How to Help Bookstores You Can't Visit for a Signing

This Q&A from a coaching client of mine is a reprint from my SharingwithWriters newsletter. I often recycle articles I write and other work I do. If you are like me and don't have an assistant, it's may be  time to break Google's rules or preferences or whatever they call them. It seems to me the world wide web is big enough to accommodate a whole lot of valuable information twice.  And I figure my newsletters are long enough that there is still plenty of new material in it if I occasionally borrow from it for this blog. Ahem!   

QUESTION from a COACHING CLIENT: 

My friend Tracy, a writer on the West Coast, offered to drop off my media kit at bookstores in the Berkeley area this month. This is too far away for me to travel for readings; not a cost-effective way to sell books, unless they pay my expenses (dream on!). What should I ask for in my cover letter? For the store to order the book for their shelves? Anything else?

Jendi Reiter

Author of Bullies in Love (Little Red Tree International Poetry Prize) and a new LGBT novel released this month, Two Natures.

Follow me on Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/jendireiter 

ANSWER:

Oh, I agree! Even in San Francisco where your book is sure to have a loyal following, you would not make up for your expenses with book sales, even  very good book sales. Yes, ask them to carry your book. But also suggest they feature your book in their newsletter and be sure to offer as much help as they can possibly use. 

Example: an article or an excerpt? You might also tell them that you have small 12 x 14 posters for them to post in their windows or on their doors, which you would be happy to send them at no charge.

Even better, why not print up your posters and have your friend just deliver one along with your kit. And a reminder: does your kit include high res digital images of you and your book cover? Is there a chance that we missed that detail when we were talking about kits before? And do you have a glossy headshot as described in the Frugal Book promoter in your kit?  After all, these will not be delivered digitally!

And for this kind of long-distance promotion, maybe you should think about providing some of the things that you would provide if you were in attendance. Like fliers.

If you got an offer you couldn't refuse, would your friend be willing to host you so you wouldn't have to cover hotel bills?  

Speaking of fliers. No need to make them expensive. Light weight is good if you'll be mailing them, right?  I wish I had a copy of the big (expensive plastic coated poster) I made for my first novel, This Is the Place, back in 2000. Use your book cover on both your fliers and your posters. Use the greatest and very brief excerpt/endorsement/blurb you have. Include your Website address. And your name—BIG. Especially since your name is recognizable by a huge audience.  Think Danielle Steele's book covers. 

When you choose quantities, also think businesses you might approach, particularly in LGBT communities.  Yep, walk in. And ask.  I have one little Armenian grocery store that posts my local readings and also a beauty shop—every time I ask. I just ask when I happen to be in the neighborhood.  Oh, and the local carwash can use the same fliers on the bulletin boards most of them have. Maybe your friend will ask businesses she frequents as long as she is there anyway.

You might also contact local radio stations (there are probably many LGBT targeted stations in San Francisco). Pitch an interview and mention the bookstores that stock your book.

Great question! I encourage people to use the frugal way when they can make it work as well—or almost as well—as being there in person.

ABOUT YOUR SHARINGWITHWRITERS BLOGGER

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The multi award-winning second edition of The Frugal Editor; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Expensive Book Fairs--A La Ann Landers Q&A

QUESTION:

New author Andres had purchased my Frugal Book Promoter (http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo)  and wanted to know if a book fair that charged $1200 for a booth was worth the money. Yikes! I cover that topic more fully in The Frugal Book Promoter (http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo), where I also talk about the benefits of sharing booths and warn against placing books in booths without being attendance so I sent him to the proper section (he hadn't thought of using the handy  index), but here is a quick rundown for this regular Q&A column from my SharingwithWriters newsletter.

 

ANSWER:

 Dear Andres:

I am not that excited about the success of "cold" book signings at fairs or anywhere else. At least not for authors who haven't already built a major following.

 

It’s not that these signings can’t work, but newbies generally have unrealistic expectations for them and most authors—unless they’re famous or working the fair as if their life depended on it—rarely make their investment back on profit from the books they sell. Having said that, there are many other benefits to participating in book fairs and I suggest you use the index in The Frugal Book Promoter to explore the topic of “book fairs," "book signings" and other related topics. In the meantime, here are a few ways to have a more successful booth and walk away knowing many of the obvious (and hidden) benefits!

1.   ~Have something free for people who walk by—like food or a free e-book.

2.   ~Offer a free gift with purchase.

