When my first published book, Goals for a Sinner, came out way back in 2010, my publisher encouraged me write a blog about writing. Not too keen on the idea, I said in the very first one that I felt like I was speaking to myself in a dark closet. I rarely got a comment and still don't, but to my surprise 100-150 people do look at my blog each month--if they aren't foreign hackers just bouncing their stuff off my site. I've often wondered about that. I post only monthly, and for a few years also wrote monthly for romancingthejock.com which is now defunct. Blogging about sports or writing takes times and effort and often research. I much prefer my brief daily posts on Facebook under Carla Lynn Shurr Hostetter, where both fans and old friends can find me under either name to post a friend request.
I've often been a guest blogger at various sites. If you plan to do so, be sure to have your press kit ready. A very basic press kit includes a fairly professional photo of your face, a brief biography, your books covers, and blurbs for said books. Often guests are given a long list of interview questions to answer, or you are asked to write something fresh just for them. Their followers are urged to make a comment. I have to say I've rarely solicited a comment on these guest spots either. All in all, the blogger gets a break from their column, and you get some free publicity. It does take work on your part and time away from whatever you are are writing at the moment. While I have meant and become friends with some lovely bloggers, I honestly don't think this effort has ever sold one of my books.
Recently while sitting between two writers at an Author's Row, one of those multiple author book signings with sometimes up to fifty authors participating, all competing for the attention of a thin crowd, mostly the friends and families of specific people, we discussed blog tours for lack of anything better to do. The lady to my right was eager to try one. Jaded as I am, I said with my experience simply guest blogging the whole idea of doing dozens of these in a row simply horrified me. I'd never seen any financial return, and the tour organizers expect to get paid, sometimes pretty much. Whenever I get such an offer from a company doing this for money, I just delete the message. If an individual asks me to do a free spot, I might, but my expectations won't be high. I don't think they sell books. If you've had big success with this, let me know and I might reconsider, but I doubt it.
I've also sat on numerous Authors Rows that usually require some travel time and a lot of sit time. I believe places like Barnes and Nobel and libraries sponsor these to get the self-published and/or little known authors off their backs for a book signing. I place myself among the little known small press authors. Simply put,with the ease of printing a book nowadays, we are too many. While libraries provide a free spot, B & N charges 40% of anything you sell. It is possible to lose money if you only get a 35% discount on your print copies, but they benefit by having your friends and family walk to the back of the store full of temptations to reach your table. The best I do is usually two books sold to friends who came to support me. I do make new contacts among the authors and hand out lots of book cards. Sometimes, a sale on Amazon crops up later from a person who'd rather read the work on their Kindle and get it at a cheaper price. That is perfectly fine with me.
I've yet to discover a gimmick that really sells books, doesn't cost a fortune, or take up tons of time better spent writing the next book. I am all ears if you know of one.
Showing posts with label Book Promotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Promotion. Show all posts
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Friday, July 17, 2015
Too Darn Hot--Or Not
Some of you know I also blog the first Saturday of the month at http://www.romancingthejock.com, romance authors who love sports and the men who play them. An interesting question came up among the contributors posited by Sophia Henry, new to our group and about to have her first hockey romance released soon. She'd been panned a few times by reviewers who received advance copies because her book lacked the heated sex scenes implied by the PR hype where she'd been compared to Toni Aleo and other highly erotic authors.
I had a similar experience when I started the Sinners series and my first book,Goals for a Sinner, was compared to Bella Andre and yes, Toni Aleo. New to the publishing game, I timidly suggested that the cover supplied was sexier than the book, and I feared readers might be disappointed. The reply back was along the lines of "This is what sells a book, honey". They did remove the hero's black beard since I pointed out he was blond and clean-shaven. I got a review that said, "You call that a sex scene?" Unfortunately for readers expecting more, my sex scenes are somewhat realistic. People get interrupted by phone calls. The couple doesn't copulate for hours and hours, and sometimes don't have simultaneous explosive orgasms because sex rarely happens that way. The best I've ever done is three flames or jalapenos or whatever icon is used for heat level, though a reviewer described one of my most recent scenes as panty-melting. Well, I guess I finally went up a level though not intentionally.
