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Post by adrianallan on Apr 10, 2020 13:53:18 GMT
I have never tried to place my self published Lulu books in so-called brick and mortar shops.
I believe that half of the books sold worldwide are through Amazon - and I am guessing that the current virus may well shift buying habits further towards online retail and book shops may suffer, despite so-called Furlough payments by world governments;which would mark a tragic end to a longer-term decline.
Has anybody here had any success placing their books in a traditional store. I am led to believe that book stores are quite sceptical about taking on self-published tities.
Do you think it is important to have this goal in mind, or is it fast becoming an irrelevance?
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 10, 2020 15:24:18 GMT
I believe Maggie has had some success, though you'd have to ask her for strategies.
There is a book store about forty miles from where I am that was doing consignments, though I suspect they'd like to inspect a book's quality before making a spot available for it.
As for the importance of having a book in brick-and-mortar as well as in virtual stores, it can't hurt to have them in both places.
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Post by adrianallan on Apr 10, 2020 15:29:48 GMT
I believe Maggie has had some success, though you'd have to ask her for strategies. There is a book store about forty miles from where I am that was doing consignments, though I suspect they'd like to inspect a book's quality before making a spot available for it. As for the importance of having a book in brick-and-mortar as well as in virtual stores, it can't hurt to have them in both places. Agreed - I just wonder whether it is really worth the effort - thinking ahead for when everything re-opens. |
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 10, 2020 16:34:03 GMT
If it's really worth the effort to you is something you have to decide.
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Post by adrianallan on Apr 10, 2020 17:34:15 GMT
If it's really worth the effort to you is something you have to decide. Yeah - and I suppose my decision might be swayed by discovering other people's experiences, which is why I'm asking on here. |
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 10, 2020 18:24:34 GMT
If it's really worth the effort to you is something you have to decide. Yeah - and I suppose my decision might be swayed by discovering other people's experiences, which is why I'm asking on here. I understand why you're asking as I understood it from the beginning, when I suggested Maggie has had some success at the subject you're discussing.
I am also aware that her success may or may not translate to you experiencing the same, due to a wide variety of variables to include the amount of effort you may have to make, cost of your product as compared to similar products, and so on.
You might try messaging her to see if she's checking her email, or sit back and wait to see if someone else has an answer more to your taste.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2020 18:27:50 GMT
I never bothered with my books but I tried for my husband's book, "Suicide String" I bought several copies and went to Wearherstones in Lincoln,a well-known bookstore. They have a section for local writers. They bought 6 books. However after that I didn't do much else.I'm afraid I hadn't the energy nor the resources. Burt's books eventually sold at the book shop, but Weatherstones didn't want any more. I think if you have the energy to try the bookstores and the finances to buy your own books it may be worth it. I know that on here people have said that it's necessary to push, push, push your books, im libraries, booksignings,local and national bookstores etc. I have a friend in my writing group. He travels all over England pushing his books. It's a lot of hard work. He also gives lectures and always has his books on display. Maybe start with your local library. Offer a talk and set out your books. My friend's poetry books arn't cheap nor is poetry that popular but he does sell them.(I went to one of his lectures in a nearby town's library, and he sold 3 copies to the audience of 10 people.)
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Post by adrianallan on Apr 10, 2020 20:13:07 GMT
I never bothered with my books but I tried for my husband's book, "Suicide String" I bought several copies and went to Wearherstones in Lincoln,a well-known bookstore. They have a section for local writers. They bought 6 books. However after that I didn't do much else.I'm afraid I hadn't the energy nor the resources. Burt's books eventually sold at the book shop, but Weatherstones didn't want any more. I think if you have the energy to try the bookstores and the finances to buy your own books it may be worth it. I know that on here people have said that it's necessary to push, push, push your books, im libraries, booksignings,local and national bookstores etc. I have a friend in my writing group. He travels all over England pushing his books. It's a lot of hard work. He also gives lectures and always has his books on display. Maybe start with your local library. Offer a talk and set out your books. My friend's poetry books arn't cheap nor is poetry that popular but he does sell them.(I went to one of his lectures in a nearby town's library, and he sold 3 copies to the audience of 10 people.) thanks - you confirm what I expected; that I'm now in the habit of doing everything digitally, I'm not sure if I have the time or the energy to push my books on the ground like that. I also have to report that in my region, libraries seem to have taken a big hit from government funding, as well as having a longer-term decline in publis support. In remember that in the 1970s it seemed like everybody was a library member. |
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Post by ronmiller on Apr 10, 2020 20:23:22 GMT
There are two thrills that never seem to pale. One is seeing one's book on a shelf in a bookstore and the other is looking up your own name in a library's card catalog.
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Post by BlueAndGold on Apr 10, 2020 22:38:34 GMT
adrianallan: Considering the genre of your books, you might consider approaching music/guitar stores with your wares.
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Post by BlueAndGold on Apr 10, 2020 23:01:51 GMT
My Bookstore Tale:
I live in a town of about 100,000 people, near a college town of even more. There are no longer any bookstores in my town (other than one small seller of used books), and as far as I know there is only the college bookstore in the larger town, which I never venture near. Those who want books in my town must order online.
