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In my last post, I noted that I haven’t been writing much since taking on full-time work as a proofreader/copy editor and that I’ve had some strange sales that have led me to believe God is nudging me to get back to writing. Well, I have another strange sale to add to the list. One of my fiction stories was recently published in a magazine, and I can’t even remember when I submitted it. It must have been four or five years ago. The story was one I had already sold to two magazines so I must have submitted it to this magazine to sell reprint rights. Anyway, a copy of the magazine with my story in it arrived in the mail, along with payment. I didn’t even know the publisher had accepted it.
Many publishers no longer respond to a submission if they aren’t interested, so if I haven’t heard from them in three months, I usually figure my submission was rejected. Some publishers say they’ll hold on to submissions for future consideration, but in my experience, that usually means up to a year wait. I’ve never had anyone hold on to a submission for four or five years.
I’m not complaining, and I can take a clue. I spent last weekend writing a short story, finished it, and sent it off to an e-zine that pays. I typically submit only to traditional magazines, so it will be interesting to see what happens with the e-zine.
I think I’ll write next weekend too. :)
By: admin,
on 9/4/2013
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The great accomplishment of this past week—during which the family has been sick with a crazy, no-fun, icky, yucky virus—has been to create a book trailer for All Hallow’s ABC. What is a book trailer? Well, it’s basically a television...
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Beyond Book Sales Income: Book Marketing and Diversification
I love the internet . . . you can find almost anything and learn just about anything by doing a search. In a webinar provided by Steve Harrison of Quantum Leap. The guest speaker was Jack Canfield. For those of you who haven’t yet hear of him (this would be amazing if you are in the writing field), Canfield is the co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen had a dream. They would have a New York Times best selling book. But, the road to success wasn’t easy . . . they received 144 rejections from publishers. This did not stop them—they moved forward with visualization and positive projection techniques. Chicken Soup for the Soul came out in 1993. Since they didn’t have enough money for a publicist so they did their own marketing. By 1995, they won the Abby Award and the Southern California Publicist Award.
This was the second teleseminar I had the privilege of attending featuring Canfield. The information offered was geared toward the strategies needed to make money publishing books through marketing and diversification. This concept is very similar to a video clip I watched of Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, which was also presented by Steve Harrison.
So, what exactly are the concepts of
book marketing and diversification?8 Book Marketing and Diversification Tips to Help Make Money
1. Build a platform.Start your platform when you are thinking of writing a book—don’t wait until you are published. Creating connections, contacts, and readers takes time.
2. Realize you will most probably not get rich writing books.Yes, that’s right, you will not automatically become wealthy from book publication. But, while you won’t get rich, it will open doors that will not otherwise be open. This is the opportunity for diversification—don’t just look straight ahead—use your peripheral vision.
3. Learn how to market and sell YOU and your books.Never stop learning about writing and
book marketing. Read about the subjects; attend conferences and teleseminars; join writing and marketing groups; and follow blogs that provide valuable and up-to-date information. But, remember, you don’t want to just sell your books, you want to sell what you have to offer along with your books.
4. Research areas you can diversify in.If you are published there are a number of doors that will magically open. You can create e-books; you can present teleseminars, webinars, or workshops; you can offer classes or coaching; you can even write a book about your experiences and successes.
Tip: Before you start charging for your expertise, offer some free services. This will help establish you as an expert in your field.
5. Never stop selling.Find new avenues to sell your books and services. Utilize some of the suggestions in #4 above.
6. Build your subscriber list. According to expert marketer Jim Edwards, if you don't have a list that's continually growing, you're sunk.
You'll need to develop a trusting relationship with your readers by providing quality information on a regular basis, along with quality products.
7. Believe you can do it.This is probably the most important tip for success. Canfield is a firm believer in the power of tweaking your subconscious and projection.
8. Pay it forwar
By: admin,
on 5/16/2011
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I have just participated in the Patchwork Indie Craft show in Long Beach. There were many great vendors selling their handmade goods plus a really spectacular Argentinian Food truck where I bought an amazingly delicious chicken sandwich. That might have been the highlight of my day. Some not so great things–wind blowing all of my prints and me having to chase after them every 5 minutes. Also I was a little disappointed at the amount of sales I made. Not that I did horribly. I ended up making my money back plus some. But from what I have heard of Patchwork, I was expecting a little more. Other than that, it was great. I might come back next time with a bigger display and some t-shirts. Now on to planning my next show.