3.   ~Have a drawing for everyone. You could use an exceptionally nice gift like a boxed set of Harry Potter books for an entire year of promotions. In other words, quality will attract more readers than offering a new gift at every signing.

4.   ~Hang good posters that feature you and the cover of your book. Use the words "Now appearing," and "Award-Winning" where applicable.

5.   ~Don't expect bookstore or book fair planners to do anything or have anything set up. Some will but not much and not many.

6.   ~Send out info to calendar sections in local newspapers and to feature editors and to book editors in whatever community you'll be appearing in. Please be aware that one of the biggest benefits of a book fair is the opportunity they give you to get f r ~ ~ publicity.  

7.   ~Bring your own good signing pen.

8.   ~Have "autographed copy" stickers made.

9.   ~Offer to sign leftover copies for the bookstore. Many stores have "local authors" or "signed copy" sections. Offer your book as a gift to people who you think may influence others to buy your book. Say, movie directors, newspaper reporters or editors, and people active in literary circles like the planners of your fair.

10. ~Offer to send autographed bookplates to your bookstore manager when he/she reorders. Remind those who buy your book that you can also dedicate (and sign) your book to make it a more meaningful gift item.

11. ~Send thank you notes to everyone involved in the fair. Including your booth neighbors, fair planners, etc.

12. ~Come home and build lists with the e-mail addresses you collected in your guestbook, your drawing. Ask for cards from the influencers you met (see numbers six and nine).


Of course, there are times to break the rules—for an expensive or inexpensive booth. But that's another article for another day and those exceptions are also covered in your copy of The Frugal Book Promoter.

 

Hope this helps!

CHJ, your Ann Landers of the Writing World

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Penny Sansevieri Shares 12 Secrets to Selling More Books at Events

Penny Sansevieri has graciously agreed to a  SharingwithWriters guest spot while I take a little time off. I hope you'll utilize some of the other benefits she offers; they're listed at the end of this post. And do know that you'll find even more detailed information on making events of all kinds (bookstores, book fairs, writing conferences, etc. ) in my The Frugal Book Promoter (http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo).

By Penny Sansevieri

So you got a book event, great! Now you want to maximize it, right? You've heard your writing buddies (or perhaps read online) about the lack of attendance at signings so figuring out how to maximize the event, regardless of the numbers might be tricky. While I spend a lot of time addressing online marketing, the offline component is one you shouldn't overlook and if book events are where you want to focus, then bringing in some ideas to help you sell more books is something you should consider.

Some years back when I was promoting The Cliffhanger I ended up at a book signing in the driving rain, I mean it was pouring and the store was all but empty. It was amazing I sold even one book, let alone seven. While not a big number the copies were all sold to people who were seeking refuge in the store from the rain and not there for my event. This signing taught me a lot about events and connecting with consumers in stores. If you have an event coming up, consider these ideas before you head out:

1. Marketing: First and foremost is the marketing of your event. But I'm not talking about the marketing you do the media (though that is great too) I'm speaking of in-store marketing, this is what most folks seem to overlook. This is where you supply things to the store to help them market your event. Because the first phase of a successful event is driving people to it. Here are a few thoughts.
   1. Do bag stuffers. You can easily do this in your favorite computer program, do two up on a page, meaning that you use one 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper to do two fliers. You'll want to ask the store first if they mind that you provide this, most stores or event venues don't.
   2. Bookmarks: While most in the industry see these as passé, people still love them. You can do bookmarks and bag stuffers (or staple them to the flier) or you can do custom bookmarks with the date and time of your event. Nowadays it's pretty easy to get these done cheaply. Keep in mind that if you are having the event in a mall or other type shopping area, you might be able to drop the bookmarks (or bag stuffers) off at the nearby stores to see if they'll help promote the event.

Book signings are boring: Regardless of where you do the event, plan to do a talk instead of a signing. People are drawn into a discussion and are often turned off by an author just sitting at a table. Marketing is about message and movement so stand up and speak. If speaking in public is intimidating to you, go to Toastmasters or some other local networking/speaking group and see what you can learn.

Unique places: If you want to get more attention for your event, consider doing events in unique places. We've done them in video stores, electronics stores, gyms, even restaurants (on slow nights), doing outside-the-bookstore events is a great way to gain more interest for your talk. Why? Because you aren't competing with everyone else at the bookstore for your crowd. When you do an event at a local that doesn't normally do events, you'll gather more people just because it's considered "unique."

