What 1,511 copies taught me

According to my (exacting) Google research, the average self-published book sells around 250 copies over its lifetime.

Many sell far fewer.

Out of curiosity—and inspired by my friend and coach Jonathan Carroll and the success of The Way of the Dragonfly—I recently looked at how many copies of The Happy Lawyer are currently in circulation.

I was a little surprised by what I found.

There are now 1,511 copies of The Happy Lawyer out in the world.

Here’s how that happened:

• 1,097 copies sold through Amazon

• 414 copies distributed through firm talks, workshops, and conferences

What matters more to me than the number is what it represents: this book is being used—across firms, in-house teams, workshops, and at home. It's being used, and it's being useful. All without pretending the job isn't demanding.

Here’s the part I don’t think people talk about enough.

At the high end, my top four months account for 448 sales—over 40% of total Amazon sales.

At the low end, I had four consecutive months of single-digit sales—about 3% of the total.

Same book. Very different outcomes. Meaningful work often looks like this.

It feels a lot like parenting. Most of the good comes from a few things done well. And when you’re stuck in the day-to-day routine, it’s easy to forget that those moments are even happening.

So if you’re working on something that matters and it currently feels slow, uneven, or discouraging, let this be your reminder:

• Focus and persist. You've got this.

What matters enough to you that you’re willing to commit to it—even when it doesn’t seem to be working yet?