Book Marketing Tips: Sold By Author

I keep detailed sales records so that I’m ready for tax reports at the end of the year. I track paperback books and Kindle books sold. I also have a category called Sold By Author. The books in this category are the ones I peddled at personal appearances. In most cases, I must collect state sales tax and turn it in to the state at the end of the year.

I’ve tried many ways to reach buyers this way because it is more than just selling a few books. It is a way of selling yourself. Some people may stop by and then go home and buy the Kindle edition. That’s fine.

There are book fairs where you rent space. Or, you may be asked to speak somewhere and then sell your books at the end of your presentation. I like this approach.

For the past year, a friend and I have had a book signing table in an area where people wait for a table at a popular restaurant. They charge us $30 for three hours. We split the cost. I may sale three to fifteen books and my friend, who has children’s books, usually sales twice as many. It is hard to find places like this, but if you can, it is worth it.

When you evaluate how to do this, consider the cost. I've found the cost often exceeds the benefits. For example, the annual Texas Book Fair (http://www.texasbookfestival.org/) is huge. It lasts for two days and draws around tens of thousands of people. However, that means it can charge huge fees. Much of the space goes to large publishers and bestselling authors. I managed to get half a table for a few hours one year as the result of a drawing held by the Writers League of Texas. I didn't sell enough books to cover the cost, but it was fun.

You may find some friends and get a table together and share the cost. It helps to have others with you anyway. I had a table in a book fair a couple of years back and managed to get it free for giving a talk to the group on selling books. Book fairs are only good if the organizers can get the customers there.

My friend and I set up a table at an annual Harvest Fest hosted by a church in town. There is no fee, but they expect us to tithe. That is, we pay them ten percent of our sales. Sales are good and I wish we had more opportunities like this.

Stand in front of the table if possible, to draw people in. Get the book into every visitor's hand if you can. If they turn the book over, be quiet while they read the blurb. I presign all the books to save time but will add their name if they ask. Have a similar pen ready.

We try to get email addresses from buyers, so we can add them to our mailing lists. One way to do so is if they pay by credit card. You can send them a receipt by email. Another way is to hold drawings for free books to get names and e-mail addresses.

Have displays and handouts available. I use business cards, bookmarks, flyers, posters, and other handouts.

A poster could be an enlargement of your book cover mounted on poster board. I use them at book signings to draw attention. Most print shops can make these for you. Business cards and bookmarks can be handed out at book signings, especially to those who didn't buy a book. I notice e-book sales increase after an appearance and I suspect some of those sales were due to the handouts.

I bought a tee shirt with the book cover on the front of two of my books. I’ve sold a few extra books due to the shirts.  

Before you participate in a personal appearance check to see if it is okay to sell books after your talk. Next, learn how to prepare for such events. For my first personal appearance I did an Internet search on "preparing for a book signing event" and found many useful pages of information. Still, it is a challenge to be prepared for anything. I did a book signing in the historic Clarksville neighborhood of Austin and almost blew away.

I grew up in Clarksville and used the neighborhood in my books. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to participate in the annual event. That was when I only had one book. Exhibitor tables were inexpensive and there were several events scheduled to draw visitors. Suddenly a strong wind came up. The table cloth I had brought took sail. I grabbed it and held it down until the wind subsided long enough for me to find a few rocks to weigh it down. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. I only sold one book during that long, hot, windy day, but attending was worth it. I made a connection with the pastor of the church there and he has helped me with book sales since then.

At another book signing, this time at the Harker Heights Public Library, I met several writers who became friends. Watch for networking opportunities at all your book signings and other personal appearances.

One thing you may want to take with you to these events is snack food and a bottle of water. If the signing lasts for a long time, the hosts may provide drinks and sometimes something to eat. But, it wouldn't hurt to take your own just in case.

Take change with you. In Texas, we must charge sales tax anytime we sell books. What I do is change the price of my books so that the price plus the tax comes out to an even amount. In my case, my books sell for $10.00 ($9.24 plus .76 tax).