Show up early and talk it up: OK so let's say you're in the store and there are a ton of people in there shopping (a book event dream, yes?) I suggest that you take your extra bag stuffers or custom bookmarks and just hand them to the people in the store. Let me know you are doing an event at such and such time and you'd love it if they can sit in. You'll be surprised how many new people you might pull in this way.

Customize: Regardless of what your talk is about, poll the audience first to see a) what brought them there, or b) what they hope to learn if your talk is educational. I suggest this because the more you can customize your discussion, the more likely you are to sell a book. If you can solve problems (and this is often done during the Q&A) all the better. You'll look like the answer machine you are and readers love that. If you have the answers they'll want to buy from you. I promise.

Make friends: get to know the bookstore people, but not just on the day of the event. Go in prior and make friends, tell them who you are and maybe even hand them your flier or bookmark (or a stack if you can). Often stores have Information Centers, see if you can leave some fliers there instead of just at the register. Getting to know the people who are selling the book is a great way to help gather more people into your event. If your event isn't in a bookstore but attached to a shopping area or mall, go around to the stores (and perhaps you did this when you passed out the fliers) and let them know you have an event and what can you do to help them promote it. If you can rally the troops to help you market your talk, you could triple the numbers of people at your event. No kidding.

Take names: I always, always recommend that you get names and (email) addresses from the folks who attended. Sign them up for your mailing list is a great way to stay in touch with them and stay on your reader's radar screen. If you have a giveaway or drawing, great! This will help you to collect names. If you don't, offer them a freebie or ebook after the event. Often if I'm doing a PowerPoint presentation I will put together a set of them (delivered in PDF) after the event. Attendees need to sign up to get them and then once they do, I include them in our newsletter list which helps me to stay on their radar screen.

Pricing: Make sure your book is easy to buy. If you are doing this outside of a bookstore this is easy to do and will help your sales. I find that a rounded number like $10 or $20 makes for a quick and easy sale. If you can round up or down without adding or losing too much to the price, by all means do it.

Book pairing: One way you might be able to round up is by pairing your book with a freebie. When I paired Red Hot Internet Publicity with a second, but smaller, marketing book I took the awkward pricing of $18.95, bumped it up to $20 (so 2 books for $20) and quadrupled my sales after an event. Now the pairing doesn't have to be a book, it can be a special report or even an ebook that you send to them after the event.

Product and placement: As you're doing your talk (especially if it's in a non-bookstore venue) make sure that you have a copy of the book propped up in front of you so event visitors see it the entire time you are speaking. Hold up the book when appropriate and use it as an example when you can. This will help to direct the consumers eye to the book - and making eye contact with the product is a good way to make sure it stays on their radar screen throughout your talk. When I do a speaking gig at an event that allows me to sell books in the room, I will sell four times more than I would if the attendees have to go somewhere else to buy it so make the buy easy. If you can, make sure your books are for sale in the room.

Ease of purchase: Aside from pricing, if you're doing your own check out make sure that you have many ways consumers can buy your book. I take credit cards at the event, checks and cash. Don't limit yourself as to what you can take or you will limit your sales.

Post event wrap up: So the event is over, what now? Well, if you got attendees to sign up for your newsletter (you did do that, right?) and now it's time to send a thank you note for attending and remind them (if they missed the chance at the event) to buy a copy of your book at the "special event price."

Speaking and book events are great ways to build your platform, but if you aren't selling books there's little point in doing them. For many of us, our book is our business card and thus, if we can sell our "business card" we can keep consumers in our funnel. If your book isn't your business card you still want readers, right? So the marketing both post and during an event is crucial to building your readership. While it's easy to say that events sell books, they often don't. I find that if you don't "work it" you often will find your time wasted. Seek the opportunities when they are made available to you and then maximize them when they are, you'll be glad you did!

Are you ready for your own success? Then let's schedule a call! Call us at: (866) 713-2318 or contact me directly at: info@amarketingexpert.com

About Penny:
Penny C. Sansevieri, Adjunct Instructor NYU
Author Marketing Experts, Inc. http://www.amarketingexpert.com/
Find her on HuffPo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri
Ready for your own success? Ask us about the 10 Bestsellers we've worked on! Will your book be next?
Office: 858/560-0121 Hotline: 619/808-BOOK
Follow @Bookgal on Twitter: < http://twitter.com/Bookgal>
AME's Facebook Fan Page < http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Author-Marketing-Experts-Inc-AME/43882181670?ref=sgm>
Get some great scoop on publishing and marketing! Listen to The Publishing Insiders on Blogtalk radio < http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ThePublishingInsiders>

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SharingwithWriters blogger Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Signing Your Book Virtually

Once in a while I post an article or some other help from my SharingwithWriters newsletter. I just can't help myself. It give me a chance to show you what you're missing if you don't subscribe to both this blog and the newsletter. I mean, you wouldn't want to miss something that would help make your book soar, right?