Like Sophia, my aim is to provide a good story about a sport I love. I am more interested in the lives of the players and those around them than I am on their having lots and lots of sex. Some books have more than others because it depends on the character. I always say whether I write a sports novel or one of my many other books, there is as much sex as is needed for the plot and that particular relationship. There may be only one sex scene or many. None will be longer than two or three pages simply because I get tired of writing them. A sex scene should never take longer to read than real sex. But, that's just me talking. I totally respect women who want the escape of a really hot encounter.
I suggested to Sophia that she check her cover blurb and cover art and see if she could get them adjusted or toned down. Writing for a big publisher, she won't have much input. Usually, I compose my own blurbs, but the PR folks sometimes ramp them up. I also get input on my covers, but have learned to adjust my expectations because this is what sells, honey. I have built a following for my brand of sports books. Readers who like my books find me, and they will find Sophia as well. Maybe her cover copy should compare her to Lynn Shurr.
.
I had a similar experience when I started the Sinners series and my first book,Goals for a Sinner, was compared to Bella Andre and yes, Toni Aleo. New to the publishing game, I timidly suggested that the cover supplied was sexier than the book, and I feared readers might be disappointed. The reply back was along the lines of "This is what sells a book, honey". They did remove the hero's black beard since I pointed out he was blond and clean-shaven. I got a review that said, "You call that a sex scene?" Unfortunately for readers expecting more, my sex scenes are somewhat realistic. People get interrupted by phone calls. The couple doesn't copulate for hours and hours, and sometimes don't have simultaneous explosive orgasms because sex rarely happens that way. The best I've ever done is three flames or jalapenos or whatever icon is used for heat level, though a reviewer described one of my most recent scenes as panty-melting. Well, I guess I finally went up a level though not intentionally.
Like Sophia, my aim is to provide a good story about a sport I love. I am more interested in the lives of the players and those around them than I am on their having lots and lots of sex. Some books have more than others because it depends on the character. I always say whether I write a sports novel or one of my many other books, there is as much sex as is needed for the plot and that particular relationship. There may be only one sex scene or many. None will be longer than two or three pages simply because I get tired of writing them. A sex scene should never take longer to read than real sex. But, that's just me talking. I totally respect women who want the escape of a really hot encounter.
I suggested to Sophia that she check her cover blurb and cover art and see if she could get them adjusted or toned down. Writing for a big publisher, she won't have much input. Usually, I compose my own blurbs, but the PR folks sometimes ramp them up. I also get input on my covers, but have learned to adjust my expectations because this is what sells, honey. I have built a following for my brand of sports books. Readers who like my books find me, and they will find Sophia as well. Maybe her cover copy should compare her to Lynn Shurr.
.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Hand Selling
Generally, the term hand selling means a book store owner crazy about your work will bring it to the attention of a customer and convince them to buy on its merits. For those of us who are e-published or self-published, it means schlepping your books around everywhere and trying to convince stores or individuals to buy them. Currently in my hometown, I have convinced the single bookstore and two tourist attractions to carry a few of my titles--the ones without the sexy covers. Those sell well online but not face to face. The bookstore has them all, but prefers to show the ones without half-naked men as the face-out copies.Yeah, it's a conservative town. Another attraction turned me down flat and another took two sets of Mardi Gras books and sold them all, but I had to do everything from writing out an invoice to presenting and collecting the final bill, a little awkward.
The worse part of all this, even for a very outgoing person like me, is marching into a store and trying to convince them your work isn't garbage. Most will take a few books on consignment, but you will wait and wait to get paid for them (and I'm not complaining about this-books don't sell stacked in my closet). Profit is minimal. If the bookstore takes 40%, and you have to buy the books to place there, your return is pennies in income. But at least your books are out there, and some of the buyers might get the rest on Amazon where the royalties are somewhat better. You also have an answer for people who won't buy directly from you and say they prefer to support the local store. If only that were true and not just an "out", I am fine with that.
Barnes & Noble lets local authors sign in their store a few times a year. You bring your own books and, they hope, your friends and relatives to buy them. Checkout is at the register. They take 40% and send a check for your share six weeks later. Again, a tiny profit but bragging rights that you've signed at B & N.