To compute the selling price so that it plus tax is equal to $10.00 I divided 10.00 by 1.0825 since our sales tax rate is 8.25 percent. You can compute your round-figure price by changing the 10.00 to what you want and dividing by 1.(your sales tax rate). Mathematically, the formula I used for my price and rate is:

X + 0.0825X = 10 (X is the new price for the book)

1.0825X = 10 (the tax rate is 8.25 percent)

X = 10/1.0825

X = 9.2378… (round this to 9.24)

To compute the tax, multiply 9.24 times 0.0825 and you get 0.76.

The price of the book plus the sales tax is 9.24 plus 0.76, or 10.00.

These special personal appearance prices are less than the Amazon price so the customer is happy and I still make a profit. I also am prepared to take credit cards. It is easy now to use a smartphone or a tablet with a credit card reader that is provided free. You do have to pay a fee to the company you're using. I use Square. There are other methods available.

Consider partnering with another writer. It is sometimes easier to sell another person's book. Some of us find it difficult to brag about our own.

Stick a bookmark in each book sold. Especially if you have several books. Have a handout ready for those who don't buy, perhaps something that emphasizes an e-book edition of your books that they may order later.

Don't feel disappointed if you don't sell as many books as you'd like. Part of the reason for a book signing is to build name recognition. You may sell books later as a result of the book signing event.

Serendipity Sells Books

In March of this year I told you about an email I received from a neighbor who had read Where Love Once Lived after hearing me talk about it at a party. I'm careful not to push books at social gatherings, but if an opening arises, I take it. In this case, I had noticed someone in the house was reading a novel similar to mine, so I left a business card about my book with the hostess while commenting on the book I saw there. As you will see if you read the following, this lead to her getting the book, reading it and sending me an email.

http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com/2011/03/hearing-from-readers-is-fun.html

Another neighbor, one who had heard about the book from the hostess of the party I went to, was looking for a speaker for a monthly meeting of Christian women. She asked if I would be interested. I said yes and gave her a copy of the book to look at.

I told you about the meeting and my talk in this article:

http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com/2011/06/talking-about-writing-and-other-life.html

Later, I received a thank you note from the neighbor who had invited me to speak with these words:

Thank you so much for coming to our luncheon and talking about writing your book. I felt it was a very interesting talk given by a gifted speaker. Thanks again, your neighbor…

Yes, I sold a few books after the talk, but the appreciation received after my talk was worth even more to me.

Events for Authors

Last week I had the opportunity to speak at a fundraiser called Booked for Lunch which was sponsored by the Assistance League of Georgetown Area. The 250 or so attendees paid $20 for a box lunch and an opportunity to hear the authors speak. There were three other local authors there who I knew from the San Gabriel Writers' League. We were given tables at one end of the hall to exhibit and sell books. The doors opened at 11:30 so there was time for the attendees to view the books before lunch began.

After lunch, the authors spoke for 15-20 minutes each. After the first two did their presentation, there was a break which meant another opportunity to talk to the authors and purchase books. Finally, after all had talked, there was time to sell books once again.

I sold a few books before lunch, but most of my sales were after I told them about the book. Several people bought more than one because they knew someone who would like to have it. I didn't presume they wanted it autographed, but most asked me to sign the book. One came back with a book purchased earlier and got me to sign it.

The other authors had multiple books for sale. I only had one. One of the others sold out and took orders for more books than I sold altogether. The book in demand was A War of Her Own, by Sylvia Dickey Smith, a novel about a woman in World War II. This author also took credit cards while I could only take cash and checks.

In addition to the poster I have of the book cover, Celeste suggested I take the framed awards the book has won. I think this helped. I also handed out bookmarks. I made a special sign showing the price of the book and the sales tax. The resulting price was $10 to make it easier to make change.

One person said she would love to read the book, but she prefers Kindle books. I told her it was available on Kindle and for only $5.99. I gave her a bookmark to remind her of the book's name, and she asked me to autograph it. The next day, Kindle reported a sale. For future events, I should include a sign or poster announcing the book is available on Kindle and iPad as well as other eBooks.

I wasn't sure about what to say when it came my turn to speak. Of course I had planned for it for weeks, so I don't mean I was not prepared. At other events, I vary my presentation to match the audience. This time I decided to talk about why I wrote Where Love Once Lived and how I studied novel writing to make it happen. I then read to passages from the book. I read the beginning of the book up to the point where Karen leaves the classroom to go to the book mobile, and the section from Brian's viewpoint where he and Liz leave the school. I thought this audience might enjoy meeting Liz, but the comments I got later indicate they also liked what I said about writing.