 I'll even subscribe for you. All you need do is put SUBSCRIBE in the subject line of an e-mail to me and send it to HoJoNews (at) AOL (dot) com. 

Anyway, here is a new resource for you. I see it being especially valuable for online readings or presentations:

A Little Book Signing Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, I’m dreaming about the importance of personal contact with readers—on blogs, through book clubs, etc. And I’m bemoaning that one can’t do that with e-books. And then I run into an entry in Dan Poynter’s newsletter about Kindlegraph.com and it includes a link to a video (http://screencast.com/t/qtGuelwX). I’m busy. I’m tempted to forget it, but I do it anyway. Then I can’t resist going on over to the Kindlegraph site and checking it out. So, I get suckered into it—for your sake. So I can tell you how easy it is, give you an idea of how it might work, and that, as nearly as I can tell, it is f r ~ ~ for the author. Find me at my own personal address (so far this signature feature is only for The Frugal Book Promoter): http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/FrugalBookPromo .

Here are the upsides I’ve discovered so far.

~It’s a personal way to reach readers.
~When you get requests for your signature, you can personalize it. I. e., you can include a personal message to the reader, just as you would if you were signing at a bookstore.
~It’s frugal.
~It’s easy to negotiate.
~It is my understanding that it is f r ~ ~ to the readers.
~Evan Jacobs, the genius author who did this for us gets an affiliate fee when people “order” a signature, but it doesn’t cost the author or the reader anything. Fair is fair.

Here are the downsides:

~It is difficult for me to get the hyphen in my name.
~Is is more than a little difficult to get a true impression of your real-life signature. A disclaimer here. I am left-handed. That probably exacerbated the problem, but I think it is inherent in the hand/eye/computer/mouse configuration. Thus I finally used an “adopted” signature, which is a whole lot better looking than the one I tried to do on my own using a mouse, but still not beautiful. And it is certainly very different from my true signature.

Here’s what I don’t know.

~I don’t know if it will work; that is I don’t know if many readers will use it or if many even know if it is available.
~I don’t know how easy it will be for an author to find your book on the site. Evan says there are 3500 authors with 15,000 books listed so far and he says, “Readers can find books and authors either by navigating directly to an author page [using the URL provided by the authors in his or her marketing] or by using the search box. I'm also working on implementing additional navigation methods for genres, categories, and groups.”
~I don’t know (yet) how much promotion I will need to do to make Kindlegraph work for me and for my author.
~I don’t know if I want Kindlegraph to get the affiliate fees I now sometimes earn when I use my own affiliate account to sell my books or those of others. If you don’t use Amazon’s affiliate feature, this will not affect you one way or the other.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

Book Fairs and Signings: How To Make Them Work for About Anyone

As many of you know, I love the Q&A format. I was first introduced to it when I was a staff writer for The Salt Lake Tribune and edited Ann Landers and Heloise's columns to make them fit the column inches we had available on any given day. So, naturally I use them in my newsletter. Here's a reprint of one on book signings, a favorite subject in spring when book fairs sprout around the country (and world) like tulips. (-:

Hi Carolyn….I just wanted you to know that your chapter on book signings, in The Frugal Book Promoter (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo ), struck a chord. I'm doing well with book signings in my home town, surrounding towns, and even surrounding counties, where my name is known, but I've been hesitant to schedule book signings up and down the East Coast, because not that many out-of-staters are familiar with my work. It was nice to have my hesitant feelings about scheduling signings outside my state confirmed, because they could, potentially, be a waste of time in places where my syndicated columns don't appear. I might be wiser to wait a reasonable period of time before scheduling those book signings. What do you think?

