Book Sales
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When to say “When”
Recently, a few authors have come to us and asked if it was time to “pull the plug” on their book marketing efforts. These authors have spent time, money and a lot of energy promoting books that have still not found a large readership. When is it time to say “When”?
My thoughts on this run the gamut from “Now” to “Never”. To be specific… there comes a time when investing money in your marketing plan no longer makes sense. If you have hired a reputable, hard-working PR firm, if you have spent the time and money on marketing your book to your core readership, if you have made your book available through fulfillment or distribution channels… if you have done all of this for over a year and you are still not selling books? It is time to put away the checkbook.
BUT, it is NEVER time to put away the clock. This book is your baby. If you still have the time to watch Mad Men, then you have the time to participate in discussion groups, visit your local library’s book club, participate in a local author event, review other author’s books on line…. there is always something you can do with our time to get your book out there. You never know when the “right” person will read it and it is your job to keep putting in the time to promote your book.
Some books take years to take off. But it won’t happen if you have given up.
Social Media and Online Book Marketing
We had a wonderful time today talking to Sherrie Wilkolaski about Social Media and Marketing your Book Online.
Here is a recording of her great advice for authors:
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What Sort of Publishing is Right for You?
Below is the recording of last week’s great session about the different faces of Self-Publishing.
We also mentioned some websites everyone should check out before choosing a self-publishing option. These are forums and/or blogs where folks ask questions and provide information about their various experiences with some of the different vanity presses, co-publishing companies, publishers and literary agents.
Here’s a list of some links we really like:
Preditors & Editors
WritersWeekly.com – Whispers And Warnings
Activity Stream – Absolute Write Water Cooler
What if I Booked an Author Event and Nobody Came?
We had a great time today on Free Advice Friday talking about Author Events. Some of the key points from our chat:
- Book your event at least 60 days in advance
- Take responsibility for every aspect of your event. Don’t leave anything to chance or the bookstore.
- Drop by the store 5-6 weeks before you signing and discuss signage, calendar listing, newsletter announcements and invitations with the manager.
- Don’t be shy! Send out invitations and ask for RSVPs!
- Print up postcards, bookmarks or flyers for the store to give out.
- Break up your event with numerous short readings to grab numerous new customers and make the most of your time.
- Some signings are slow with few attendees. Don’t take it personally. Keep going!
There was A LOT more, so if you want to hear the entire chat, here is this week’s recording. Enjoy!
Funniest Thing We Have Seen in a Long Time
The Numbers of Sucess and The Numbers of Failure
When I started my business 5 years ago, I spent the first three months reaching out to over 800 publishers asking if they would like more information about my services.
Each day, I sent out 10-15 well edited, nicely designed emails and/or snail mail packets describing how fabulous I was and how much I could improve their profits and lessen their work load. I spent every night compiling the packets and spent every morning send them out. The afternoons were for follow up. Every day, including weekends… If I had to miss a day, I doubled up the next day. This went on for three months.
After a time, 7 or 8 publishers said they would like more information.
Eventually, 1 hired me.
800 attempts with 1 success. My business plan stated that I needed a minimum of 10 clients to stay afloat and it took three months and hundreds of hours sending non-mass-mailed outreach letters and painful phone calls to get me 1 client.
It was enough.
With that one client, I now had a job to do. I worked for Write-Stuff Publishing like my life depended upon it and a few weeks later, Avant Guild Publishing followed. In time, I had more clients than I could handle and had to hire help. It was a slow, tiring journey, but today, I have an amazing business partner, terrific clients, fantastic employees, a gorgeous office…. we are looking good!
It is hard to remember how I felt at the beginning until I speak with an author or editor who is ready to branch out on their own. I often hear the following:
“But I’ve SENT out SO many queries!” or “It’s really tough out there…. no one is responding to my requests”
I was reading a great blog at http://www.urbanmusewriter.com/ written by a freelancer who’s family is sending her emails filled with dire predictions of her starvation and bankruptcy. I was cheering her on as I read about her rejection letters and growing panic, but she kept going. As I read on, she was able to share the BEST part about taking the plunge… some one hired her.
ONE success. It is enough. But it takes a LOT of perseverance. What separates those who make it from those who don’t? Lots of things… but the FIRST thing on the list is the ability to not give up.
May I Have the Name of The Book Buyer?
Today an author whom I do not know called and asked me for the names of my buyers so she could follow up on the presentations with new information. She is concerned that her publisher rep is not pitching her book “properly”. There is a lot of new information and media updates and the rep has already made the rounds to pitch her book. If she can’t trust the rep to send the new info, what is an author to do? How does an author know that new-late-breaking news about their book is getting to the buyer.
Answer: You don’t know for sure until the orders start coming in.
I know how frustrating it is, but it is a normal part of the process for small presses without direct access to the buyers because they use distributors.
You can trust your reps to distribute any and all information that will help them sell your book. They want your book to be successful. They are motivated to do a good job selling your book as they move through their territory, meeting buyers and selling the books. The problem comes when an author has 4 updates a week that, while important to them, are not at a “drop everything” level for the buyer. A good rep knows when it is important enough to take a buyer’s time with an update. An author does not usually have the experience or relationship to make the correct determination.
So can an author contact the reps and the stores directly? No. Nope. Nuh-uh… *
I run only a small distribution company and if I gave out the names of my sales reps, or the buyers to my clients, they would get more calls and emails a day than they could answer. The buyers would be so angry with me that I would not enjoy the same trust and access that I get now. The reps would quit. (seriously)
My reps cannot be getting personal pitches from each author, they have hundreds of books to sell each season. We already guarantee that we sell each book individually, one on one, one by one… no group catalog pitches. This is a huge time commitment and if they had to handle minor updates or talk to each author, they would not have any time to actually sell. That is why we have sales meetings, so that they can be taught about each book before they go out and sell it.
I promise, if an update is important enough to increase a book buyer’s order I am ALL OVER IT! But you can trust my judgment. I know when it is a good time to bother a buyer… and when it isn’t.
The book buyers, for the most part, only see who they want. They can agree to see a rep or not… they cannot be dealing with thousands of authors who all believe that their book is special. All books are special to the author… what the buyers need is an interpreter. They want someone who understands exactly how they work and what they need and provides them with some choice to fill those needs. That is where we come in.
We are often the only way a buyer will ever see a book… my unwillingness to contact a buyer every time an author wishes is the exact reason the buyer will take a look at the author’s book when I present it. We walk a fine balancing act and it is sometimes hard to keep both sides happy.
I know it is hard, but if you work on creating the demand and keep feeding your publisher the press and marketing you are doing, the demand will drive the success of your books. The reps will pass on the key information in the most agreeable manner possible.
(* the exception being a local author contacting her local store if she has developed a good relationship with the staff there)
EBooks. How to Make Them. How to Sell Them
Last Friday, we had a great session with Emily Gable from http://www.publishgreen.com/
She was great at walking all of us through the process of eBooks and helping us all understand how they come to be and how they come to be profitable.
Here is the recording of our hour-long free consulting session on eBooks. Enjoy!
D5 Creation