Harker Heights Library Book Signing

I had the opportunity to participate in another book signing, this time at the Harker Heights Public Library. Harker Heights, Texas is a part of the Kileen-Temple-Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area. The official population was 17,308 in 2000, but I saw a lot of growth there, including the library which appeared to be a new addition to the city facilities.

The staff treated us graciously, with coffee, juice and pastries when we got there, and lunch afterward. I didn’t get all the names of the other authors, but here a list of most of them: Emery Lee, Renae Brumbaugh, Alison Craven Roberts, Michael T. Leslie,  George I. Duhart, Malcolm  L. Dickinson, Sonia Simmons Wren, Barbara Youngblood Carr, Charles “Skeeta” Jenkins, and Phil Hewitt.

The authors’ tables were in the front hallway leading into the library proper on one side and a large conference room on the other side where a used book sale was going on. There was a constant flow of patrons while I was there between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

Around 11:30 a.m., the authors of children's books, went into the library and talked about their books. After they finished, the rest of the authors were invited to talk or read from their books. The audience in the reading section was surely increased due to the free sandwiches and snack foods available there.

We had a limit of five minutes. I had selected two excerpts and planned to check who was in attendance before deciding which one to read. The first one was the first half of the first scene in the book. It was a part of the book that wouldn’t require any back story. The second choice was the Great Chase scene near the end of the book. I scanned the audience and decided to read the chase scene. Since it was so far into the book, I took a minute or so to tell them about the characters.

I only sold one book, but it was fun. I met some interesting people and made contacts for the future. One of the authors there invited me to be on his TV show to talk about my book. Another author had some great books for tweens that I think my grandkids will enjoy. So, all in all, it was a successful event.

First Book Signing for Where Love Once Lived

Saturday, September 25, 2010 I had my first book signing for Where Love Once Lived. I had no idea how many books I would need so I took about two dozen books with me into the store, with another eighty-five or so in the trunk of my car. I got there early so I could find a close parking place because I didn't want to leave my signing duties for too long while replenishing the supply of the rapidly selling books.

I was scheduled for 11:00 to 2:00. There was a steady stream of customers for a small store in a small town. There were only a few short periods of times when there were no customers at all. Except while signing books, I stood and talked to everyone who came in. I even tried the suggestion I had read about of putting my book into the hands of a customer. They quickly handed it right back.

A family of four came by and asked if there was a Christian bookstore in town. After Courtney told them where the closest one was I mentioned to them that my book was Christian fiction. They smiled politely and left.

By the end of the three hours I had sold 18 copies of Where Love Once Lived. Ten went to members of my church, two to members of the San Gabriel Writers League, one to a neighbor, one to a singing friend, one to a friend of a friend, two to family members, and one copy to a complete stranger who wanted to see if it was something her book club might want to discuss.

All in all, a pretty good day.

I left six copies at the bookstore in case anyone came late. Sunday, several friends at church said they would go buy one the six I left at the store.

Georgetown Book Signing Coming Up

My first book signing is Saturday, September 25, 2010, between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at Hill Country Bookstore in Georgetown, Texas.

To prepare for and promote the event, here is what I've done:

Studied information on the web re book signing
Talked to writer friends about their experiences
Made two posters for the bookstore
Put posters about the event in other locations
Sent fliers to several local churches
Sent post cards to some friends in town
Placed ads in the newspaper
Invited San Gabriel Writers League members.

Georgetown is small enough to make newspaper advertising affordable. Even so, I'll have to sell a bunch of books to make enough to pay for the ads. I ran it twice, the week before the event and the Wednesday before.

What I've done to promote the book signing, however, also promotes me and the book for purchases to come after the event.

While trying to get enough people there Saturday so as not to be too embarrassed, I've also discouraged my Austin friends from coming because I want to make sure they will attend the signing at BookPeople in Austin at a date yet to be determined.
Also, some of my friends already have books and don't need to buy another.

Who knows what will happen this Saturday. I know a few people are coming, but I don't know how many. I guess the worst thing that could happen is that I run out of books. Actually, come to think about it. That would be a good thing.