I usually do well when I give a lecture at a library or book club and have a signing afterwards, but not always. I've put a lot of effort into events where not one book sold or on the funny side, sold one copy to three women who split the $15 cost and planned to hand it around. Just participating in a mass signing of many authors at a library which I have done a number of times--never sold a book to a stranger, though sometimes another author would buy one which covered the cost of my gas to get there. This also goes for literary festivals with dozens of authors attending. Children's book or very well known authors sell. I managed two, but got a great tan sitting outside all day in the sun. The book sales paid for my over-priced but tasty lunch at a food truck, but not my gas. Note to self: pack a lunch. Remember it is very hard to stand out in a mob, and if you are too bizarre, people walk way around you. (Not talking about myself, but I've seen some sights!)
Locally, I do well at arts and crafts fairs and art walks where I offer note cards and some of my paintings for sale also. I have a friend who sells books and her knitted crafts. It helps to have some variety and not just books. Most people won't buy art, but they do browse and allow you a longer time to sell them one of your stories. I save my spiel for likely buyers-not mothers with kids and babies in tow. They could use a good romance, but just don't have the time to stop and buy. Lively older women are prime customers, men not so much. Teens can be excellent customers if you have something to offer them. I don't. I am devoid of dark urban fantasies, vampires, and shape shifters.
My last crafts fair was my worst, however. Nothing sold at all between nine and noon. So many people told me they did not read or had no time for it, I began to suspect the whole town to be illiterate. At noon, it started to rain, nay, pour down along with thunder and lightning. We were given orders to pack our tents and get out (no refunds on the paid space) because of tornado warnings. Ever tried to pack a sopping tent in a storm single-handedly. A couple of my kind neighbor vendors helped me. I'd packed my books in plastic boxes and thought I had escaped without merchandise damage until I got home and found the wet tent had dripped on some sacks I'd left in the car and soaked through five copies. Call that a $100 loss if you include the gas money and booth space rental. Yes, I did pack my lunch.
Okay, I confess I dream of the day that I will be picked up by a New York publisher who will send me boxes of my books to give away for free as review copies.and provide towers of them for signings that I didn't have to set up myself. Dream on e-pubbed author, dream on.
The worse part of all this, even for a very outgoing person like me, is marching into a store and trying to convince them your work isn't garbage. Most will take a few books on consignment, but you will wait and wait to get paid for them (and I'm not complaining about this-books don't sell stacked in my closet). Profit is minimal. If the bookstore takes 40%, and you have to buy the books to place there, your return is pennies in income. But at least your books are out there, and some of the buyers might get the rest on Amazon where the royalties are somewhat better. You also have an answer for people who won't buy directly from you and say they prefer to support the local store. If only that were true and not just an "out", I am fine with that.
Barnes & Noble lets local authors sign in their store a few times a year. You bring your own books and, they hope, your friends and relatives to buy them. Checkout is at the register. They take 40% and send a check for your share six weeks later. Again, a tiny profit but bragging rights that you've signed at B & N.
I usually do well when I give a lecture at a library or book club and have a signing afterwards, but not always. I've put a lot of effort into events where not one book sold or on the funny side, sold one copy to three women who split the $15 cost and planned to hand it around. Just participating in a mass signing of many authors at a library which I have done a number of times--never sold a book to a stranger, though sometimes another author would buy one which covered the cost of my gas to get there. This also goes for literary festivals with dozens of authors attending. Children's book or very well known authors sell. I managed two, but got a great tan sitting outside all day in the sun. The book sales paid for my over-priced but tasty lunch at a food truck, but not my gas. Note to self: pack a lunch. Remember it is very hard to stand out in a mob, and if you are too bizarre, people walk way around you. (Not talking about myself, but I've seen some sights!)
Locally, I do well at arts and crafts fairs and art walks where I offer note cards and some of my paintings for sale also. I have a friend who sells books and her knitted crafts. It helps to have some variety and not just books. Most people won't buy art, but they do browse and allow you a longer time to sell them one of your stories. I save my spiel for likely buyers-not mothers with kids and babies in tow. They could use a good romance, but just don't have the time to stop and buy. Lively older women are prime customers, men not so much. Teens can be excellent customers if you have something to offer them. I don't. I am devoid of dark urban fantasies, vampires, and shape shifters.
