By Robb Fink
Your book is written, printed and copies are all over the house and in the car. Now you need to sell them!
As a writer, your creative efforts are best with a pen or a computer, but to be a writer that sells, you have to know how to market what you write. There are many ways to do this, the most conventional being to sell directly to Bookstores in your area and beyond.
The first part of the process is to recognize that independent stor owners are more often willing to give the self published author shelf space. While this cuts down on local sales unless you live in a large metro area, it's still the best place to start.
The Approach
Prior to trying to sell your book to a particular store, look around the store to be sure your book fits into the genres stocked by the store. A mystery or suspense novel does not fit in a store that sells strictly Non-Fiction. While specialty stores like this are few, they do exist in many areas.
While you are there, try to establish whom the owner or manager is. Ask if this is a convenient time to speak to him or her. People who own Bookstores are generally very busy. The operation of a Bookstore requires a great deal of time behind the scenes, so be patient if you are told the owner/manager is busy
If the person you need to see is busy, try to set an appointment for a return visit or get a phone number and the person's name to make one at a later time.
The Sales Call
Arrive on time, and bring only one copy of the book into the store with you. Anyone that sees an author carry 20 copies of a book into the store will start to panic and be likely to avoid you.
When you meet the owner/ manager present them with a copy of your book. Sign the book on the title page, with no inscription - it makes a nice gift, and you can write the copy off as a promotional expense. No one will order, even on consignment, a book they have not had the chance to read, or at least look at.
Explain a little about yourself and your book, but do not go into extensive detail. Remember - it's the book you want to sell, and if you tell too much, where is the excitement after that?
Also bring copies of any newspaper or online reviews for the store to keep. They can display them with your book for customers to read.
The Deal
If you have never sold books to a store the deal is this. Unless the store has it in their budget to take a chance, they may ask if you will leave a few copies on consignment. The answer to this should always be yes!
They may want to know what your wholesale price is for purchasing the books, so be sure to have that worked out ahead of time. Most Bookstores expect to get 35-40 percent off the cover (retail) price. This may seem like a large discount to give, but bookstores need to make a profit to pay for their overhead running costs and in order to stay in business.
I suggest you create a discount schedule that reflects the more copies purchased the higher the discount. For one copy, perhaps 20 percent discount off retail price, 5 copies, 30 percent, and over 5 copies 35 percent. If they back off, offer 40 percent for over 5 copies.
Remember that even if you have to cut profits a few percent for local stores, it's worth it.
Returns
Most publishers offer a liberal returns policy to Bookstores. They require that the store keep the books in stock for a specific amount of time (usually 90 days).
There is an exception to this rule - single copies generally cannot be returned. Returns must also be in the same condition as when received by a Bookstore. There are some that require a restocking fee on returned books, but these are generally small press publishers or distributors, not self-published authors. You might want to consider a restocking fee, if you pay shipping charges to a store. Usually, the store pays shipping to them and return shipping charges. Keep in mind however; this can affect the number of sales you will make.
With this in mind, perhaps the best sales tool you have is to offer to appear in stores, at a time of their choice, to read from your book and sign copies for customers. Tell the manager or owner that you will bring copies to the signing and that they will only have to pay for copies sold.
The only investment the store will have to make is to make it known to customers that you will be there on a specific date and time. Give the store cover art, a publicity photo of yourself, and a short bio to use either in their newsletter, or in newspaper ads.
Bookstore appearances can be an enjoyable experience for you, the store staff and most importantly your readers. At signings, offer a personalized inscription to each buyer of your book. From experience, I can tell you they may buy a second copy as a gift, so offer an inscription to the person they are buying the book for too!
© Copyright 2002 Rob Finkk
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All work remains the property of Fiction Factor, unless expressly granted by written permission from the author.