The next show is the first ever Canoga Park Summer Artwalk on Thursday May 19, from 6-9pm. I will be selling my Whimsical Fantasy Jewelry and Art Prints and Showing some of my latest work.
by Jane
So, this week I talked with a number of editors in our business who are complaining about recent poor bookstore sales and it caused me to consider again how our industry is changing and how I wish publishers would begin to “rethink.”
Traditionally, books are launched and shipped in a certain season and then, in subsequent seasons, these books are considered “backlist” and hopefully continue to sell (with virtually no support from the publishers). So, if the book doesn’t “take off” in its first few weeks, the publisher literally abandons it and moves on to the next one.
The beauty of this new “electronic publishing age” is that books are always there and available. And they can easily continue to be publicized and promoted during the course of the year with very little additional cost and effort. Publishers, in the acquisitions process especially, are totally losing sight of this phenomenon and they certainly aren’t taking advantage of it.
If a novel, say, which contains a story line about breast cancer and also takes place in a highly trafficked summer vacation area is published in March, there is the initial publicity for the book. But then there can be a solid push in May or June because of the location of the story and then again in October for Breast Cancer Awareness month. And this can go on year after year. The novel doesn’t just have one season.
I am currently trying to sell a book with a graduation market; but it is also a great gift title. Publishers are passing because they say that there are too many books aimed at the high school or college graduate, but to my mind that is limited thinking. Why not take advantage of the enormous marketing ability of the internet and not only publish this for that graduation market but also for September when kids leave for school and for Christmas? And what about birthdays? Why just limit the publication to a single event?
Time simply
doesn’t matter any more in our business. Backlist can become front list again at a moment’s notice. If only publishers would realize this. I think they simply don’t take the time to consider the inherent possibilities that electronic publishing affords and that, I’m afraid,
does matter.
What do you think?
Thirty years ago, my wonderful Institute instructor (Dorothy Van Woerkom) told me that “marketing was half of getting published.”
It’s still true today. No matter how wonderfully you write, you won’t sell if you don’t study the current children’s markets.
Help is Here!
Happily, there are some great books to help you. I’m glad to present to you three excellent books: a 2011 magazine market guide, a 2011 book market guide, and a brand new book by an ICL instructor on writing and selling to the Christian children’s market.
Why buy a new ICL market guide every year? After all, you have last year’s…or one from a few years back. Isn’t that all right? Afraid not. Now more than ever, the publishing industry is in a state of change.
Each year in the book and magazine field for young readers, editors change jobs. Their needs and wants change. Some subjects are “out” because they’ve been flooded with a certain type of submission. New markets open up–many of them online now as well. Others close.
NOTE: If you email [email protected] (but she has moved on), your submission will sit in a dead email account. It won’t be read or responded to. You need current contact information so that [email protected] actually receives your submission. Current market information is becoming more and more critical as we move to online submissions.
ICL instructor Kathleen M. Muldoon has just had a book published which I’ve read and gladly pass along to you. Half my 35 books have been 
published in the Christian marketplace, so I read her new Sowing Seeds: Writing for the Christian Children’s Market with interest and appreciation. She’s an author of more than twenty books. Kathleen covers the process of writing for this specialized market–from setting up your writing space to finding a home for your manuscript in the marketplace.
Mar
by Jim
For a conference I’m going to next year, I was asked to answer a series of questions about myself and agenting—what the most exciting part of the job is, how I landed in publishing, and what my first sale was. Those were easy. Then I hit the question about who the first client I ever signed on was. That was less easy. Not that I didn’t know the answer. It just required me to publicly admit that the first project I signed on never sold. You know what? Eight years later, it still stings.
I thought about lying, but that’s really not my style, so I answered instead that I had signed on a wonderfully fun novel in a
Valley of the Dolls vein that I still think deserved to be published. It was really good! And then in a slightly defensive moment, I jotted down that I almost immediately thereafter signed on Victoria Laurie who has sold 24 books with me since then. Well, it’s TRUE.
