▪ Also available through certain publishers is what is known as Off-Set Publishing. Authors pay a set price ($8, 10, 12K) to be published and receive a large number of copies of their book. There is a good chance that the Off-Set publisher of your choice is affiliated with Ingram or another distributor. Off-set books are usually returnable and accepted by book stores.

Distribution

▪ Authors seem to think that they have made it big when their book makes it to a bookstore – not so. Anytime a distributor or a bookstore orders books, these books need to be viewed as “out on loan”. Take the distributor Ingram for example: Ingram orders the books from the publisher to have available if they receive an order from a store. The publisher sends the books to Ingram at his cost. Ingram sends the books out or keeps them in one or more of their seven warehouses. Book stores will then keep the books on their shelves for a few months. If the books do not sell within a certain amount of time, the books are then sent back to Ingram who returns them to the publisher at his cost.

In the meantime, Ingram automatically pays the publisher for the books after 3-months, whether they have been purchased or not. When those books are returned to the publisher or emptied from their own warehouse shelves, Ingram wants their money back. Sometimes books will be out for more than a year.

Selling and Promotion

▪ Selling yourself is just as important as selling your work. Often, you can raise interest in what you have written by drawing attention to some other aspect of yourself: employment, hobbies, personal or family history, etc. For instance, suppose that your ancestors were some of the first people to settle the area where you live, with more than one story about that time being handed down through the years. A local newspaper, library and historical society would be interested in you and your family’s history, and they will be interested in the fact that you are an author with published work. Another way to spike interest may be your skill with a specific hobby, and contacting a newsletter or club in the area.

▪ When looking for recognition, do not aim for the top right away or you will be disappointed. (Top reviewers or the media will be more willing to take a look at your work if you have reviews, articles, and sales behind you.) Remember that your work will have a better chance with lesser known hosts, small magazines and newspapers. Start small and build from there. Also, instead of sending your work directly to the host, contact the program director of a television or radio show instead, or the editor of a newspaper or magazine.

▪ Get to know the managers at your local bookstores and ask to have book signings. Put a notice in the local newspaper. Make up fliers and hand them out, or have them posted in shops around the bookstores. Remember: selling just a few books at a book signing is considered successful.

▪ Authors are everywhere. Check with your local library or find a book club in your area that may know of a few. Contact these authors (phone calls, postings, etc.) and see about putting a group together that speaks to others about writing and publishing. Have your books and others’ books available for purchase if you do give a presentation. Maybe the library will have a “Creative Writing Expo” in which all the authors will take part, share experiences and coach beginning writers.

▪ Log onto Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other website that posts reviews of books from readers. Find a book similar to yours and read the reviews of that book. Try to get the contact information of those reviewers and inquire if they will review your book.

▪ It may be tempting, but only have your book available through one distributor such as Lightning Source (Ingram). If you do pass out books to various bookstores or other vendors, make sure that they are returned to you, not a distributor, because if it is “returned” to your “distributor of record”, your publisher will owe money that they never received to begin with and will probably look to you for reimbursement.

▪ Selling directly to the public is always best. There are rarely ever any returns and the author makes more money. Bookstores take a 40% discount; Ingram takes 55% (giving bookstores their 40% and keeping 15%). This is usually done with advertising. Ads can cost anywhere from $200 to $20,000 or more, so research for the best outlet is needed. Most authors do not have a lot of money to play with, so going with smaller media outlets is best.

▪ There are a number of things that can be done to promote a book, but the smart thing to do is to start small and build from there. Big media and reviewers are more likely to take notice when small media and reviewers give something a thumbs-up.

▪ Book Promotion takes time. Do not try to get everything done at once. More often than not your patience will pay off in one way or another.