My last crafts fair was my worst, however. Nothing sold at all between nine and noon. So many people told me they did not read or had no time for it, I began to suspect the whole town to be illiterate. At noon, it started to rain, nay, pour down along with thunder and lightning. We were given orders to pack our tents and get out (no refunds on the paid space) because of tornado warnings. Ever tried to pack a sopping tent in a storm single-handedly. A couple of my kind neighbor vendors helped me. I'd packed my books in plastic boxes and thought I had escaped without merchandise damage until I got home and found the wet tent had dripped on some sacks I'd left in the car and soaked through five copies. Call that a $100 loss if you include the gas money and booth space rental. Yes, I did pack my lunch.
Okay, I confess I dream of the day that I will be picked up by a New York publisher who will send me boxes of my books to give away for free as review copies.and provide towers of them for signings that I didn't have to set up myself. Dream on e-pubbed author, dream on.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Another Book Signing - Sigh
Face it, unless you become a famous author, your first book signing, usually at your local library or bookstore will be your best and most exciting. Friends and family come to wish you well. Many will buy your first book to be supportive, though they may never read it. In my case having been the former county library director, much curiosity was involved. Thanks to the steamy cover on my first somewhat sexy book (only three flames out of five, folks), more than one person whispered that Miss Lynn is now writing dirty books. Nope. I'd probably sell more if I did
.
Once that first rush is over, subsequent book signings will not go as well. It is known that libraries are the worst places to sign as people who use then will simply check out the library copy if interested and now can even borrow them temporarily on their e-readers. Usually, many authors attend as both libraries and bookstores are being bombarded by the self-published for a venue, and so they group all of us together whether self, e-pubbed, or traditionally published for one mass signing. The bad news-lots of competition, the good-lots of authors to talk to in order to make the time pass faster and perhaps make some interesting contacts.
I would advise writers new to this business to dress up your table a little. Don't just sit behind a stack of books and hope. I put out the wonderful red and black Sinners jersey my daughter got for me and display the football romances on it. My new Mardi Gras series titles are nested in a pile of colorful beads and other throws. A bowl of candy might help, but mostly people seem to grab and run. I do envy cookbook authors. They always have a hook - a steaming crockpot of some dish to attract attention. I had some excellent spicy white beans and rice at my last library signing where I sold three books, great compared to the events where I have sold none or one. Mostly, browsers pick up my sexy book cards or my less sexy, but very pretty, Mardi Gras cards. These might result in e-sales later, and indeed, someone bought an entire set of Sinners books in paperback on Amazon the following Monday, so not a wasted afternoon.
I admit sometimes toying with potential customers who really don't want to buy or even hear about my books. One lady who stopped by for a chocolate fix immediately told me she didn't read those kind of books, i.e. ones with hot covers. She only read mysteries (I hear that one a lot), so I pointed out Mardi Gras Madness which has a mystery sub-plot and is not particularly sexy. Oh, she says, "I can only read Large Print." I suggest she take a card for the book, and she can get it on an e-reader and adjust the print size any way she wants. No, she doesn't have an e-reader, has to hold the book in her hands. Having come full circle, I bid her adieu with a cheerful, "Thanks for stopping by", not adding "and eating my chocolate". An amazing number of folks also only read historicals or non-fiction. Since Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball is an historical, I now only have to produce a non-fiction book to please everyone. As for myself, I read a wide variety of books. I do think I would find literature very limiting otherwise.
.
Once that first rush is over, subsequent book signings will not go as well. It is known that libraries are the worst places to sign as people who use then will simply check out the library copy if interested and now can even borrow them temporarily on their e-readers. Usually, many authors attend as both libraries and bookstores are being bombarded by the self-published for a venue, and so they group all of us together whether self, e-pubbed, or traditionally published for one mass signing. The bad news-lots of competition, the good-lots of authors to talk to in order to make the time pass faster and perhaps make some interesting contacts.
