

Whether the book is still being talked about, pitched and repurposed, or has gone quiet since launch.

4 Back matter

3 QUESTIONS

The last pages of the book, where the most intent-driven reader decides whether to take a next step with you.

A PREVIEW

Three of the questions you'll answer

If you can't say yes to these right away, the other twelve will show you what else is missing.

☐ If someone finishes your book today, is there a clear and obvious next step for them to take with you?

☐ Is your Amazon description written as sales copy rather than a summary?

☐ Are you actively building an email list from your book's readership?

YOUR SCORE

Every score comes with a next step

Count your yes answers and find your band. Each one tells you where to put your effort first, so you don't spend months fixing the wrong thing.

12–15

Optimize and compound

The foundation is in place. Small improvements at each stage now add up.

8–11

Close the gaps

You've made progress, and the question now is which gap to close first.

4–7

Build the infrastructure

The book has real potential, but nothing is set up yet to turn readers into clients.

0–3

Start at the foundation

It's fixable, and the order you fix things in matters more than anything else.

WHO PUT THIS TOGETHER

Written from the work we do every day

Elizabeth Javor has worked in publishing and book marketing for more than 19 years. The Book Marketing Source runs the listing, reviews, ads and pitching for nonfiction authors, then writes the material that turns a reader into an inquiry. These fifteen questions are the first things we review for every book that comes to us.

3 #1 Amazon rankings for client books in 2025

The Narrative Edge, Rod Berger, Psy.D.

Beyond Blind Blaming, Dr. Kevin D. St.Clergy

Reenactments, Tony Iezzi, Ph.D.

Find out where your book stops working

Get the self-assessment by email. It's free, and it takes one sitting to answer.

This self-assessment is educational and does not promise outcomes.