According to publishing guru Alan Rinzler, “Bookstores account for more than 60 percent of all book sales.” So publishers agonize over, “Where our books are placed, and struggle to get higher visibility, title-by-title, for the books we love”.
Like many self-published writers, you may have dreamed of having your novel displayed prominently on a bookstore shelf, but were unsure of the steps to get you there.
Publishers have the most influence, when it comes to deciding where books will be placed in a store. Money talks and the big publishing houses have marketing war chests that are bursting with cash for placement allowances. Literary agent Andy Ross describes a placement allowance as, “[a] percentage of the prior year’s total sales.” Publishers have the enviable ability to dole out mega-millions worth of these allowances to the national book chains.
Ross goes on to say, “Basically the publisher is pumping money into the accounts to purchase the best space in the store — front tables, end caps and window space, in the same way General Mills and Proctor and Gamble buy space for their breakfast cereals and dish detergents in the supermarkets.”So how can you get your self-published, vanity or print-on-demand book placed prominently in a bookstore, as do the heavy-hitters of the literary world? It’s a challenge, there is no doubt. Major chain bookstores don’t stock self-published or print-on-demand books, both because of discounting issues and because the books can’t be returned.
As a self-published author, you can turn, instead to local bookstores for the chance to get some prominent shelf placement. You can try securing a reading or a workshop at a local bookstore, with the appeal of a local author reading and answering customer questions. Readings are great for bookstores, as well as for writers. Make sure to publicize your event to get a good crowd in attendance. The store will likely follow suit to promote the event, and place your book visibly on a display inside the store or in the window.
Even before your event, the display promoting your book reading will generate interest and potentially get you readers. Moreover, in small independent bookstores, it is often the store staff themselves that make display decisions. Making yourself known, and better yet, liked, will help get you prominent placement.
As a self-published author, the battle for prominent placement is a challenge, but trust in your self promotion potential and take steps to make yourself known.