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Real Fast Library Marketing Links to Wholesalers
Hello Twitterers!
Here is the list of wholesalers we mentioned during the webinar!
For PDF of the links click here: Wholesaler links
B&T Axis360
http://www.baker-taylor.com/suppliers_supplier_info.cfm
Overdrive
http://company.overdrive.com/connect-application/
ProQuest
http://www.proquest.com/about/publishers-partners/
3-M
Thanks for joining us at Real Fast Library Marketing!
For More Details and Information Go To: http://bit.ly/lmgo
How Many Books Should I Print?
This morning, a lovely author from Greece and I spoke for over an hour. During this time, she asked many great questions. But it was the last question asked before she hung up that really struck me…
“One last thing,” she said. “Is printing 5000 copies crazy?”
“Well,” I replied, “it depends… what are you going to do with the 5000 units?”
“Sell them I guess” was her answer.
When deciding on a print run number, the decision often comes from how many units can one purchase for a deeper discount. At 5,000 the unit price goes down nicely. What most small publishers fail to recognize however, is that until the books are sold, those unit costs are totally fake. If you pay $15000 for 5000 units of your book and only sell three books, each book cost you $5000.
There is a better way. When choosing your print run number, start from the END (sales portion) of the process and move back towards the printing part of the process.
For example:
- How many bookstores will you sell your book into?
- How many ARE there in your area of attention?
- How many are you going to contact and ask them to stock your book?
- How many will likely say yes?
If there are 1000 bookstores in your country AND you have a plan on how to contact 500 of them in 2016, AND 150 of those agree to stock 2 copies of your book AND half of them (75) sell two copies of your book (150) and don’t return them you are looking at 150 units in 2016. Even if ALL 1000 bookstores are contacted and HALF of them agree to sell your book and NONE of them return the books they get you are looking at 1000 units.
- How many will sell on line?
- Well, how many sold of a competitor’s book?
- Why will your book get as much attention as theirs did?
If Amazon was able to sell 3000 copies of a book like yours, published and promoted by a large publishing house, you can rest assured that you will not be spending the time and money on promoting it that they did. Sooooo I’d shoot for 10% of their sales. AT BEST. That is 300 units.
- How many do you need to give away?
- A few hundred to reviewers
- A few hundred to magazines and newspapers editors and freelancers
- A few hundred as sample books for bookstores and libraries to use to evaluate
That is 600 give or take.
Sell 1000 to libraries? Sure! If you have the time to call 500 libraries in 2016 you will sell them! The nice thing about libraries is that they DO buy books and rarely return them.
Let’s look at the total:
Bookstores 150 – 1000
Online 300
Give Aways 600
Libraries 1000
3000 units TOTAL in 2016 and that is ONLY IF you actually take the time and expense to present the books to libraries, bookstores, reviewers and editors. These books will not sell themselves.
How many do you want to print? 5000 makes sense if you are okay with having them for a few years, are willing to do the work to sell them and start with the sales expectations and work backwards.
Want to learn HOW TO SELL more than a few hundred copies? We can teach you. Email Amy at amy@newshelves.com and send her a bit of info about your book and she will come up with a plan for you. (Sales evaluations and plans are always free of charge at New Shelves!)
Library of Congress, Cataloging Data, and Bowker, Oh My…
Do you have questions about how to register your book with the Library of Congress? Not sure where to go to register your book for Books in Print?
You can register your book with the Library of Congress if your publisher has more than 4 books published and registered.
However, there are ways around this rule. Library of Congress registration and a valid, properly formatted CIP block on your copyright page are some of the items that separate the “men from the boys” marketing-wise.
If you are a small press with fewer than 4 titles and want the benefits of a Library of Congress Registration and a Catalog-in-Publication block, the follow these steps:
1. Make sure your publisher name is not trademarked. It does not matter if you have a publisher with a similar or identical name as someone else UNLESS it is trademarked. Go here to find out: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp
There will be another article later on the benefits and detriments of similar or identical publisher names at a later date….
2. Register your publishing name and your TITLE information at Bowker. Go here: http://www.myidentifiers.com/
Libraries and Bookstores will look up your information on Bowker. Don’t skip or skimp this step. A fully fleshed out profile and title data listing on your ISBN log will make a good impression. A poorly executed profile or title data block will make a bad one.
3. Apply to the Library of Congress for a Preassigned Control Number. Go here: http://www.loc.gov/publish/pcn/
From the LOC website: A Library of Congress catalog control number is a unique identification number that the Library of Congress assigns to the catalog record created for each book in its cataloged collections. Librarians use it to locate a specific Library of Congress catalog record in the national databases and to order catalog cards from the Library of Congress or from commercial suppliers. The purpose of the Preassigned Control Number (PCN) program is to enable the Library of Congress to assign control numbers in advance of publication to those titles that may be added to the Library’s collections.
