Selling your book is going to be tough. If you've decided to
take the reigns on your own self publishing endeavor and think
about selling and marketing strategies, the first step is
realizing that nothing beats word of mouth. A strong
recommendation between friends always will do more to promote a
book than any advertising ever will because reading is a time
consuming endeavor not be taken without positive references.
This leaves advertising and the clearly effective method of web
bill boarding. Until the World Wide Web Consortium decides to
enact a POST NO BILLS policy on the web, the best chance the
independent author has of marketing their product to broad
audiences is the chance to turn up in web searches.
My advice to everyone providing poetry or prose following this
approach is to make it two-fold:
ONE: Do public readings and discussions. Groups of all types
exist to help promote your material, not to mention those that
might not originally have been intended for it. Find your
killing joke, your timeless analogy, your absolute poetry slam
contender and preface that reading with a brief comment on your
web presence. Or bring a couple of extra copies with you to show
off. Having provided your audience a taste, it is inevitable
that someone will inquire of your website. This can, in turn,
create a "silent echo," in which website referrals can find
their way to strange places and people, like pond ripples. A
mere link in an email has enormous potential to aid in the cause
of marketing your book.
TWO: Find web based groups that share your interests. Social
network sites, internet publisher circles, church groups that
connect online and even internet study groups are very effective
methods of drawing people to your web site. Most places
requiring you to create a profile also allow you to create a
link on your profile info page for your website. This can vastly
increase specific returns on web searches and lead buyers to
your virtual doorstep.
But your website is not only a method of advertisement, it's
also your selling tool.
One of the greatest resources available to independent business
people is the internet merchandise and service payment platform:
PayPal. Using PayPal's invoicing system not only helps your
customer with an easy, effective method of getting money to you
for your publication, but also provides you a simple way to
track your own sales. Find out how to use it by logging into
their website at:
WWW.PAYPAL.COM.
At the end of this article there are other payment resources you
might want to learn about. Go ahead and check them out! Find
what works best for you, what you are most comfortable dealing
with and then think about how you'll employ it when selling your
book.
As a self publisher, you may ultimately consider selling your
book direct to customers. The fact that you've read this much of
our article is a clear indicator of your ambition to not only
self publish your book, but also self market and potentially
even self distribute. Fantastic! But don't discount the power of
the retail shelf just yet...
Although your book's profitability might be more strongly
realized through self distribution, the retail shelf can provide
one effective tool that even web marketing can't offer: Physical
Presence.
How in the world do bookstores stay in business with the Amazons
of the world selling so many books and the inevitable growth of
the e-book and it's accommodating technology? Simple. They
opened their doors wide and created a casual environment,
essentially making the visit an experience. In turn, they've
cornered the market on the impulse book buyer.
But even if your buyers don't walk away with the book they
briefly scanned at their local retailer, the very presence of
the book on the retail shelf has given them incentive to
consider it's purchase at a later point. Why not include the
link to your site on the back cover?
We at Publisherland are fans of the independent
author/publisher. Our strategy is simple: we provide ideas,
service, and accessibility. We want you to succeed at your
publishing endeavor because your success is our business! We
hope you make the most of our service and that your success is
cause for your positive recommendation to others. Read through
our various pages of content. Our goal is to provide you the
tools you need to get your work into the hands of your audience.
Where does self-publishing fit into the shrinking and fragmented
book market? This question is especially relevant now that
self-publishing has become more accessible and competition for
readers heats up. The answer is that self-publishers are best
suited to create their own markets and readerships. There is no
way to get into the large chains unless distribution is
established and even then they take anywhere from a 45 – 55
percent cut. Then there is the issue of returns which has
plagued major publishers for years and new small publishers just
aren't equipped to handle.
In one survey conducted by a major industry source,
Publisher's Weekly; of the over 11,000 retail outlets for
books, almost 4,000 of these are Wal-Mart stores. The sad truth
for self publishers about Wal-Mart's great market share is that
it is a lot of the same, focused on selling a narrow range of
titles in a very high volume. The chances of getting a book in
their stores is limited to say the least. There is dwindling
space on bookshelves as big chains focus on bestsellers and
independents grow localized, niche and used book markets. The
other problem with Internet sales, which Amazon.com has the
strong hold on, is that consumers are drawn by finding used
titles. This basically means a lot of authors won't be retiring
off their royalty payments.