Hugs,

Laverne H. Bardy
Author and syndicated humor columnist
Author of How the (Bleep) Did I Get This Old, at Amazon and www.Createspace.com/3640610 .
www.LaverneBardy.com  
www.AfterFiftyLiving.com
www.Shrewsbury.net  

ANSWER:

You can wait until you're better known or you can use some of those value-added promotions I talk about for book fairs in The Frugal Book Promoter (and all those ideas for selecting the right out of town venue and using the media in those areas) as a trial balloon. I do think it's wise to wait until you've built somewhat of a national following on the Web, though. (-:

Oh! And thank you for letting me know. It's always wonderful to hear from someone who is using my book for ideas and guidance. (-:

BTW, did I mention that I've had some miserable signing outside my pond. (-:  And that's why I developed promotions and publicity techniqes that make out-of-town booksignings work for authors even when attendance is low.

LAVERNE'S ANSWER

Hi again Carolyn….I will continue to read that section about value-added promotions, etc. My column is syndicated, but only in about 23 papers, and for some reason most of those papers are in the middle and western USA, and I sure don't feel like traipsing that distance in hopes of selling a few more books. Yes, you did mention that you have had some dreadful book signings. The more I ask around the more I hear that from authors. One woman told me she had a book signing outside, in a beautiful grassy area, near a lovely lake. Unfortunately, the weather turned and it was 104 degrees. Only one person showed up, so she read to that person. How brave. I would have probably taken that person by the elbow and treated her to something cold and creamy, at Friendly's or Dairy Queen.

ANSWER:

I think your way of handling the problem is wonderful. And both paths are brave and exactly what a professional would do. Two different paths to taking care of our readers.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second ediction of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

SELLING BOOKS OUTSIDE OF BOOKSTORES

I love it when Sharing with Writers subscribers offer up their experiences for the edification of their fellow writers. Thus this week a little from Joe Dungan. Please note: You will find tips on making book signings--both at bookstores and far afield from bookstores successful--in The Frugal Book Promoter.  Having said that, I agree with Joe. Bookstores usually aren't the best place to sell books!

By Joe Dungan

After I self-published my first book, L.A. Nuts, I did what all dutiful authors do: I scheduled readings and signings. One of them was up the coast from here in L.A., in a bookstore in a little town called Morro Bay. The owner was most helpful. She submitted info about the signing to the regional newspaper, which filled half a page with a big picture of me. She scheduled it during the Saturday afternoon farmer's market, so as to take advantage of all that foot traffic. She had a nice sign in the window announcing the event.

And I went and sat at the little table and in two magical hours, I sold... no books. Could barely engage the few passersby who wandered in.
She was very apologetic about it, wondering if the chance of rain had kept people indoors. I told her that I appreciated her efforts nonetheless, thanked her, and left.

Then my brother -- who'd been traveling with me on the trip -- and I headed a little further up the coast to a winery. As we started sampling wines, the owner engaged us in polite banter: Where were we from, what brought us up the coast, etc. I casually told him about the busted book signing, and described the book -- a series of humorous essays about crazy people in Los Angeles -- with equal casualness. Wasn't wearing my salesman cap in the slightest.

Next thing I know, the owner says, "I'll take one."

I handed the car keys to my brother and asked him to get a book out of the trunk. Then a guy nearby who'd been tasting wine and had overheard the conversation said, "Make it two."

Two hours at a bookstore: no sales. Ten minutes at a winery: two sales.

Lessons learned:

Don't be afraid to talk about your book anywhere? Of course. Never underestimate the power of the extremely soft sell? Sure. But it also taught me to look for non-bookstore venues to sell books. Just because people aren't at a bookstore doesn't mean they don't read. Plus, there are all kinds of tie-ins you can find between your book and various retailers. Sometimes, as illustrated above, you don't even need a tie-in. All you need is to show up.

It all reminded me of a quote I once read: "Bookstores are terrible places to sell books." Make sure your book is available in bookstores, of course, but don't put all your eggs in those baskets. Start thinking creatively about how non-bookstores could sell your book. Even if you can't think of any tie-in, show up with a copy and see if they can think of something. If they can't, they might buy one for themselves!
***

Joe Dungan is a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader in Los Angeles. His first book, L.A. Nuts, won first place for humor in the 17th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards, a silver medal in Independent Publisher's IPPY Awards, and a bronze in ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Awards. It's available from Amazon (click on the widget to the left), and non-bookstores in L.A. and beyond. He and his book are also on Facebook if you want to join/like for occasional, allegedly humorous updates.







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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

Barbara Techel Poses Dilemma We All Wish We Had

In my Sharing with Writers newsletter I sometimes do a question and answer feature. You know, like Dear Abby and Ann Landers. But mine are about writing, of course! Here is a question from a regular reader of this blog, so I thought I'd run it here, too. And if anyone wants to receive my newsletter, just send an e-mail with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line to HoJoNews @ AOL. com. And thank you, Barbara!

