As a new author, there are many unknowns, and how to get your book into brick-and-mortar stores for traditional retail is one of the big ones. It seems easy enough, right? You have a great cover. Your book has a great message that everyone needs to hear. So, by gosh, there’s no reason for the local store not to carry your book, right? Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. To explain why, I’m going to tell you about how the traditional bookstore has evolved in recent decades, what bookstore buyers are looking for, and what other options are available outside the brick-and-mortar store.
When I started at McMillan Publishing as a sales assistant to the director of independent accounts in 1992, bookstores were really the only places to sell books. Of course, you had your non-traditional stores too, which included museum stores, department stores, and grocery and gift stores. But if you wanted success as an author, the traditional bookstore was the holy grail. Barnes and Noble and Borders were the two biggest players in town, and every author wanted shelf space. Books-A-Million, Hastings, and a handful of other large independent retailers rounded out what we considered national accounts. Independent book accounts were also a significant part of the retail landscape in the eighties and early nineties. Online retail, the game changer, was still over the horizon.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and launched Amazon.com in 1995. While most brick-and-mortar stores carried about 200,000 books at a time, the online concept was limitless. Jeff Bezos and Amazon.com single-handedly changed the landscape of retail book sales by undercutting brick-and-mortar pricing and stocking not only New York Times bestsellers but also obsolete titles that retailers had long since returned to the publisher. Brick-and-mortar bookstores soon followed suit by adding their own online presences, but to this day, Amazon.com is the comprehensive book catalog.
Today, bookstores aren’t just for books. The mid-nineties brought cafés to most independent and national bookstores, gifts at the front of the store, and music in the back, and today e-reader salespeople welcome you as you walk in the front door. The space used for actually selling books has shrunk and continues to shrink as retailers dream up new ways to lure customers into their stores.
So let’s take a look at books in terms of numbers. In 2009, for the first time ever, the number of books published in one year crossed the one million mark. According to Barnes and Noble, they review over 100,000 new books a year, stock about 100,000 total books per store, and carry one million titles in their warehouses. Of the 100,000 new titles Barnes and Noble reviews every year, approximately 40,000 new titles make it into the stores. So if, out of the one million books published per year, Barnes and Noble reviews only 100,000 and only picks up 40,000, what is the likelihood that your book will actually see shelf time in a national brick-and-mortar store?
Now that you’ve seen the numbers, it’s important to decide if traditional retail stores are the best place to spend your time and energy. If you haven’t been discouraged by the numbers, there are some things to consider when planning your book for review by a book retailer. The retail book buyer is the gatekeeper to in-store placement. Walking into a book buyer’s office for the first time as a junior national account manager for a major traditional publisher was an education for me. I thought I would have a chance to sit and chat with the buyer, learn a little about them and their history with that particular retailer, and ask what titles were doing well, which books were tanking, and what they’d like to see from us the next year. I actually thought they’d be somewhat happy to see me when I walked in. Needless to say, I was surprised by the reality. Book buyers live in insanely small cubes with piles of books stacked all around them and under their desks. I often found myself perched on a stack of books as a makeshift chair because the regular chairs were full of books to be reviewed. The book buyer’s floor reminded me a lot of the New York Stock Exchange—one buyer standing up to yell across the floor to another buyer that a title has unexpectedly blown through store and distribution inventory. Buyers are some of the best multitaskers that I’ve ever seen; they focus one eye on you and one eye on their inventory systems. Walking in with your list of titles to present to a retail buyer is much like a contact sport. You have less than two minutes per title to explain to that buyer why he or she should carry that book, why it’s different than the other two hundred other titles he or she has already seen that day, and make your recommendation regarding the size of the buy. A buyer’s attention span is similar to that of a two-year-old, and they make no bones about cutting you off midsentence and moving you on to the next title. A no means no, and a yes feels amazing for two seconds, until you realize that if the book you just sold them doesn’t sell as many units as you promised during your sales pitch, all future buys will be affected and you will have to regain the buyer’s trust. As a national account rep, you aren’t selling books. You’re selling a relationship and the knowledge that you understand the industry, the category you are pitching, and the idea that you just might have the next best-seller in your bag.
So what are book buyers looking for when they’re reviewing your title? Keep in mind that buyers actually do judge your book by its cover. So what they’re looking for is a well-designed cover and well-written front and back cover copy, which means no typos. A typo will get you an automatic rejection with no reconsideration. They consider title and subtitle, correct genre listing, and competitive pricing. What does all of this mean, exactly? How do you know what will actually appeal to the buyer? At the end of the day, aren’t covers really subjective? Go into the bookstore and walk to the section that most closely matches the genre you’re writing in, and spend some time pulling books to review cover designs, which includes the front and back design, the spine, and the cover copy. While you can review covers online, it’s not the same thing as holding a book in your hands and seeing firsthand what motivated the buyer to actually place the book on the shelf. While the majority of book buying occurs in a corporate office for national account retailers, the bookstore staff does have discretion to pull titles face forward on the shelves. So take the time to review which titles have grabbed the attention of your local booksellers. The specifics of cover design are a topic for another article, but if I could give you one piece of advice when thinking about your cover design, it would be not to try to tell the whole story on your front cover. First-time authors tend to try to jam as much information and visual context onto a cover as possible, which makes for an unappealing and confusing design. If you tell the whole story on your cover, why do I even need to open the book?