Several years ago, a man who owned a small financial business in my town self-published a book and became appalled by how difficult it was for him to find retailers who would stock it for him. (At least that's how I understand the story.) So he re-vamped his shop and turned the lion's share of the floor space into a bookstore where he vowed to only stock self-published works by local authors. He set up nice little cafe-type tables and some nice coffee machines and planned to have weekly "meet the authors nights" in hopes that the authors would help to bring customers in. There was even a large article in the local newspaper with color photos lauding the venture.
It was understood that his financial business alone would bring as many as 750 people into the store throughout the year who would be able to browse the shelves and drink tea and coffee. He even set up a Facebook page for the new bookstore which was used to keep interested parties informed as to the next "author's night", etc.
Being a newly self-published author, I gladly brought the man a small stock of my first book and it was placed prominently on one of the shelves with many dozens of other local writer's wares. I enjoyed browsing the selections a number of times and even purchased a book or two from him.
Fast-forward three or four years: The venture failed. The vast majority of the authors were uninterested in participating in talks about their works and his hope that the authors would attract customers were dashed. I believe it actually embittered the man. He closed the shop. Very sad.
So, yes, it was nice and encouraging to see my first work on a bookstore's shelf, but it was a bittersweet experience in the end.
Amazon rules, obviously, even in this area of "enlightenment and art." There are no bookstores here. The old Barnes & Noble shop is a grocery now.
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Post by adrianallan on Apr 10, 2020 23:32:26 GMT
While reading your account I sort of knew that there wouldn't be a happy ending for the venture. I don't where you are based, but in the Uk, the high-street is struggling to survive, even for some of the bigger retailers. Bookshops have of course been decimated. And as to your suggestion for music shops - a good idea, but the same issue pertains. Those that are still open are really struggling. People go in to test out an instrument, then buy it cheaper online. I know that, as Ron says, there must be a buzz in seeing your book on a shelf, but I can only see consumer habits getting more skewed towards online retail soon. But I am thinking of taking a trip to Liverpool and targeting some of the tourist-based shops due to the nature of my subject matter. Again - if these businesses survive what has happened recently. |
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 11, 2020 0:00:27 GMT
My Bookstore Tale:
I live in a town of about 100,000 people, near a college town of even more. There are no longer any bookstores in my town (other than one small seller of used books), and as far as I know there is only the college bookstore in the larger town, which I never venture near. Those who want books in my town must order online.
Several years ago, a man who owned a small financial business in my town self-published a book and became appalled by how difficult it was for him to find retailers who would stock it for him. (At least that's how I understand the story.) So he re-vamped his shop and turned the lion's share of the floor space into a bookstore where he vowed to only stock self-published works by local authors. He set up nice little cafe-type tables and some nice coffee machines and planned to have weekly "meet the authors nights" in hopes that the authors would help to bring customers in. There was even a large article in the local newspaper with color photos lauding the venture.
It was understood that his financial business alone would bring as many as 750 people into the store throughout the year who would be able to browse the shelves and drink tea and coffee. He even set up a Facebook page for the new bookstore which was used to keep interested parties informed as to the next "author's night", etc.
Being a newly self-published author, I gladly brought the man a small stock of my first book and it was placed prominently on one of the shelves with many dozens of other local writer's wares. I enjoyed browsing the selections a number of times and even purchased a book or two from him.
Fast-forward three or four years: The venture failed. The vast majority of the authors were uninterested in participating in talks about their works and his hope that the authors would attract customers were dashed. I believe it actually embittered the man. He closed the shop. Very sad.
So, yes, it was nice and encouraging to see my first work on a bookstore's shelf, but it was a bittersweet experience in the end.
Amazon rules, obviously, even in this area of "enlightenment and art." There are no bookstores here. The old Barnes & Noble shop is a grocery now.
B&G,
Your story highlights part of why I don't practice certain otherwise lucrative talents because: "smart people want the cheapest deal".
The issue is that the cheapest deal is far too often not the smartest deal, call it a false economy that over the long-term cost far more than it saves.
Hopefully you still have a "Bijou" or "Roxie" in your area to show the talking pictures or talkies.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2020 4:28:22 GMT
There are two thrills that never seem to pale. One is seeing one's book on a shelf in a bookstore and the other is looking up your own name in a library's card catalog.Ron, after I retired from teaching, I started making cards---- fantasy, stylized animals, scenes of Lincolnshire etc. I never bothered pushing my books, but I made a portfolio of my cards and went to all the places in and around Lincolnshire that I thought would carry them. I was shocked when the managers ordered the cards. I remember seeing them on display in the shops and in some cases the shop windows and I too got "the thrill that never pales". I've stopped doing it now but it was fun while it lasted. My cards are still all over the internet www.angelfire.com/art2/elizabethkeimach/ (not for sale now) but it's not the same as seeing them in a shop.
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Post by hulsey on Apr 11, 2020 6:38:16 GMT
Four or five years ago, I agreed a deal with a local bookshop and he stocked twenty of my books on return no sale. They all sold and I repeated the process another twice. True, because I have to purchase the books, I did not make a great deal, but it was a good way of showboating your books to the public. I also convinced my local library to stock my books, but some time later they said the were in financial difficulty and I would have to donate the books from then. Anyway, I lost contact with my bookstore, but I had no complaints and might consider this again in the future.
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