QUESTION:

Hi Carolyn. I loved your advice about bookstore signings and being prepared with your own set up items. Now I can't remember if I read that in your book or if I read it in your newsletter, but at any rate, it is great advice! I have three book stores in one city who have offered to do a book signing for me, which is perfect timing with my new book coming out soon!! They are all within 5 minutes of each other though. One is a pet store, one is a Christian book store and one is a regular book store (which I did at a signing at last year and did well). Do you have any suggestions of strategizing that ~Barbara Techel, author of the multi-award winning, Frankie, the Walk 'N Roll Dog. (Frankie named Mascot of Disabled Pets Day!! http://www.disabledpetsday.com; learn more about the book at http://www.joyfulpaws.com/store.htm.

ANSWER:

What a great problem to have, Barbara.

Of course, you will want to promote each of the events. That means each retailer will certainly know about the other. I would advise candor in any case. I'd go to your first choice store and ask. But I wouldn't leave my question open ended. Let's say you approach the bookstore first. Keep in mind the needs of each retailer as you frame your question. I'd say something like "I have some other offers for book signings. None of them are in direct competition to you for none are bookstores. You are my first choice and I'm wondering if you'd like me to space the signings by 30 days or so. Keep in mind that I plan to do lots of promotion for you."

Notice that I didn't ask if they wanted an exclusive. I would not give them that much power with my opening pitch. If they should bring up the subject of an exclusive, negotiate. "For how long?" is a fair question. It is patently unfair for them to want an exclusive for a year or forever. Thirty to 60 days should be enough. If they do, however, then you'll want to adjust your plans according to what you think is best for your book and your audience.

Then you repeat this process with your next retailer. You are in a unique position because you book has not yet been published. That gives you plenty of time to play with the dates and still have a signing at all three while your book is still a fresh release.

I'm glad that The Frugal Book Promoter and Sharing with Writers newsletter have been helpful to you. If you don't have The Frugal Editor, you might consider it. The chapters on writing query letters will be uniquely helpful to you as you begin to query for more and more feature stories, signings and radio gigs.

Best, CHJ

PS: Those authors focused on selling books in bookstores might want to read my A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions. It includes lots of author promotions for retailers to consider but more than that, it will give authors a handle on the needs of retailers like independent bookstore owners. In fact, if you read the reviews on Amazon, you'll see that many writers have found it useful. And the basic principles of marketing are pretty much the same for anyone who must sell a product.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Learning from a New Launch Idea

When it comes to promotion, everything new we try comes with a sense of excitement and a set of new expectations.

I had a new frugal idea for the launch of my new book A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. The idea involved not spending the money I had spent on many of my other book launches and--in fact--actually making money as a speaker in the process. But more about that in a minute.

As those of you who have read The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't know, I tell it like it is so that others can learn from my experience--both boo- boos and successes. You know that I think launches are part of the fun of publishing and that no one should miss doing one. You also know that I warn authors not to have great expectations from book signings unless they are held in one's own backyard. Meaning, unless they are located where you'll have plenty of support from family, friends, etc.

There are other lessons in this premise if we extend them it a tad. As your reading public grows, the arena for successful book signings will grow. As the number of books you publish gets larger you'll see a difference in the kind of support you get for your signings. You'll find more regular readers popping by to get your next release and fewer of your friends and relatives who--if they're not avid readers of your kind of book--will soon find the novelty of your publishing career wearing off.

Those of you who have read The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't also know that anything you do will be far more successful if you build a list of your own interested parties and, yes, USE it every time you make any kind of an appearance. Relying on others' traffic (like the casual reader who wanders through the door at Barnes and Noble) is almost a recipe for little traffic at your signing table and few sales. Further, you will have missed an opportunity to remind the folks on your list of your many coups in the world of publishing.

Those of you have read The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't also know that I believe speaking and teaching to be the number one way build a following and to sell books.

Of course, I knew all this. Because it's in my book and because--as I move forward with my writing--I keep getting reminded of the hard-won lessons I learned from my past careers and from promoting my own books. So I was a bit wary of holding a launch outside my own pond, especially for a book that targets a different audience than any I've ever written before.

That's why when the opportunity to do a launch for A Retailer's Guide to In-Store Promotion at the National Stationery Show at Javits Center in New York came up, I was elated.