The thing is, every time something doesn’t sell, it hurts a little. The happy fact of the matter is that the number of projects that don’t sell becomes smaller and smaller as you carry on as an agent—you learn what you’re better with, understand markets better, and come to know the perfect editors for certain projects. But sometimes things don’t work. And it suuuuucks. Especially when you’re head over heels for a project.
I was at a release party for Lee Houck’s
Yield a few weeks back, and in his incredibly kind remarks, he mentioned the moment I called him to offer him representation. Apparently I told him something like, “I don’t know if I can sell this. But I can try.” Apparently I remembered to put on my honesty shoes that day! I didn’t remember that I had said it, but I remember that I had thought it! It was a literary novel about gay characters and themes that was at best going to be challenging to place. It was also amazingly heartfelt and beautifully written, so I gave it a shot knowing it would pain me if I didn’t place it. Happily, that one worked out.
The novel about a juvenile prostitute in Newark that was written in dialect? That one didn’t sell. It was just as brilliant as Lee’s novel but even more challenging. I still hate that it didn’t work. I also hate that an editor called me to ask if the author had been a hooker in Newark, adding that the novel would be more marketable if so. That led to the single most awkward phone calls of my entire career. “I was just wondering if maybe you ever happened to, ummm…”
In the end, no agent can guarantee a sale. The most they can ever promise you is their best efforts. But if it’s any consolation, they’ll still be kicking themselves years down the road if they aren’t able to usher you to success.
by Stacey
One of my clients is mentioned in
this recent LA Times article that I thought was worth sharing. It's interesting to see how the Internet continues to find new talent and how some of that talent translates to books, and other types of media, like film and television. The article notes that most bloggers become book authors before Hollywood takes interest. There are always going to be hits and misses: even bloggers with a big following don't always translate on the book side to big sales. Heather Armstrong of Dooce has lots of traffic, but her first book didn't make as big a splash as I'm guessing her publisher hoped. And Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, had a huge hit with her first book, which her publisher didn't pay a huge advance for.
Enjoy the piece, and if there are any blogs you're reading that you love and haven't yet found a home as a book or film or tv show, let us know!
by Michael
I’ll admit, I was having a tough time coming up with something for the blog this week. After a busy Comic Con (
wrap up here) and a hectic SCBWI National Conference (
great conference blog led by my good friend Alice Pope here), my brain had shifted into neutral. I think this was a precaution to keep it from overheating. Coincidentally, I also made a return to Twitter, where one’s brain need never be engaged—just kidding! Seriously, I’d taken a break during a very busy time, and I just hadn’t gotten back into the habit. But I recommitted myself to tweet last night, so I turned to my friends to see what they’d like to find out. And, since I got two good suggestions, I’m taking them both!
First, my wonderful author
Nova Ren Suma pointed me to
this blog post by up-and-coming novelist
Scott Tracey. It addresses the idea of “overpromotion.” In this day and age, when agents, editors and publishers all harp on authors that they need to be out promoting themselves, things can get out of hand. Scott gives an example of authors who focus on acquiring friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. The purpose? To bombard these folks with reminders about of an upcoming book—a book, Scott humorously points out, that may be a year away from publication! More than overpromotion, this is a case of improperly using social networking. Networking, both in real life and online, is about building relationships and creating a give-and-take. You wouldn’t show up to a party and start screaming that you have a book coming out in a year (at least, I hope no one does that), so you shouldn’t be doing that on social networks, either. It’s about building relationships with other authors, industry professionals, and your audience. You want to mix direct marketing with actual interaction. You want to help promote other authors and the business generally. And if you can do it all with a sense of humor, well then, everyone will appreciate it all the more. So before you go sending out tweets about your DEBUT NOVEL!!! COMES OUT MAY 2102!!! WILL SEND TWEET REMINDER EVERY DAY UNTIL THEN!!!, remember that networking is a two-way street.
