This past holiday season two of our bestsellers were self-published books. This was a HUGE surprise to me when I ran the numbers at the end of the year. I have had time now to ponder the reason for this and have several reasons that this happened.
– The books were actually good. I don’t mean to sound snide or elitist, but so often self-published books are lacking editorial control and consequently, can be tough to read. Both books were edited well and professionally produced. There was no hint of a Kinko’s copy job with a spiral binding. These looked like real books. One was a hardcover, The Quest for 29 by Remo Pizzagalli, about hunting, which is not a subject we even stock, but it looked gorgeous. Full color photos throughout made it all the more enticing as a gift book. The other book, Vermont Wild by Megan Price, was a handsome paperback.
– Both authors were relentless at getting excellent press about their books. They didn’t just get press once, they got it repeatedly. They were on radio shows, local public access TV and they were reviewed and mentioned in articles in seemingly every paper in the state. And with every mention in the press, our store was listed as one of the main purveyors of the book. This drove business to the store in an amazing way. Literally, streams of customers, most new to the store, came in looking for these two books at the holidays.
– The authors were good about checking in about stock levels. Normally, self-published authors can get a little overly aggressive about checking stock, but with these two books at the holidays, it was enormously helpful. Also, they both seemed to have endless supplies of books in their cars, so I could say I needed 20 more, and by the end day I got 20.
– Both authors were very meticulous about record-keeping. This just makes my job easier. We try to keep up with receiving self-published books when they come, but so often the consignment issue precludes entering books into the inventory, so having another set of good records was vital. I know how many I’ve sold by the negative numbers listed for that book at the end of the day. Basically, I receive backwards and the authors do it the right way, so it works out.
– We started paying up front for Vermont Wild because Megan is great, very local, and she got a loan to rush a second printing of the book for the balance of the holiday season. Her responsiveness to our needs was like magic. Usually within an hour or two we’d be restocked, and that deserves to be rewarded.
– It’s interesting because these two authors couldn’t be more different. Remo is a retired businessman who is very well regarded in town. He wrote the book knowing little about the book business; Megan is more savvy about the book business and more concerned about how to help us sell her book more profitably. Remo’s book is too expensive and we all know that, but it fills a void and he’s donating a portion of the proceeds to a hunting charity. To his credit, Remo has learned on the fly and has worked very hard to get us a better discount and terms for his book. This has been very helpful, as 10 copies (our standing order, it seems) gets expensive to pay out every time.
– We have sacrificed a bit of a discount to carry both of these books. We only do this because both authors are as local you can get, they are driving a ton of business into the store, and really, good business boils down to being a good neighbor.
– Lastly, the books continue to sell after the holidays. Both authors say that they can personalize books at our store, so we see a seemingly endless line of book sales. And, after 15 years in business, it’s very nice to have some self-published books holding their own with New York Times bestsellers.
Fascinating and heartening! Nice to know a polished, well-written book by a self-pubber can make it in this crazy publishing climate. And I think the kicker here is that both authors were willing to learn about marketing and put themselves out there. Writers cannot succumb to fear or laziness and expect to make it in this tough business.
~C
Very interesting self publishing stories! That’s the key for us too! If the author is here in town… and in the store frequently, I feel better about stocking it. And if the author is willing to do some work on the marketing, it is much more likely to sell.
Forgive my buzz speech, but what you describe is absolute win-win! How wonderful for these authors to have you to work with; how fabulous that you get to work with and sell these wonderful authors!
As a self-published author I am encouraged by this news. It means that bookstores are willing to go with better quality books no matter how they were produced. I have been marketing my books to local bookstores with very little success, so now I sell exclusively online. I welcome the opportunity to sell my books wherever they are accepted. I taught myself the ins and outs of publishing years ago, and know the problems associated with bringing a book to market. But attached to that is the knowledge that the stigma of self-publishing is caused by badly produced and unedited books, and as a reader I have been disappointed to see so many on the market. If, after all has been said, an author does not step up to the plate and do the work of producing a better quality book, then hisser book will get left behind. So kudos to those authors, and I hope to see the stigma erased in the next few years.
This is exciting news, and I compliment the authors and the retailer.
HOWEVER, this is a special case where authors live near the bookstore. It would be impossible to replicate the system to support hundreds or thousands of stores nationwide or worldwide.
To reach a big potential audience without spending life on the road, online selling through Amazon, B&N, etc. makes more sense for a self-publishing author — and discounts are lower and returns nonexistent.
Great post! I agree with Michael in that this is a special case where both authors were local, but I would also add it is a special case in that both authors saw quality as important and are willing to learn the marketing game. If all self-pubbed authors would produce books with such quality and be willing to learn how to market and actually — God forbid I mention the “w” word — WORK, the perception of the industry would turn around, more great books would be produced, and more readers would be happily satisfied.
Thanks for the encouraging story!
This is awesome! And good to hear. But yes a polished, well-edited book should be a solid rule for a self-publisher (and is required in order to be in our catalog of self-published books btw)
Also, I agree with Michael (he commented too); this is exciting news but yes, a special case. Being local is a big part of the success strategy for self published authors. Some people ask us why we don’t take our business model (free distribution, authors get 100% of profits) “national” instead of just calling us “Maine” Authors Publishing & Cooperative why not “American Authors Publishing”. That’s because it takes real hands-on personal relationships with authors and bookstores to make it work. Authors should ALSO sell through Amazon (we do that for them here at our office as the shipping can be tedious for authors) AND niche market to the national or international scene on the internet (we write marketing plans for them). By the way….Barnes and Noble DO demand a return policy. In fact their return policy is non-ending compared with 6 months for most stores.
For self-publishers, after the book is done; the PR is always the major key* relentless (nothing different than what a published house would do) —push them to the bloggers, get reviews; because every author is kissing the blogger’s feet in one form or another. One must get their name & book reviewed online as many times as possible—hit your target audience. Hard! But play nice**