> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.racketpublishing.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Book Marketing Is Brutal—Even for A-Listers
- URL: https://www.racketpublishing.com/blog/book-marketing-is-brutal-even-for-a-listers/
- Published: 2026-10-14T12:49:39.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-16T13:33:45.000Z
- Description: The struggle excludes no one.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Marketing

If you're an avid reader or someone thinking of writing a nonfiction book, odds are you've heard of [Angela Duckworth](https://www.angeladuckworth.com/?ref=racketpublishing.com). Her 2016 title *Grit* blew up. She is nothing short of a rock star. Maybe you are one of the nearly 40 million people who has seen [her TED talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/angela%5Flee%5Fduckworth%5Fgrit%5Fthe%5Fpower%5Fof%5Fpassion%5Fand%5Fperseverance?ref=racketpublishing.com). Duckworth's highly anticipated follow-up effort [*Situated*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668131617?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallbackhttp://www.amazon.com/dp/https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668131617?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback/ref=nosim?tag=phisim-20&ref=racketpublishing.com) dropped last month. 

I've read neither of her titles. Today, though, I want to demonstrate the difficulty of marketing a nonfiction book—even if you're an A-list author. 

## A Quick Chart

Here is a simple visualization of Amazon ratings and reviews of her two texts as of October 13, 2026\. Note the precipitous dropoff.

Racket Publishing · Book Data

#### Grit holds *153 times* more ratings than Situated.

Both books come from Angela Duckworth. Hover a bar to compare, then switch the scale to see the smaller book clearly.

Scale: linear, starting at zero 

Linear Log 

**0**99.35% of combined ratings

GritThe Power of Passion and Perseverance

**0**0.65% of combined ratings

SituatedFind the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best

Source: Amazon product comparison table. Amazon counts star ratings here, which include ratings without written reviews. Figure from Claude Code.

📖

In case you're curious, book reviews are a decent—if imperfect—proxy for sales.

I know that in a month, the 137 number will have increased. There's virtually no way, however, that *Situated* will do anywhere nearly as well as *Grit*. Her first book was the outlier, not the second. 

## The New Author Reality

And it's not just Duckworth. Seth Godin's short manifestos typically garner a slew of reviews. Yet, his latest release sports far fewer ones that I'd expect—especially for a title that clocks in at 160 pages. *Capital in the Twenty-First Century* it is not. 

See a pattern here?

[Stop Playing Inbox Whac-A-MoleRacket’s latest offering helps authors protect themselves from incessant scams and save valuable time.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/33/fa/33fa879c-f3fb-496e-890f-14505310beac/content/images/icon/newball-1-0b71c00b-6ceb-458f-add1-936b00a602b4.png)Racket PublishingPhil Simon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/33/fa/33fa879c-f3fb-496e-890f-14505310beac/content/images/thumbnail/a_man_playing_whac-a-mole_on-8e85bc76-4040-4140-8a42-e669b15f8aae.jpg)](https://www.racketpublishing.com/blog/inbox-whac-a-mole/)

## What You Need to Know

I don't bring up this statistic to denigrate anyone or discourage aspiring authors from writing their books. Just know in advance that the marketing a book is really freakin' hard. If you only focus on number of copies sold and external rewards, then you are bound to be disappointed. 

## Feedback

What say you?