The other great question I got was from the talented
Joanne Levy. She said, “I keep hearing that editors would rather publish a debut than an already pubbed author—can you elaborate?” I’ve actually been asked about this a few times, and it’s confusing to people as it seems counterintuitive. If you’ve already sold a book, aren’t you immediately more valuable to a publisher? Haven’t you proven yourself to be reliable (well, we hope that’s what you’ve done) and talented? But, that’s not necessarily the case. Yes, you’ve show you can deliver and write, but the question is, can you sell? If your first book doesn’t sell well, it’s tougher for a publisher to take on your second book. Why’s that? Because B&N, Borders and Amazon are not likely to line up to buy copies of a book by an author with a bad track record. And if the publisher can’t get those guys to take books, they have no effective way of selling them in large numbers. And if they can’t sell a book in large numbers, they won’t acquire it. This is a simplification, of course, and many other factors come into play. A well-written, high-concept book will often overcome the challenge of a bad track record. Also, the children’s side of the market (and the author who asked writes children’s books) is a little more forgiving than the adult side. Though as with everything in children’s publishing, that’s switching to more of an adult model, too, for better or worse.
by Stacey
I found this little piece in the Metropolitan section of the Sunday NY Times and thought it was worth sharing.
I've noted before when I've found authors employing unique marketing tactics because I think it's really interesting to see what people come up with in such a competitive marketplace. This one definitely falls into that category. The author Jennifer Belle hired several dozen actresses to read from her new book, THE SEVEN YEAR BITCH, at various points around the city. 600 actresses responded to the casting call! Now we'll have to see if the clever idea translates to book sales. Since she's a previous bestseller, there's a good chance she'll hit the list again, and while it's pretty difficult to determine cause and effect between publicity and sales (minus an Oprah appearance), the fact that the
Times picked it up suggests it's having its desired effect. I'd love to hear about any other unusual, high concept, creative author marketing ideas you've come across in your travels. I will personally be attending the
Junie B. Jones Stupid Smelly Bus event complete with an actual bus at a very cool local bookstore, Books & Greetings, this weekend with my older girls. We're looking forward to seeing some creative marketing in action!
by Stacey
I found
this recent blog post by thriller writer and former book editor Jason Pinter thought provoking. He brings up a lot of points we hear often in the book biz about men not reading books, and not being the target market publishers are looking to reach. And it is in many ways out of date and completely short sighted, not to mention the fact that it's just not true. Look at the bestseller lists for fiction and nonfiction, and there will always be a fine collection of books squarely aimed at male (and female) readers. Books about politics or history or science or technology on the nonfiction side, or what about big runaway bestsellers like
Freakonomics? I don't think the target audience there was women. On the fiction side there are the big thriller writers like Michael Connelly and David Baldacci, currently number 1 on the New York Times list, and what about Stephen King? These are just a few examples of big time authors whose audience is made up of a large percentage of men. The story Pinter uses to illustrate his pitch for the Chris Jericho book is pretty funny, but also a little ridiculous. It's the kind of thing that can drive forward-thinking agents and editors a little crazy when there's a good idea or project outside the box--it takes a serious load of convincing and ultimately a leap of faith to get it through. And then when one of these "risky" projects does work, a whole slew follow until the market is saturated and you're back at square one. I don't think there's an obvious answer here, but it does beg a further discussion and perhaps a shift in our collective perception about readers and how we find them.
I understand publishers have limited resources, but the goal, especially in this day and age when there are so many opportunities to draw in new readers, needs to be to stop using old excuses and start implementing new tactics to find the audience, whichever gender they might be.
by Jane
During Slush Week
this question came up and I wanted to provide a brief description of how a publishing negotiation generally works. Undoubtedly, this will raise other questions which I would be happy to address.
When a publisher makes an offer, he or she does it either on the phone or by e-mail. I prefer the latter initially so that I can see all of the terms of the offer spelled out: advance, payout, royalties (including electronic royalties now), territory covered, rights splits and any special terms.
Once I have all offers in from publishers (hopefully there will be more than one), I take them to my client, explain what they are and which I think is best and why. We come to a decision on which publisher(s) to continue to negotiate with and I then go back to the publisher(s) by phone or by e-mail and ask for changes or additional terms. Often I will ask for a different, higher advance, a more favorable payout, different royalty splits, things like that. Sometimes I suggest that different rights be in play.
Most often, we come to an agreement in a very short time--usually a matter of a day, but sometimes, depending on what the project is, these do go on over a longer period.
