EBooks: Your Book Not in Book Stores? Don't Worry

Your Book Not in Book Stores? Don't Worry

Written by Dr. Jamie Fettig

Sure, we all want to look on repparttar

shelves at Barnes and Noble and see our books there. It's thrilling. But it's really not necessary. I see so many authors waste their time and money paying distributors and driving from store to store, delivering books when they should be selling directly to repparttar 108345

public. The Internet makes it possible.

In fact, there are many good reasons NOT to be in bookstores:

·You don't have to pay a distributor, who will take a cut of your profits. ·You don't have to worry about shipping and returns. ·You don't have to fight for shelf space.

In most cases, selling direct to repparttar 108346 public, or through bulk sales to institutions, is a much better way to turn your book into a revenue stream. With repparttar 108347 Internet, tradeshows and other events, and seminars, you have multiple ways to sell direct, pocket 100% of repparttar 108348 profits, and save yourself repparttar 108349 hassle of trying to get into Borders.

I also recommend selling on Amazon.com. They do take a substantial chunk of your sales price, but it's a wonderful way to generate buzz about your book. Otherwise, unless you can truly benefit from repparttar 108350 prestige of being on repparttar 108351 bookshelves, leave repparttar 108352 bookstores to John Grisham and Stephen King.

Pursue bulk sales.

Ninety percent of new authors are only focused with getting people into bookstores to buy their book. And it's great if you can do that, but I give them all repparttar 108353 same advice: do not overlook bulk sales. They can turn your book from a money-loser into a profit center in a few months. Bulk sales are a gold mine.

What do I mean by bulk sales? I mean selling your books in large quantities to an organization, which could mean anything from a corporation to a school district to a non-profit group to a church. You'll have to give repparttar 108354 organization a price break for buying in bulk, but you'll get dozens, hundreds or even thousands of your books into people's hands, which dramatically increases your word-of-mouth and viral marketing.

Promoting bulk sales is a pretty straightforward deal. Simply look at your book and ask yourself what companies, organizations or affinity groups would be interested in repparttar 108355 book for their employees or members. If you've written a book on corporate team building, make a list of corporations where you have personal contacts. If your book is about exercise for seniors, try contacting AARP. And so on. Marketing bulk sales is usually about personal contact, either by letter or direct mail.

Your Book is a Business

Written by Dr. Jamie Fettig

Think like a businessperson, not an author.

Once repparttar final draft is written, you're no longer an author. You're an entrepreneur with a product to sell, and it's critical that you start thinking that way. Instead of spending your time on editing and proofreading, you've got to invest your time in marketing activities. That means finding repparttar 108344 answers to three critical questions:

a.Who is your audience? b.What will compel them to buy your book? c.What methods should you use to reach them?

At this stage, you need to think about capturing leads, producing sales material, getting testimonials and positive reviews, and arranging publicity events. Your focus should be on all repparttar 108345 ways you can create awareness of your book.

The best way to get started in thinking like a businessperson is after your final draft is done but before you go to print, sit down and write out repparttar 108346 answers to these questions:

·What is my marketing budget? ·What resources do I have in place already? ·What people do I know who can help me? ·What are my sales goals for repparttar 108347 year?

Keep your expectations realistic.

The average self-published book sells only about 3,000 copies, and repparttar 108348 average book issued by a publisher sells only a few thousand more. For every bestseller, there are hundreds of books that sell moderately and disappear. So you've got to keep your expectations realistic, or you'll set yourself up to get discouraged and quit trying to market your book.

Rather than worry about repparttar 108349 overall number of copies sold, I recommend that people set their goals, especially for a first book, this way:

a.Monetary goals. For most authors, selling enough copies to break even is a very worthwhile goal. If you can do that, you've done great! b.Career goals. Your book might give a big boost to your speaking career, medical practice or other endeavor. c.Publicity goals. Your book could position you as an expert in your field, so that you get invited on radio programs, TV, speaking engagements, etc. d.Publishing goals. Maybe your book will be noticed by a publisher who wants to re-release it, or you are offered a chance to write future books. e.Networking goals. You meet agents, designers, journalists and others who could be wonderful contacts for repparttar 108350 future.

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