The only way a self-publisher will thrive is to avoid this
no-mans land of middlemen and sell direct. This entails a
whole lot of marketing wizardry and focused promotions that
utilize local markets, as well as the Internet. Consider the
basic math of the situation for a new self-publisher who has
decided to utilize distribution channels to access the major
chains; for 100 printed copies of a 100 page (b/w) book,
production cost is about $5.00 a piece, so unless a publisher
sets the price at $15 or more, there is minimal profit in sight.
In the end a self-publisher is going to have to heavily promote
and market a book on their own, but lose half their cost just to
distribution. If you are going to build promotions for a
self-published title anyway, it makes less and less financial
sense to give away profits to middlemen.
Print on demand publishing is an accessible and tempting tactic
in this new style of bookselling, but is still an expensive
option. Although solutions such as CafePress and Lulu dangle
large distribution channels to prospects, the unit cost per
single book production is simply too high to make any tangible
profit. The self-publisher's alternative is to print a
realistic amount of copies and reach out directly to all viable
markets. These arenas include the World Wide Web as much as, if
not more than local or niche markets.
Aspiration
Process
Big Picture
To Be The Next J.K Rowlings (Huge Author)
Search for an agent.
Agent shops manuscript to large publishers.
Large publisher buys manuscript and provides all
editing and printing functions.
Author receives big check and future royalties.
Author takes no financial risk
Probability of Success (.01% - you have a better
chance of getting hit by lightning 3 times)
Sell To Major Chains Through Existing Publisher
Search for publisher which specializes in particular
type of subject.
Publisher utilizes existing distribution channels.
Publisher should handle book production and provide
marketing support.
Author receives royalty checks as books are sold.
Author takes no financial risk
Beware of publishers which try to have authors bear
cost
Reality is that royalty payments are lower due to
production and marketing costs plus returns.
Average first print run in low to mid thousands
Establish Publishing Company and Plan on Selling to
Major Chains
Print realistic quantity of books based on budget
and goal.
Establish relationships directly with major
booksellers and/or book distributors.
Marketing plan needs to be created to cultivate
demand.
Through publicity, word-of-mouth, and Social
Networking, cultivate demand to drive prospects to
bookstores or website.
Additional responsibilities include editing,
production and marketing.
Despite lower volume, publisher makes more profit
since there are no middlemen.
Average first print run ranging from 50-500
As the above table illustrates, new self-publishers need to
establish realistic expectations on business aspect of their
publishing endeavor. We recommend our customers consider the
distribution method they intend to use when deciding which
program to use to obtain an ISBN and barcode. ISBN's obtained
through the
Publisher Services Independent Publisher
Program
have a non-descript registrant identifier listed as Independent
Publisher, but all copyright and distribution rights are
retained by each publisher. This is a perfect solution for
author/publishers opting for the self distribution method.
Regardless of which program is selected, our agreement with
Bowker enables us to upload our publishers' book data directly
to Bowker's Books In Print database.
Please feel free to contact one of our customer service
representatives (a live human who answers the phone) to discuss
your options.
One of the most frequent questions asked by self publishers
starting out is, "Why, exactly, do I need an ISBN in the first
place?"
Many times, vendors and self-publisher servicing companies will
advise on the purchase of an ISBN, yet not provide a wealth of
data on the topic so that the self publishing author will be
able to make an informed decision.
The best example I can provide is the following hypothetical
situation; it is something that occurs frequently enough to be
relevant to your interests without trying to make an argument of
it.
Kaitlin teaches night school math courses at the local community
college for people who need to develop core math skills.
A colleague of hers has recommended a book called "Applied
Mathematics" by author John Smith. She tried to do a quick
search on the web only to discover that her search criteria has
netted her approximately 1,600,000 results, most of which aren't
even related to a printed book. She decides to stop at her local
college store and inquire of the book. As it so happens, the
college store has 63 different listings within their internal
database which include her search criteria, with only 4 coming
closest. But which of those four?
The bookstore manager suggests tracking the number by ISBN.
"Applied Mathematics" is a well worn title for math texts and
you're certain to turn up thousands of John Smiths in a search,
but because ISBNs are unique, a search using this specific
criteria will render only one result. Kaitlin calls her
colleague who looks at his copy of the book for the ISBN number.
After furnishing the bookstore manager with the ISBN, Applied
Mathematics is swiftly tracked down and ordered for pick up the
following week.
And this example applies to just about any kind of book. While
you may have similarities in author name and even title, you can
be absolutely certain that the ISBN for the book is unique. Not
only does it aid consumers to track down books for purchase, but
it also helps vendors track down books in order to keep tabs on
their current stock quantities.
