Part Four
7.
DO: Remind bookstores to order POD books well
in advance of events...
Bookstores usually contact a distributor or wholesaler
for a book, a couple of weeks before a signing -- assuming that the
wholesaler will have it in stock, or be able to get it very quickly.
Even if the preferred wholesaler doesn't have it in stock, chances are
someone, somewhere will, and the store can arrange to have copies rushed
to them.
If your book is being produced Print On-Demand, it may
take longer and there is no back-up stock...but the bookstore clerk
probably doesn't know that.
Contact your POD firm and ask how long books normally
take to ship. Double that, and tell the bookstore that is how far in
advance they must order books. If they say 'no, it'll be OK', be firm.
Tell them that it might not be OK. Tell them POD is a new science, that
things can go wrong and, if they do, there is no alternative stock of
books to order at a pinch.
POD is new, and you should expect to
have to educate book stores, librarians, and sometimes readers.
DON'T: Expect to sell more than 20 copies at a
signing...
In the traditional publishing world, the average book
signing shifts 20 copies. Of course Howard Stern sells more, and John
Grisham sells more, but the average author does not.
Don't be discouraged if your book signings don't make
you rich. That's not what they are for. They are one more way to get
your name and your book's title in front of readers.
Conventional advertising wisdom says repetition is the
key to advertising success - your client (your reader) must see your
product's name over and over...and over again, before they will even
notice it. It takes many more repetitions before they are interested in
buying it.
Book signings are an inexpensive way to create some of
that repeated exposure. Not only will readers see your book during the
event, but most bookstores will display posters of the book or an
announcement for a couple of weeks before the event.
8.
DO: Send customized press releases...
Every book has many themes, events, and characters
that you can highlight in press releases for different audiences - and
don't forget that you, the author, are interesting.
Editors are drowning in press releases. If yours is to
make the cut, it must tell the editor something that will appeal to his
or her readers. Don't just announce your new book and expect the world
to be interested.
Instead, tell the editor of a child-care magazine how
your novel features an inspirational 'everywoman' character who
encounters all the same challenges and triumphs of raising a family that
the magazine's readers face.
Sell the editor of a regional newspaper on a 'local
author makes good' story.
This doesn't have to be as much work as it sounds.
Write a standard press release with bio and summary information that
will not change. Next research your market, and write a customized
introductory paragraph just for them. Last, try to think up a snappy
headline, related to what you have just written.
You may send fewer releases in the end, but 100
well-targeted releases will be worth more than 1000 box-standard press
releases that don't give the editor a story angle, and are destined for
the circular file.
DON'T: Burn your bridges...
...By insulting the agents and
editors who turned down your first book.
You may need them for your second
book, once you have proved yourself!
Part
I
Part
II
Part
III
Part
V
***
If
you have any questions about getting published, email me at jd@jdwrite.com. If
I don't know the answer, I'll find someone who does!
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