Tradeshows, after all, offer a builtin audience and this one offered huge crowds of retailers that this book was written to help. I hoped that would make up for my lack of a personal up-to-date list. I was also familiar with Javits from several Book Expo Americas I'd attended and several gift shows I'd attended at that same venue in the past. It's fantastic!

The Stationery Show executives also asked me to speak at two seminars; one was on promoting online and the other was on promoting in stores. By the way, the seminar and this book on in-store promotion includes several ideas for utilizing the talents of local authors.

The gift show administrators were hugely supportive in terms of promotion, too. There was a full-page story in the daily newspaper that tradeshows use, a full-color ad in their directory, and prominent announcements of the seminars I was doing. There was an article and announcement in their online newsletter, Paperclips, too.

The day after the signing on the tradeshow floor, they followed up with a story and picture on the signing, too (it was believed to be a first for gift shows so it was really news!). In other words, this was a first-rate tradeshow run by a first-rate team.

This new launch idea was super successful in that it confirmed every single one of my original premises about launches and book signings. Here is what it told...mmmm, reminded me of:

1. Launches are wonderful. Everyone should have one. Even after the first or sixth or eighth book.
2. Book signings outside one's own pond are less than stellar for anyone on the emerging-author side of Stephen King.
3. Your own invitation list is important. If you don't have one, keep expectations low or use some of the ideas in The Frugal Book Promoter for developing a great one.
4. Indeed speaking and teaching work miracles. They increase your credibility and instill in your audience a need for more of what you have to give them--something they will find in your books.
5. That doing a launch in a venue other than a private party that you the author must pay for is a frugal and efficient way to go.
6. That even with great advertising and publicity one's reputation must build. Word-of-mouth is still the most powerful advertising of all.

This unique experience came down to this: I did lots of good with the seminars I taught, even sold a lot of books at them. The book signing itself was wonderful in terms of exposure and networking, disappointing in terms of book sales.

If I'd been listening to my own advice, I would have known. (-:


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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

How Indie Authors, Publishers and Bookstores Could Lick the Recession by Partnering

(This blog features bookstores but most independent retailers could substitute the name of their own store every times the word "bookstore" appears. That's because their are authors who write on any subject imaginable and they are sure to find books that fit any store's product mix. These days the author of those books is more likely than ever to be a keen marketer, too.)

Retailing is in danger. Retailing of books is in greater danger still. We all know many bookstores have failed and many more are struggling. Independent bookstores are especially endangered.

Why then, are so many of these bookstores still adverse to utilizing the power behind their kin--that is the power of indie authors?

A new bookstore opened in my adopted hometown of LaCañada-Flintridge. Brave souls they are, for another small bookstore down the block had just closed out most of their books and reinvented itself into a café. Authors in the area were thinking, “Ahhhh, opportunity! Surely this indie will honor the needs of fellow indies!”

Those authors in my community were wrong. They have been turned away from that new bookstore in droves.

But let me digress. Because I am both author and retailer with some 30 years experience in the retail industry and ten plus in the publishing industry, I wish both bookstores and authors well and know that we are powerful if we work together. I cared enough to write a book that is now available on Amazon. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1441467246/.

That indie authors were turned away on the basis of the press their books were printed on seems especially sad because the store is just one of many that seem to be operating on the theory that independent authors are all cut from the same fabric. Bookstores with this attitude are missing bets on two fronts.

The first, of course, is that they are missing out on good will in their communities. That is so important for any retailer, large or small, independent or chain. An unhappy author is an unhappy customer who tells other people why she is displeased. That is not good word-of-mouth. A happy author is quite the opposite and possibly more avidly positive because she has more at stake in praising the store and recommending its products.

The second opportunity they’re missing is the open door independent authors offer to profits.

Because small indie bookstores’ gross sales are anywhere from $200 to $1000 per weekday (and that upper figure is generous) they can easily increase their gross by tapping into the talent and energy of authors who live in their areas. By considering independent authors and authors published by small presses they increase their pool of possible money makers incrementally. If they harnessed this potential (particular authors who have the knowledge to promote well which readers of my Sharing with Writers newsletter and The Frugal Book Promoter do) they could up their annual gross profits by anywhere from 5% to 12% and that’s nothing to sniff at--especially if it will carry them through an economic downturn.