4. Once you have all of that done, it is time to get a CIP. A Cataloging in Publication record (aka CIP data) is a bibliographic record prepared by the Library of Congress or one of its vendors for a book that has not yet been published. When the book is published, the publisher includes the CIP data on the copyright page thereby facilitating book processing for libraries and book dealers.
It is not possible to get a CIP from the LOC if the book is Print on Demand, subsidized in any way by the author or published by a house that has published books by fewer than three separate authors.
Do not despair! You can get a CIP data block from a vendor. Libraries want the data in a specific way and you can hire someone to provide that to you. Check out these guys:http://www.dgiinc.com/pcip/
or these guys: http://www.quality-books.com/pcipintro.php
You are now on your way!
“I Want to Sell My Book to Wal-Mart and Costco”
When I meet authors and publishers who are interested in growing their sales, I ask them this question: “What shelves to you want to see your book sitting on?”
What I hear the most often is “Costco”, “Wal-Mart” and often, “My book would be PERFECT for Airport stores!”
While that may be true, I hate having to tell them what I am about to tell you…
That will only happen if you have already sold enough copies to prove to the buyers at these stores that your book will be worth their time and shelf space.
Airport stores, Costco and Supermarkets have very limited shelf space compared to the rent they are being charged. It is a book buyer’s job to make sure that those shelves earn their keep. Each inch of shelf space needs to yield a minimum amount of money each month. If books are put on the shelves that don’t sell enough, the buyer has to replace them. This is expensive and a waste of time and money for the store.
So buyers are judged by how well they choose books that will sell well and make money per shelf spot. The best buyers have an innate sense of the books that will succeed. All buyers (if they are smart) look at data and sales history to back up their gut feelings before they put a book on their shelves.
No matter how great your book is, a buyer needs to PROVE to their companies that a book will make money. You need to prove to the buyer that your book will make money. How will you do that?
Airport stores don’t have the luxury of trying out books to “see how they do”. They choose books that have already done well in the book market or online.
One buyer I work with needs to make $3000 off of every title on her shelves each month. Does your book sell $3000 worth of units each month?
Sales reps pitching books to Wal-mart from major publishing houses KNOW not to present ANY book that is not scheduled to sell over 10,000 copies in the first year. Minimum. That is the BARE MINIMUM. This is because Wal-Mart needs to know that the book given a few inches of their very valuable shelf space has already proven that it will “earn its keep”
So, before you approach the national offices of any of the major chains, you HAVE to have the materials and the data that shows that they will make the money they are required to make. If you don’t have sales from online or the book retail chains, then you can try approaching a manager of a local airport store or Costco and ask if you can do an event. A successful book sales day at Costco can be leveraged into a conversation with the main buyer in Washington.
I am not saying that you cannot have your book accepted into Target… I am just letting you know what the book buyer’s job looks like and what you will be up against. I have some free cover letter templates that increase your chances of getting a buyer interested. You can download them HERE.
If you want our help getting into Costco or Airport stores, there are ways to get tested in local Costco locations and ways to use co-op funds to get tested at airport stores. If you are interested in earning your way onto the shelves of these major chains, please email Amy at amy@newshelves.com and we will come up with a plan for you!
Get Your Important Online Account Back! Cure For The Banned
Were you blocked, banned or were your items removed from your sites? Get them back.
Daniel Hall, THE expert in how to work the internet and how to grow your business has created a special session for those who lost their social media accounts.
The first 20 New Shelves Clients who click HERE can get this amazing tutorial for only $7. a $99 value for $7.
There are only 20 of these guys. Don’t wait…
25 More Tips for Authors and Publishers
If you’re an author or publisher who struggles with any aspect of getting your book to market, take advantage of a chance to learn from me and four other publishing pros at a free webinar at 7:15 Eastern Time on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
I’m one of the hosts, and I’ll be joined by book shepherd Judith Briles, publicist Joan Stewart, book designer Joel Friedlander and virtual assistant Kelly Johnson.
We want to help you because we love authors. We also want to whet your appetite for the third annual Publishing at Sea cruise we’re hosting Jan. 24-31 to the Caribbean aboard Royal Caribbean’s luxurious “Allure of the Seas.” Ports of call include Jamaica, Haiti and Cozumel. We sail from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
During Wednesday’s free call, we’ll each share five killer tips. We’re even leaving time for questions at the end. Claim your free seat here.
Have You Submitted Your Book to Kindle Scout?
Check out this interesting new program available from Amazon Kindle.
(Text found at www.kindlescout.amazon.com)
What is Kindle Scout?
Kindle Scout is reader-powered publishing for new, never-before-published books. It’s a place where readers help decide if a book receives a publishing contract. Selected books will be published by Kindle Press and receive 5-year renewable terms, a $1,500 advance, 50% eBook royalty rate, easy rights reversions and featured Amazon marketing.
Kindle Scout is new, and we look forward to consistently improving the experience for authors and readers. Your feedback is important, so please let us know what you think.
What are the basics?