If we arrive at a stalemate--that is, a point that we and our client will not accept and the publisher won’t budge on--we make that very clear. We call this a “deal breaker” and if we say something is a deal breaker we have to mean it. (Between you and me, most of the time these things can be worked out before we get to that point.)
Once this basic negotiation is completed, a deal memo is done--we send one to the publisher and often they send one back just to make sure we are all on the same page in terms of the basic terms of the deal.
We then go on to the contract where additional negotiation is done on boilerplate terms.
Negotiating a deal is one of my favorite parts of agenting; the process encourages creativity on all sides and often breaks new ground.
by Chasya
The Millions
has a good article that delves into the myth of the rags-to-riches career novelist. It’s a well-known, albeit depressing, reality in the publishing industry that most authors don’t have the luxury of writing full-time and supporting themselves through their work. But authors--don’t worry, you’re not alone! As the article points out, and as we can’t stress enough, as much as we’re obsessed with the J.K. Rowling-esque stories of writers who came from nothing and succeeded to become the most famous (and wealthy) authors of our day, this is the exception--not the rule. And, as it turns out, keeping your day job can benefit most of us. Among the perks? Well, being in the everyday world and gleaning from your everyday experiences. And, er, eating. Yes, that’s important! Because as much as we all have that curmudgeonly chain-smoking, black coffee drinking stereotype of an author in our minds, it’s important for even the most obsessive writer to keep up their strength.
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Connections vs Selling
I know marketing can be overwhelming.
How do I know? Hmmmmmmm
Because people email me telling me! :)
"I'm scared."
"I don't know how."
"I just want to write."
I get it. It's hard to do marketing as a writer.
I know - you're a writer. You just want to write. You don't want to "sell yourself."
So then don't!
Building a network takes the selling out of your marketing.
This is the reason why you start NETWORKING waaaaaaaaaay before you need to sell anything. Way before you need anything.
Here is the bottom line.
You build your network way in advance of any book contract and you do it for the purpose of making genuine connections. To help people. To reach out and touch someone. (not literally of course - that would be illegal! :)
This way - over time - you build honest and authentic relationships over time. So when your book comes out or if you need something. You are no longer asking a stranger. You are asking your network.
That means you don't have to sell anything, you just have to ask for support. There is a difference.
Jill Lublin, one of the authors of Guerilla Publicity, advises her clients, “Start publicity way before you need it.”
According to Mashable.com article "Social Networking Matters", "Networking is not only about the ability to connect to people – it is also about the ability to use those connections. We call it a “two-way-street” – networking is not something you do by yourself, you always need your counterparty to be in there with you, to want to help you and assist your advancement. You only achieve this willingness by doing something in return, or even before you ever ask for anything. This is true networking – there are no shortcuts, you need to invest time and effort in order to reap the benefits of the connections you have made."
Put the system in place so when you need the word of mouth, when you need the publicity, when you need the buzz, it is organic because you have built relationships on trust. You did not build them because you needed something.
Do you have to do all social networking all?
Of course not.
But you must have a web presence and you must do at least one form of online networking.
Do you have to blog, tweet, FB, ning, lit chats, after party lit chats, email, interview blah blah blah?
No.
But you have to do something and it HAS to be online. Because that is where everyone
by Lauren
Just came across this really handy item that SCBWI's Kathy Temean posted on her blog:
Top Ten Questions Dutton Editors Ask Themselves When Looking At A Manuscript. Very useful for all writers, especially novelists, whichever market they write for and whether or not Dutton would be interested. I recommend you consider these points about your own manuscript before you share it, because most of these are questions that'll be asked down the line throughout the publishing process, in many cases all the way up to readers buying your book.
(via
Janet Reid)
by Jane
I don’t know why I still find it astonishing when publishers tell me they are "only looking for big books," that mid-list titles aren’t on their radar. How do they know what’s going to be a big book?
This last week, when I called an editor to follow up on a proposal I sent him--by a Pulitzer Prize winning writer no less--he told me how much he had enjoyed reading it. He then said that the new president of his company had told all of the editors there that, for the time being at least, all they should be looking for was "big, front list" titles. But how do they know what "big front list" is?