I would advise writers new to this business to dress up your table a little. Don't just sit behind a stack of books and hope. I put out the wonderful red and black Sinners jersey my daughter got for me and display the football romances on it. My new Mardi Gras series titles are nested in a pile of colorful beads and other throws. A bowl of candy might help, but mostly people seem to grab and run. I do envy cookbook authors. They always have a hook - a steaming crockpot of some dish to attract attention. I had some excellent spicy white beans and rice at my last library signing where I sold three books, great compared to the events where I have sold none or one. Mostly, browsers pick up my sexy book cards or my less sexy, but very pretty, Mardi Gras cards. These might result in e-sales later, and indeed, someone bought an entire set of Sinners books in paperback on Amazon the following Monday, so not a wasted afternoon.
I admit sometimes toying with potential customers who really don't want to buy or even hear about my books. One lady who stopped by for a chocolate fix immediately told me she didn't read those kind of books, i.e. ones with hot covers. She only read mysteries (I hear that one a lot), so I pointed out Mardi Gras Madness which has a mystery sub-plot and is not particularly sexy. Oh, she says, "I can only read Large Print." I suggest she take a card for the book, and she can get it on an e-reader and adjust the print size any way she wants. No, she doesn't have an e-reader, has to hold the book in her hands. Having come full circle, I bid her adieu with a cheerful, "Thanks for stopping by", not adding "and eating my chocolate". An amazing number of folks also only read historicals or non-fiction. Since Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball is an historical, I now only have to produce a non-fiction book to please everyone. As for myself, I read a wide variety of books. I do think I would find literature very limiting otherwise.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Promotion - What works for me - Continued
Here I am a back again in the New Year having survived the Mayan apocalypse (as did we all) and the dreaded Fiscal Cliff which was even more to be feared. I finished all my edits for my 2013 releases, A Trashy Affair, Paradise for a Sinner, and Courir de Mardi Gras. That's the good news. Now the bad - I am having knee surgery next Monday and will be laid up for six weeks or more. I do hope to spend that time working on a new Sinners novel and catching up with piles of unread books and unwatched DVD's, hopefully while eating chocolates and being waited on by friends and family, but I don't think it will be that much fun.
Other mentionables: I am participating in a new blog, www.romancingthejock.com aimed at readers of sports romances and will post once a month, my first time being January 5th. This group of twelve authors, many more talented than I, is starting things off with a bang. Visitors to the site will be entered to win a Kindle or Nook tablet or one of several gift baskets, so it is worth a look-see on your part. Now, having done my bit to promote the new site, on to what you really want to read, more promotional ideas.
Last time, I left off the one idea that helped me the most. A fellow writer of sports romances, Jami Davenport, developed a Listmania on Amazon of books with sports heroes. She graciously added my first two books, Goals for a Sinner and Wish for a Sinner. There I was co-mingled with the likes of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Bella Andre. Soon, the Listmania (a bibliography of similar titles if I did not make that clear) appeared alongside my books on Amazon. Sales that had slacked off for my first book blossomed again and continue to grow and extend to other titles. So, if you can devise a list of well-known books similar to your own and post it, this might mean sales for you as well.
The final and most obvious advice is to write your next book. Do not spend all your time and effort trying to sell your first. If you are doing a series, this is even more important. You must have more to offer and quickly or readers will pretty much forget about you. Quickly in publishing terms means a one year period, even better if you can get two out fast in that time span. But, I caution, write them with the same care as your first or your series and sales will fizzle.
In parting before I hobble off to the hospital, welcome to my new follower, Suzanne, and have the best of New Years.
Other mentionables: I am participating in a new blog, www.romancingthejock.com aimed at readers of sports romances and will post once a month, my first time being January 5th. This group of twelve authors, many more talented than I, is starting things off with a bang. Visitors to the site will be entered to win a Kindle or Nook tablet or one of several gift baskets, so it is worth a look-see on your part. Now, having done my bit to promote the new site, on to what you really want to read, more promotional ideas.
Last time, I left off the one idea that helped me the most. A fellow writer of sports romances, Jami Davenport, developed a Listmania on Amazon of books with sports heroes. She graciously added my first two books, Goals for a Sinner and Wish for a Sinner. There I was co-mingled with the likes of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Bella Andre. Soon, the Listmania (a bibliography of similar titles if I did not make that clear) appeared alongside my books on Amazon. Sales that had slacked off for my first book blossomed again and continue to grow and extend to other titles. So, if you can devise a list of well-known books similar to your own and post it, this might mean sales for you as well.