Here is the ammunition authors and publishers can use to convince bookstore owners that indie-published writers are profit-powerhouse:

1. If a bookstore had but one reading and signing event a week with an indie author and that author promoted (or the store gave them a handout telling them how to promote in exchange for being featured in an event), the free publicity that store would get would be worth the effort. Figured at about $50 a column inch for advertising space, a four inch article in the local paper is worth $200 alone and most events can bring more press publicity than that, some a lot more,and some may even get some TV coverage. An Armenian poet friend of mine did a signing and got coverage on our local cable TV station that caters to the poetry-loving Armenian community. The venue of the reading was, of course, featured prominently in the segment.

2. If the guest author sells 10 books at $12 with a 40% markup only to friends from their own contact list, that would raise that store's profits for the day by five to ten percent. If a bookstore sponsored readings, signings or workshops on slow weeknights 52 times a year and occasionally (for the authors who showed greater promotion promise) on the weekends, that profit could make an appreciable difference. Perhaps enough to keep the store kicking with energy through the recession.

3. If the store sets up an author-friendly program in which the store stocks five signed books for two weeks after the event and the author sends enough customers to the store to buy those books, the store promises to reorder, that’s like hiring a salesperson in the community--one that the store doesn’t pay a salary or commission.

4. If the store tracked some of the customers recommended to them by the local authors they partnered with they would find that many are people who have never been to their stores, may not even know their bookstore exists. Marketers estimate that it costs anywhere from $8 to $25 in promotion and advertising monies to attract one new customer. These new customers cost the store nothing because that author has already “earned” her event with points one through three.

Let’s factor the small publisher into this mix. What if every small publisher made certain that his author(s) know how to approach bookstores with the benefits of featuring him at a signing. Publishers could do that by gifting their authors with The Frugal Book Promoter or at least recommending it or other books on marketing like Janet Elaine Smith’s PromPaks or John Kremer’s 1001 Ways to Market a Book.

That publisher could even furnish his authors with templates for a query letters and media kits that would help convince bookstores that events--especially events that feature locals--are underused tools for profitability. Some bookstores like The Literary Bookpost in Salisbury, NC. have been using independent authors’ talent and enthusiasm to provide a community service to benefit their business successfully. There is no reason why--if we educated one another and supported one another--we couldn’t all benefit the same way.

Once the author has the information she needs to assure a successful signing and to sell her signing concept to a bookstore she:

1. Mails her query and media kit to the indie bookstore owner.
2. Drops by, introduces herself, and gives the bookseller a list of how her workshop or seminar can benefit him using information drawn from this article.
3. If the answer is still no, she drops by again with a list of what she will do to promote the event (parts of which would have been in her query letter). How many local people does she have on her contact list? Will she provide refreshments to guests? Does she have media contacts? She may even take the bookseller a copy of A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions. That’s an investment in the future--for the author, for the bookstore and for the community.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Be Part of the Nation's Best Trafficked Book Fair at a Discount!

Join Authors' Coalition as a signing author at the Authors' Coalition booth at the LA Times Festival of Books on the beautiful UCLA campus now and get a substantial discount!

The fair is the last weekend of April 2009. The book-signing portion of the fair requires that you attend but other value-added promotions do not. You'll hear more about those later.

Authors' Coalition will again be sponsoring a booth at the LA Times/UCLA Festival of Books on April 2009. We focus on making a humdrum fair into a sizzling success; we make changes every year based on what we learned the year before and the year before that.

Register before September 16 and receive an early bird discount for the signing slots. One hour signing segments (50 minutes to allow set up) cost $100 for the first and $80 for a second hour. After August 15, the fee will return to its regular $150 for the first and $100 for the second day. The fee includes display of your book, your order forms and your bookmark or business card and a poster for the full two days. Those who are not members of Authors' Coalition will be asked to join at the Silver Membership level. The regular cost is $25, but will be discounted to $20 for those signing. Participants whose memberships from last year come due in April can join for only $10 in addition to the signing fee.

Last year we had our booth televised on the Internet. Rey Ybarra from Best Selling Author Television was there to cover the event. He conducted short three-minute interviews with the participating authors. The program proved to be a great success. Rey will be there with his crew again this year. (To see the 2008 video made by Rey Ybarra, go to Best Selling Author Television site at : http://www.veoh.com/channels/BSATV

For benefits offered by this booth please visit the Authors' Coalition official blog: www.authorscoalition.blogspot.com or e-mail Christine Alexanians at chalexwrite@yahoo.com

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal." Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.