Think about it, there are literally hundreds of books that were seriously underestimated by publishers but that turned into huge bestsellers. Here is a brief list that I hope that editor and his new boss will note:
TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom
THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant
SAY YOU’RE ONE OF THEM by Uwem Akpan
COD: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE FISH THAT SAVED THE WORLD by Mark Kurlansky
THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini
SIMPLE ABUNDANCE by Sarah Ban Breathnach
EAT, PRAY, LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert
THE MEMORY KEEPER’S DAUGHTER by Kim Edwards
THE SHACK by William P. Young
CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN by Simon Winchester
LONGITUDE by Dava Sobel
THE NANNY DIARIES by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
THE WORLD WITHOUT US by Alan Weisman
SEABISCUIT by Laura Hillenbrand
Can you think of more?
Children’s Books Beating the Recession?
What’s the state of children’s publishing?
Harold Underdown, The Purple Crayon website, has reported on the economic turmoil in publishing of late 2008 and into early 2009.
Publishing, especially books for kids, is on the upswing? So say a couple of postings:
Other Stories
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Revise Your Novel!
Copyright 2009. Darcy Pattison. All Rights Reserved.
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By:
Darcy Pattison,
on 4/7/2009
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To Market, To Market
Find yourself doing more marketing lately? Me, too. With the publishing layoffs in December and the market skittish, we need to market smarter. Here are some articles I’ve found interesting:
And, in the upheaval, several former book publishing professionals are seizing the opportunity to move to independent book publishing professionals, looking at the opportunities and the silver lining in all that’s happened lately:
- Kara LaReau, former editor at Scholastic and before that, Candlewick, opens a creative consulting firm and has this advice on keeping a writer’s journal.
- Former publicists at Harcourt Children’s Books, Sarah Shealy and Barbara Fisch have opened a publicity and promotional company, Blue Slip Media. What talent! They were creative and efficient in everything they did for Oliver K. Woodman.
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Revise Your Novel!
Copyright 2009. Darcy Pattison. All Rights Reserved.
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Okay, You've Written a Children's Book.
You even have a publisher willing to publish it. . .
or
You've taken the "big leap" and self-published.
Now, you want to promote your book, and sell oodles of copies. . .
But, how do you get the book into Amazon, Borders, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and all the other Marts out there, where parents, relatives, and friends go to buy books for kids?
. . .
IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE BOOK, AND WHO PUBLISHED IT.
Promoting and Selling Your Self Published Book:
It is difficult to get self-published books into the big online outlets and stores. Never take NO for an answer, and keep trying, is my best advice. There are professionals that can help you promote your book, IF you have a bunch of cash to spare: otherwise you are on your own. You will need to outlay some money, plus huge amounts of time and energy. RESEARCH and Thinking Out-of-the-Box is the name of the book promotion game, mates. Make the Internet your best friend.
. . .
*Make sure your website is cool, fun, and kid friendly.
*Write a killer Press Release.
*Research to see if your book has a niche market. Then, send a Press Release and cover letter to every place that fits that niche. Visit, e-mail, write, or phone them with the glad news about your book.
*Offer website fun that interests kids and parents: a print out puzzle or coloring sheet, a competition with your book as a prize, autographed copies from your website.
. . .
*Work up a great school program and contact schools near and far.
*Do library readings
*Send out Press Releases, followed up by phone calls, to the smaller newspapers, TV and radio stations in your area - and out of it.
*Contact local stores, and the managers of the larger chains in your area. Ask about a book signing, and if they will stock your book. Offer a DEAL they can't resist. A far smaller profit per book is better than nothing - right!
*NEVER leave planning to the store. YOU need to micro-manage everything so it goes smoothly - window signs, book supplies, balloons to attract interest, a table, a chair, and handouts. Even to reminding them that you will be there TOMORROW!
*Put your e-mail, web address and book's name on everything - your name too.
*Make your appearances fun events - dress up as a character in your book, have cuddly toys that represent your characters, forget your inhibitions, go for kid level fun and goofiness. This will pay off in sales, and even requests for return engagements.
*Give out freebies - bookmarks, coloring sheets, puzzles. Whatever fits the theme of your book.