The final and most obvious advice is to write your next book. Do not spend all your time and effort trying to sell your first. If you are doing a series, this is even more important. You must have more to offer and quickly or readers will pretty much forget about you. Quickly in publishing terms means a one year period, even better if you can get two out fast in that time span. But, I caution, write them with the same care as your first or your series and sales will fizzle.
In parting before I hobble off to the hospital, welcome to my new follower, Suzanne, and have the best of New Years.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Promotion - What Works?
Ah, another trick question to which I do not have an answer. But, since we are so near Christmas, I will tell you what works for me and what doesn't as a gift. Keep in mind, this does not mean it will work for you, and some of the things I have tired and failed at do work for others.
Expensive ads do not work. An investment of $350 to place an ad did not amount to one discernable sale, not even at the local bookstore. I asked myself when I ever bought a book because of an ad placed in any magazine and replied to me, "Never." I buy from reviews, book club recommendations, the word of friends, or a favorite author. All of these are free but hard to come by.
Blog tours do not work for me, though I often get offers to have one set up for me for a fee. Frankly, most bloggers will let you take over the task for nothing. I did four guest blogs for Mardi Gras Madness and Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball. Though some of the spots gave me lovely layouts, only one resulted in a few sales. It takes time and thought to create a good blog geared toward the site. So far this has not paid off for me. Yet, I will be blogging once a month at a new site, www.romancingthejock.com starting in January. Designed especially for women who love sports romances, we have a target audience. Eleven other authors are participating. If you like blogs, take a look at it. Will it increase my sales? I'll have to wait and see.
Promotional items are fun, but mostly people pick them up and do not buy your book. The wisdom here is to offer something people will take home like pens and notepads. I give away fabulous flaming foam footballs. The footballs amuse the children while the mothers browse your offerings and do have order information stuck to them. Usually, I will throw one in free with a sale or give them to any who ask nicely. As for the woman who squeezed and coveted my balls and then said she didn't want any of my books in a rather nasty manner-her I charged a dollar. I am under no illusion that any sales ever came from them. I scarf up free pens and such, but rarely even read the imprints. Bookmarks and magnets just get thrown out. Save your money.
Postcards work for me, but often not for others. However, I do not give them out wholesale and never do a mailing. Like everyone else, I order from Vista Print and design my own. The front is my bookcover, the back: a blurb, order information, and other books in the series. I give them to people who show an interest and might later order on their Nook or Kindle as a reminder. Where do I find these people-everywhere. Last night I handed out a few at a party. When I go on vacation, I give them out to other people on the tour, especially if I cannot take any of my books along. By the time I get home, I usually notice an increase in sales.
Face-to-face meetings sell books far more than book signings, though I've had good ones and bad ones. I've worked up two lectures: Adventures in E-publishing and Writing the Historical Novel. Generally, I will have sales after addressing a group and more later from those who buy the e-book. The hard part is finding places to host you and getting people to attend. I have filled entire rooms and fallen flat on my face when only two people showed up (neither bought a book). A recent readers' luncheon I attended gained me twelve new readers.
Art walks and arts and crafts fairs also work well for me, but beware of paying much money for a special booth. Unless the space is free or very cheap, I wouldn't bother. You will never make up the cost in sales. I know one man who keeps up his membership in an art group simply to sell his books at their events. He doesn't paint at all, yet always has sales.
This has gotten long and must end with wishing you Happy Holidays and a Great New Year- with lots of books sales and new contracts galore!
Expensive ads do not work. An investment of $350 to place an ad did not amount to one discernable sale, not even at the local bookstore. I asked myself when I ever bought a book because of an ad placed in any magazine and replied to me, "Never." I buy from reviews, book club recommendations, the word of friends, or a favorite author. All of these are free but hard to come by.
