| How
many times when you dreamed of readers finding your book did your
dreams center around them finding it in a “brick-and-mortar”
bookstore? Chances are, most of the time… This is the fantasy
the leads too many authors to the endless pain of the author-agent-publisher
rejection cycle. And, it rarely sells any significant amount of
books.
The
realities of bookstore sales are frightening – far more
books fail courtesy of bookstores than succeed. Consider these
facts:
Returns
rates exceed 70% in many categories – that means
bookstores send back 7 out of every 10 books they buy. YOU the
author bear the biggest brunt of the pain of returns. The publisher
has other books they can rely on – you, however, have seen
your dream destroyed.
Bookstores
buy very few copies on a story-by-store basis, and they
typically only merchandise the books that have big marketing dollars
behind them. Unless you can afford a multimillion-dollar marketing
campaign, it is highly unlikely that your book will be stacked
anywhere a potential buyer can find it (let alone in the front
of the store.)
Author signing events typically sell only about 7 books –
all your scheduling, time, calling stores to set up events –
results in selling 7 books…
Bookstores
take up to 90 days to pay for your books – and
to mitigate what they owe you they will quite often return your
remaining stock WITHIN the 90 days.
Retail outlets typically command very large discounts (but then
so do online retailers in many cases…)
The
typical retail buyer is not a destination purchaser, but a browser
(most readers who know what they want go to the online retail
sites). A reader in search of a book can be a GREAT customer.
But when you are shelved next to all the other books in your particular
category, your competition stands as good a chance at getting
bought as you do… and if you are stocked near a well-known
author, most buyers will bypass your book to pick up the well-known
name.
Now
that you’ve had all the “good” news –
here is an interesting fact:
Over
half the books sold in the publishing industry are sold through
NON-bookstore vehicles.
That
means that more books are sold in other places than bookstores-
and your book is likely to be most successful through these outlets.
And online sales – driven by a targeted, effective, and
comprehensive marketing plan – will be the cornerstone of
your book’s success.
Authors
spend a lot of time and money chasing the improbable, when the
"golden egg" of self-publishing and self-promotion is
right in front of them. In my opinion, I'd sell my books everywhere
except the brick and mortar bookstore!
Utilizing
the tools that make the internet the powerhouse it is today will
build sales that you never dreamed were possible. Search Marketing,
blogs, newsletters, email campaigns, web sites, and your personal
appearances (yes, the human touch still has meaning in book sales)
are the new tools for building great book sales.
Dog Ear Direct-sales
Resource links:
Let us know if we can answer any questions,
and thanks for reading
As always - if you like this
information (and found it helpful) please feel free to post it
on your site, put it in a blog, toss it in your newsletter, or
in general spread it around. Please just give us credit here at
www.dogearpublishing.net
May you have success in your creative efforts!
Ray
If you have any questions or comments
- please write us at AuthorResources@dogearpublishing.net |