Promoting and Selling Your Traditionally Published Book:
Any good traditional publisher, big or small, will get your book into Amazon, and other great online outlets. Brick and mortar stores, both large and small, are another thing altogether. Many are reluctant to deal with smaller publishers, because they have a return of unsold books policy. Some smaller publishers can't afford this, and that's when you smack into a brick wall.
Publishing today is in flux, so things change all the time. Make sure you know everything about your publisher's sales policies before you sign on the dotted line. And if the smaller stores in your area do not stock your book, a charming and gentle, in-person visit from you, could change their minds. A call to your publisher will have your books on their shelves ASAP. Even a
"special-order" request is better than nothing.
Again, see if you can work a deal between your small publisher and your book seller, or the local branch of that giant outlet. Anything is possible if you smile, and keep up a gentle insistence. When the going gets tough - offer a DEAL! Your publisher wants to sell books too.
Large publishers will put you in more stores, but often are less flexible regarding the small stores in your area. In these instances, nurturing a good relationship with your editor can be very helpful. These days, the BIG Guys still expect you to hit the pavement (or the Internet) running, and promote your book like mad. Books that do not sell do not get second or third printing runs. Publishers want sales that translate into profits. So, if your first book sits like a lump on bookstore shelves, and is returned to to the publisher by the truckload, they will not be too keen on publishing your next book - GOT IT.
. . .
Unfortunately, most of what I suggested above, to sell your self-published book, still applies if you have a traditional publisher - big or small, advance or no advance. So study my starred suggestions with care. Think about what would persuade you to buy a children's book from an author signing copies in a store - then DO THAT!!
I am sure there are other things you could do to promote and sell your book, however, at this moment I am plum out of ideas.
If I havent't listed the idea - be my guest
INVENT IT YOURSELF!
PS - June 20th
Read comments by Karen and Jessica.
They both added terrific NEW information
(Comments Welcome)
A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson, 1997
The first Eva Ibbotson books I ever read were her ghost stories such as Dial-A-Ghost and The Great Ghost Rescue. Her humor and sly writing caused me to shout with laughter. Journey to the River Sea and The Star of Kazan took me back to my childhood reading of Noel Streatfield and Frances Hodgson Burnett.
I was interested to see her adult fiction showing up in the YA sections of the bookstores. I received A Song for Summer for Christmas and I have to say it was a perfect "vacation" book. The story of Ellen and her gift for "life making" was utterly and deliciously satisfying.
As the daughter and niece of notorious suffragettes, Ellen could have had a brilliant future as a political leader, an eminent scholar or scientist. But she found true happiness cooking with grandfather's housekeeper and "doing things with her hands." Instead of finishing college she graduated from a school of cooking and household management and found a job as a housekeeper and house mother at a boarding school in Austria.
Eccentric teachers, needy children and a handy-man who is actually a world famous composer are living, working and learning together at an "innovative school" housed in the dilapidated Schloss Hallendorf. Ellen's healing presence improves all their lives even as the threat of Nazism and WWII looms. Ibbotson fills the story with rich supporting characters who each deserve a book of their own and takes the storyline in many directions before bringing all the threads back together again at the end.
There is a decorous romance along with good food, gardens and music that make the book a curl-up-by-the-fire-with-a-pot-of-tea treat. I read a passage like the following and I'm ready to book a trip to England.
If only it had rained, she thought afterward...but all that weekend the Lake District preened itself, the air as soft as wine, a silken sheen lay on the waters of Crowthorpe Tarn, and when she climbed the hill where the hikers had perished she saw a view to make her catch her breath. In Kendrick's woods the bluebells lay, like a lake; there were kingfishers in the stream...
Ibbotson's low key humor punctuates the storyline.
And then, because they were both Englishwomen and their hearts were somewhat broken, they turned back into the room and put on the kettle and made themselves a cup of tea.
I can't make a trip to England or Austria but now that I've finished the book, I feel like I have already been there.
It was Elaine at
Random Jottings of a Book and Opera Lover who first alerted me to Ibbotson's "grown up" books. I will be reading more of them.
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Good to hear about your success, hope you have many more to come.
Congratulations to you too! I saw on your site that you have finished writing your first novel. Finishing what you’ve started is one of the biggest steps to publication. Enjoy the journey!