Blog tours do not work for me, though I often get offers to have one set up for me for a fee. Frankly, most bloggers will let you take over the task for nothing. I did four guest blogs for Mardi Gras Madness and Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball. Though some of the spots gave me lovely layouts, only one resulted in a few sales. It takes time and thought to create a good blog geared toward the site. So far this has not paid off for me. Yet, I will be blogging once a month at a new site, www.romancingthejock.com starting in January. Designed especially for women who love sports romances, we have a target audience. Eleven other authors are participating. If you like blogs, take a look at it. Will it increase my sales? I'll have to wait and see.
Promotional items are fun, but mostly people pick them up and do not buy your book. The wisdom here is to offer something people will take home like pens and notepads. I give away fabulous flaming foam footballs. The footballs amuse the children while the mothers browse your offerings and do have order information stuck to them. Usually, I will throw one in free with a sale or give them to any who ask nicely. As for the woman who squeezed and coveted my balls and then said she didn't want any of my books in a rather nasty manner-her I charged a dollar. I am under no illusion that any sales ever came from them. I scarf up free pens and such, but rarely even read the imprints. Bookmarks and magnets just get thrown out. Save your money.
Postcards work for me, but often not for others. However, I do not give them out wholesale and never do a mailing. Like everyone else, I order from Vista Print and design my own. The front is my bookcover, the back: a blurb, order information, and other books in the series. I give them to people who show an interest and might later order on their Nook or Kindle as a reminder. Where do I find these people-everywhere. Last night I handed out a few at a party. When I go on vacation, I give them out to other people on the tour, especially if I cannot take any of my books along. By the time I get home, I usually notice an increase in sales.
Face-to-face meetings sell books far more than book signings, though I've had good ones and bad ones. I've worked up two lectures: Adventures in E-publishing and Writing the Historical Novel. Generally, I will have sales after addressing a group and more later from those who buy the e-book. The hard part is finding places to host you and getting people to attend. I have filled entire rooms and fallen flat on my face when only two people showed up (neither bought a book). A recent readers' luncheon I attended gained me twelve new readers.
Art walks and arts and crafts fairs also work well for me, but beware of paying much money for a special booth. Unless the space is free or very cheap, I wouldn't bother. You will never make up the cost in sales. I know one man who keeps up his membership in an art group simply to sell his books at their events. He doesn't paint at all, yet always has sales.
This has gotten long and must end with wishing you Happy Holidays and a Great New Year- with lots of books sales and new contracts galore!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Braving Barnes & Noble
I've heard all the horror stories about walking into one of the big book chain stores with an e-published book in hand, and if not being tossed out, then totally scorned. However when one of my friends tried to buy Goals for A Sinner at a B & N and was told by the manager I'd have to come in and introduce myself, I did. Hands sweating, heart pounding, my first stop was a nervous trip to their ladies room. Then, I sought out a manager, pulled my light romance from my bag, and began my pitch, mostly saying I was a local author and the story took place in Louisiana. He looked the book over, said it appeared very professional, and searched for it on the computer. I suspect he checked to see if their wholesaler stocked it. And then, those wonderful words, "Okay, I'll stock some." Was it available in e-format? Absolutely! Would I like to participate in a local author book signing in June, BYOB (Bring your own books). Sure. I left on wobbly legs.
Why did I succeed? The Wild Rose Press did put out a totally professional product-good cover and blurb and not a single typo in the text. B & N could easily order through their wholesaler and return unsold copies. Unfortunately, this won't be the case for the sequel since this option has been dropped. I stressed local author and locale. And somewhere in my blathering, I mentioned that the title was selling steadily on Amazon. I have no idea if that last competitive bit helped or not and in fact, was merely trying to justify myself as an author. Okay, the Lafayette, LA Barnes and Noble is the only big chain store to offer my book, but that is one more than none.
Why did I succeed? The Wild Rose Press did put out a totally professional product-good cover and blurb and not a single typo in the text. B & N could easily order through their wholesaler and return unsold copies. Unfortunately, this won't be the case for the sequel since this option has been dropped. I stressed local author and locale. And somewhere in my blathering, I mentioned that the title was selling steadily on Amazon. I have no idea if that last competitive bit helped or not and in fact, was merely trying to justify myself as an author. Okay, the Lafayette, LA Barnes and Noble is the only big chain store to offer my book, but that is one more than none.
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