Over the past 6 months, I’ve attended several writers’ expos and conferences, which has resulted in more sales of my self-published books. (All my main books, which are my novels, short story collections, are self-published.) In any case, I noticed an increase in sales during this time period and was wondering why. Looking back, I have noticed a direct correlation between how much I trade and how much I sell. When I was building my radio shows and literary agency, my book sales suffered because I wasn’t marketing my own books as much at the time.
I’ve recently noticed a number of good self-published books that the authors have given up on, which is why I’m republishing this article I wrote in 1999. However, I’m updating it with the latest tech tips. .
So you’ve self-published your book? Whats Next? After you’ve gone through all your friends, family, co-workers, religious organizations, and sororities/fraternities, you usually hit a brick wall. The truth of the matter? You’ll end up with a garage full of books if you don’t go out and sell them. (I’m speaking from experience here.) *Note: some of this isn’t a big deal now because of print-on-demand books.
It’s true that a self-published book never dies, is left on the rest, or goes out of print, but it also doesn’t get the widespread distribution that a mainstream-published book gets. And even if you do get published with the mainstream, you would do well to “honk your own horn” and promote your own book. But as an author/publisher, you have to wear all the hats.
You will have to deal with bookstores, barter and, above all, do creative marketing. The reward: you will collect the lion’s share of the winnings. Instead of only getting 8-15% of the books sold, excluding your down payment (as in going with a conventional publisher), you can get 100% (minus your production costs) on book sales, if the sale is retail (as to an individual), and 45-60% of the sale of a book, if it is done through a distributor. Here are some marketing tips that will help make a difference in the sales of a book until it starts to build its own momentum.
1. Try to get distribution through Ingram, Partners, Baker and Taylor, among other book distributors. Many bookstores will not accept your books without them being part of a distribution chain. Ingram Books, 1-800-937-8000. Baker and Taylor, 1-800-775-1100. List your books on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com
2. Send copies of reviews to local newspapers and magazines. (Get Dan Poynter’s Handbook of Desktop Publishing for other places you can send your review copies.)
3. Network. Learn the law of reciprocity. Share resources with other writers and they will share it with you. I am an African American writer, so I was able to get resources from another writer for the African American Museum. (In the past, I’ve written this writer’s press releases, which were picked up by a local newspaper, as well as part of its back cover.) Also, connect with other artistic people from other fields. In 1999, I connected with a creative friend from Arts and Crafts who showed me how to put my books in baskets with ribbons. They sell pretty well that way. Plus, these make nice gifts for the holidays, ranging from Halloween to Father’s Day, including Black History month.
4. Lead or participate in seminars, conferences or workshops where you can make backroom sales. Also develop your speaking skills. If you want, make derivative products like tapes, CDs, and audiobooks. (I’ve been speaking and teaching for the past 8 years and I sell the most books when I speak. People buy from you, not just your book.)
5. Go into non-traditional markets like beauty salons and small businesses. You can even set up vendor tables yourself. One year, I went to the family reunion in Washington DC and sold quite a few books at Family Talent night, after writing some poems and reading. Once, I even had a table at a carnival. Although I didn’t sell as many books, it gave me exposure. (I was learning). Now my sister and I have a mobile bookstore on wheels where we sell books from different parts of Los Angeles, similar to street vendors in New York. This has even resulted in workshops at a local university.
6. It goes without saying that you use the Internet to promote your book. (That includes sending press releases on PR Web and sending mass emails). I read that a writer sends out 200 press releases a day. Their self-published book was picked up by the mainstream, and after a print run of 30,000, they had to go back to print in 27 days. You can find online (and offline) book clubs to buy your books in numbers. Also, book clubs will now interview you over the phone. I have an interview on October 3, 2007 with Cyrus Webb and the book club, which is out of Mississippi. http://www.thebestbookclub.info.
N’oubliez pas. Go to as many internet radio shows as well as offline shows as you can.
7. Attend trade shows. The American Book Expo was great, but there are many other smaller fairs throughout the year. Don’t always go to book shows. Go to Arts and Crafts, Church Conventions, and other types of shows where your books won’t be in direct competition with other writers. Last year, I sold more books by attending the following conferences at Black Business Expo, September 21-23, 2007, http://www.blackbusinessexpo.com,
August 17, 2007, The Metro Detroit Literary Collective,
[http://www.mllbnetwork.com/workshops.html]August 10-11, 2007, Los Angeles Black Book Expo, http://www.labbx.com.
June 30, 2007, Special Guest, http://www.leimertparkbookfair.com, Leimert Park Book Fair,
June 28, 2007, Honoree, Leimert Park Book Fair Honoree, for Outstanding Contributions to the Literary Legacy of Los Angeles, the State of California, the United States, the World, and
March 25, 2007, Desktop Publishing Symposium, New York, Schomberg Center for Research, in Black Culture, http://www.aspicomm.com/Events.html, and March 17, 2007, http://www.blackwritersontour . com.
8. Go to libraries. In 1999, I went to the library where my writing group meets, and since then the librarian has sent my book to the main library for consideration, as well as held various workshops and signings there. Also, see if you can do readings at local libraries, community centers, and churches.
9. Write a newsletter on the internet. Not only is it a way to give something away for free, but it also gives you name recognition.
10. Join writers’ trade organizations for support, training, resources, information, and grants. I have been a member of the Los Angeles Saturday Morning Workshop for fifteen years.
11. Develop a web page, access Myspace, Shelfari and Black Planet. Make Ipods, make a book trailer for your book using Windows Movie Maker and upload it to You Tube. This is the new cover letter of the 21st century. Here you can talk about your book tours (preferably online tours with Dolores Thornton of Marguerite Press and LaShunda Hoffman of Sormag) and, of course, don’t forget about old-fashioned book signings. (Make them exciting by offering workshops, raffles, or speeches.)
12. Write articles like this for Ideamarketers, http://EzineArticles.com, or in my case, I even write a column in Booking Matters magazine. Write blogs at http://www.blogspot.com.
http://blackbutterflypress.blogspot.com
http://blackbutterfly.blogspot.com. I’m new to blogging, but I’ve read where people have gotten book deals from their blogs, and they’ve developed quite a following by dominating online conversations. All of these are picked up by Google.
As I’ve personally discovered, sometimes we have to revisit old grounds to create the funk again on our books. After all, these are our legacies that we want to leave to the world.
These tips and others will bring attention to your book. Above all, never give up!