Selling

Your book is written, edited, and printed. Now what? Publishing is a business, and key to that is making money. In order for the publisher to make money, it has to sell books. So how does a publisher go about selling your books? There are many different ways a publisher may try to do this.

For those not involved in the business side of publishing, it may come as a surprise that there is a selling season; two, really. Fall is when publishers have big book rollouts, so this is the selling season for consumers. Not to say books aren’t released throughout the year, but fall is the big rollout. Here’s the secret, though: distributors buy in the spring for those fall rollouts. Catalogs are developed and front lists are set in the spring. It’s not just the Big 5 that follow this schedule. Independent publishers also must be geared toward this, but they have more flexibility by the nature of being independent. For example, IBPA releases a catalog each quarter that is sent to distributors and book buyers who are interested in carrying titles from independent publishers.

In addition to selling titles to distributors, publishers may also engage in direct selling, which may be through their own catalog or website. This is especially true for independent publishers. Often an independent publisher’s website is where most sales occur. As a consumer supporting an independent publisher, consider purchasing direct from the publisher instead of through a retailer. The author and publisher benefit more from this transaction rather than through a retailer such as Amazon or Barnes and Nobel due to the deep discounts retailers demand (usually around 50 percent).

An important part of the selling process is the author. The author is the one who knows the story the best. Additionally, readers often want to connect with the author. A simple author or book website is a good place to start along with a social media presence. Book signings at local booksellers can help connect with readers while promoting the book. Interviews with print or broadcast journalists will get not only the book’s name out there, but also the author’s name. All of these events may be coordinated by the publisher, but the author should consider going above and beyond to help in selling. Doing so not only helps sales, it goes a long way to gaining a reputation with the publisher as an author who can be counted on when needed.

Tin Whiskers Publisher is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). IBPA’s mission is “to lead and serve the independent publishing community by providing advocacy, education, and tools for success.” IBPA is a not-for-profit membership organization serving and leading the independent publishing community. Founded in 1983, it is the largest publishing trade organization in the United States. IBPA members pledge to uphold the organization’s code of ethics.