A book is a new, never-before-published work that you’d like to see published.
An author is the person who has written and submitted a book to Kindle Scout.
Readers scout the site and nominate books they want to see published.
Nominations are how readers show support for a book. Readers can nominate up to three books at a time.
A campaign is a 30-day scouting period during which readers nominate books to be published.
The Kindle Scout team makes the final call on which books are published by Kindle Press.
Kindle Press publishes the books discovered through Kindle Scout.
How does Kindle Scout work?
Authors who want to get their books published submit to Kindle Scout and accept the Submission & Publishing Agreement. The first pages (about 5,000 words) from each book are posted on the Kindle Scout website for a 30-day scouting period where readers can nominate up to three books at a time. The more nominations a book receives, the more likely it gets discovered by the Kindle Scout team. If selected, the book will be published by Kindle Press and all the readers who nominated the book will receive an early, free copy and be invited to leave reviews.
How does Kindle Scout benefit writers?
Kindle Press authors receive:
– Guaranteed advance & competitive royalties: Kindle Press offers a $1,500 advance and 50% eBook royalty rate. Royalties will be paid monthly.
– Focused formats: Kindle Press acquires worldwide publication rights for eBook and audio formats in all languages. Authors retain all other rights, including print rights.
– 5-year renewable terms, $25,000 in royalties: If a book doesn’t earn $25,000 in royalties during an author’s initial 5-year contract term, or any 5-year renewal term after that, the author can choose to stop publishing with us.
– Easy rights reversions: After two years, rights in any format or language that remains unpublished, or all rights to any book that earns less than $500 in total royalties in the preceding 12-month period, can be reverted upon request — no questions asked.
– Early downloads & reviews: One week prior to release date, everyone who nominated a book that is published by Kindle Press will receive a free copy and be invited to leave reviews.
– Featured Amazon marketing: Kindle Press books will be enrolled and earn royalties for participation in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and Kindle Unlimited as well as be eligible for targeted email campaigns and promotions.
Should This Really Be a Book?
Sean is a terrific business consultant. He can assess and fix difficult problems for small-business owners with ease. His skills have saved countless jobs and thousands of companies over the years. He would like to take his experience and know-how and put them in a book. But can he write? He has business and communication skills and can move mountains, but does that translate to the page? Can he transfer his knowledge in a written form that people want to read? Should he try to turn this own brand of success into a book? Should he be an author of a book or of a series of on-line video tutorials?
Ella has an amazing story to share. She worked as an emergency evacuator during the a nuclear meltdown crisis in the Far East. She has powerful stories of scores of people helping others in a time of crisis. She has the on-the-ground experience to share of how society and services work and fail to work during times of crisis. But can she write? Does this story and this information appeal to enough people? Should she be an author of a book or of a magazine article?
And me… I can tell a story like no one else. I can hold a hundred listeners captive in my breath and make a roomful of people laugh with a well-timed phrase. I know how to get a point across. But can I write? Can my tempo and style transfer to the page? Is my humor enough on paper? Should I be an author or a speaker?
I offer these examples to have us all consider whether or not what we have to say should be a book. In many cases, the answer is yes. But in MANY more cases, the answer is no. Ask yourself these questions:
- Have I worked for years to hone the craft of writing?
- Do I have a topic that deserves 200+ pages?
- Does the reading public WANT to read a book like mine? (Not “should they” but “do they”)
- Does my topic translate better on video or audio than on the page?
- Does my potential audience prefer information in smaller doses?
- Does my potential audience subscribe to or pay for information like mine already?
To have a successful book, the writing is the thing. Writing does not just happen because we have a great message and a fun delivery style. I can land a punch line beautifully, but I cannot write at the level needed to match the humor and fun found in my speeches.
To have a successful book, the topic is also the thing. Ella is a terrific lady, but her topic would not interest people for 200+ pages. Sean has a TON if information, but his audience would prefer video training and online webinars.
Not everyone should be an author. Not every topic deserves a book. Not every writer should be published. Pick your topic carefully, hone your skill and craft, get a terrific editor and then, only then, you can consider yourself an author.
If you have a book and want to improve your visibility online and maximize your sales in the Amazon.com marketplace, consider taking my online tutorial. Click HERE
Don’t Neglect the Other On-line Retailers.
My experience proves that bookstores and retailers put books into four categories.
1. “Ugh, no way.”
2. “Perfect for our stores and our in person shoppers.”
3. “Not perfect for our stores but close enough so let’s try it out.”
4. “A good book, but package /price /topic makes it not right for our stores, so let’s put it on line. Those who want it will buy it there.”
Other than “ugh, no way”… each of these reactions is a success. If your book is on a brick and mortar bookstore website, you have a real shot of moving it to a test in the stores. Don’t drive all of your online traffic to Amazon…. make sure you have people buy from and review on the other bookstore sites too!
www.indiebound.org
www.bn.com
www.booksamillion.com
www.chapters.ca
D5 Creation