Man admits: Woods was right, I was wrong

Published: Thu, 03/12/26

Updated: Fri, 03/13/26

I have a friend who, years ago, told me about a book he was going to write, and I urged him: don't do it. It will bomb.

Well, he forged ahead anyway.

Six months later, he wrote me a letter -- not an email, but a physical letter.

He was writing to tell me: you were right. The book went nowhere. I should have listened to you.

Do you have any idea how rare it is for someone to admit something like that? And of course I took no pleasure in the poor sales of his book. Just the opposite: I like this person and I want him to succeed.

I prefer not to identify the author or the title, but the gist of the book was this: both sides are wrong. The Democrats are wrong and the Republicans are wrong. The liberals are wrong and the conservatives are wrong.

Be that as it may, I told him, nobody wants to read that book. They want to read books that flatter them. They want books that say their side is right and the other side is a bunch of idiots.

Now if you want to write the book as an intellectual exercise, be my guest. Some books just need to be written regardless of how many copies get sold. But if you're expecting to make a lot of sales, you will be disappointed.

The rest is history.

I tell you this story for this reason: I am a good adviser and strategist when it comes to books. This comes not from theory or navel gazing but from having published 14 of them myself -- some huge successes, some turkeys -- and learning from my experiences with each one.

I've spent the past two days listing the professional benefits of writing a book. You can't dispute any of them. They're obviously true.

And remember the ultimate Woods's Law: Nobody ever does anything. Use that to your advantage, and do something outside your comfort zone by writing that book.

But tap into my knowledge and experience, so you don't wind up like my friend.

Your book doesn't need to sell a zillion copies, though. We just need to get it into the right hands. It's the best business card you've ever had, and you'll wonder why you ever wanted to get by without it.

Tomorrow at midnight the (deep) discount expires, so join my learn-at-your-own-pace, no-live-Zoom-sessions, all-the-stuff-you-need-to-know Woods Author Academy before that happens:

https://www.WoodsAuthorAcademy.com

Tom Woods

You are receiving this email because you've purchased one of my products or requested one of my free eBooks or videos on running online businesses.

P.O. Box 701447
Saint Cloud FL 34770
USA

Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options