Looking beyond the cover, during my time at ASI, I have read some great books with appealing covers, phenomenal endorsements, and overall general market appeal. But too often, they lacked three very important things: an author platform, a marketing plan, and a publicity strategy. Because buyers see over 100,000 books a year, they can’t make a commitment based on cover and content alone. Retail buyers are not compensated based on how many best-sellers come through their categories, but they are reviewed and evaluated on strong sales at the register. A title that is purchased and sits on the shelf without selling becomes a liability to that retailer and is a red mark against that category buyer. While the cover and content are crucial to a buyer’s decision, the author platform, marketing plan, and publicity strategy must be a part of the packaging presented to that retailer.
When I talk about an author platform, what do I mean? An author platform is simply how you are currently reaching an audience of book-buying people or how you plan to do that. It is your ability to sell to your market. One example of an author platform might be fame—are you already famous? Are you a household name? Being an event speaker is also a good author platform. Can you get hundreds of people to come hear you speak as an expert or an authority regarding your message? Then you can probably get some of those people to buy your book. Another example of author platform is a built-in lead base. If you are a business owner or are part of a business with customers or clients that would be interested in purchasing your book, you’re in a good position to sell to your market. Social media is also a good example. Do you have a popular blog or website that is well visited? How many Facebook friends or Twitter followers are you engaged with?
The marketing plan is also a crucial piece of the puzzle for buyers. They’re looking for a well-defined, concise marketing plan that outlines primary and secondary audiences, lists your book’s selling points (the things that make your book unique and interesting), describes communication methods for reaching your primary target audiences, and a timeline for executing the plan. Last but not least, buyers know that the best way to drive awareness and interest is through dedicated traditional and online publicity efforts. Publicity is the engine that drives your marketing plan. If traditional retail bookstores are part of your overall book-selling plan, please make sure that you follow the rules of engagement, which include the following:
Procedure
Follow the retailer’s guidelines for submission, which are typically listed on the retailer’s website. Following the retailer’s guidelines to the letter will put you in better favor with the buyers when they are considering your book for placement.
Patience
Please be patient with the retailer. As an organization, the retailer receives thousands of single submissions and publisher submissions every day. Calling the buying office to inquire about the status of your title every other day will not earn you points with the buying staff and will more than likely remove your title from consideration. If you choose to go directly into a retail store to ask for title placement consideration, be kind and considerate to the people working in that store. If you’re lucky enough to get in front of a store manager, make sure you have your elevator pitch ready, and position yourself not only as an author but also as a valued customer of that particular store. If the decision maker in the store decides not to stock your book, be gracious and smile. As hard as rejection can be, there are strict rules set by a corporate office about stocking books, and some managers simply will not step over that line to help an author fulfill his or her dream. It’s not personal; it’s business.
Backup
Most importantly, have a backup plan. Before you even publish a book, make sure you have a backup plan for book sales if retailers choose not to carry your title. Just because your book isn’t on the shelf in your local Barnes and Noble or Borders store doesn’t mean that your book is poorly constructed, that your packaging missed the mark, or that your message isn’t relevant. With a million books a year published, there are a lot of forces working against you, and not making it to the shelf is actually the rule, not the exception. Make sure that you have other book sales options in mind, and make that a part of your overall book selling strategy from the start.
The retail buyer has said no, and you’re feeling deflated and rejected, so what’s next, and what are your other options? Don’t be discouraged, and understand that the bookstore isn’t the only place book sales take place. Actually, traditional brick-and-mortar bookstores have become one of the worst places to sell your book. As we discussed earlier, bookstores are offering everything from gifts to calendars, coffee, and games, not to mention the 99,999 other books you’re competing with in that store. Unless you’re able to secure commodity space (such as table placement, end caps, or a front window display), your book will more than likely be tucked away, spine out, with all of the other books. You’re book will be hidden unless someone comes in specifically looking for your book or happens to come across it during a random search of the shelves.
So consider other options, such as nontraditional retailers, community events, social media outreach, and nonprofit organizations, just to name a few. Nontraditional retailers are retailers for whom books are not a primary source of inventory. One of my favorite book sales was actually to Crate & Barrel. I was working for a reference publisher at the time and had been pitching every high-end cookbook on our list. The buyer rejected everything I put in front of her for over a year until I finally decided to be creative and sneak in an aroma therapy book. The buyer purchased six thousand units with the first order and twenty-five thousand units throughout the life of the book. It was a sale we had not anticipated and actually ended up being the catalyst for creating a special sales department that concentrated exclusively on nontraditional retail accounts. This department focused on bundling books with products retailers already carried in their stores. While the selling process can take much longer with a nontraditional retail store, if they happen to bite, the rewards are worth the wait. If you have a cookbook, consider culinary shops; if you have a children’s book, consider toy stores; if you have a book about a local sports team, talk to local department stores; if your book is inspirational, self-help, or a picture book, consider stores like Hallmark and Global Gifts. Locally owned nontraditional retailers are often more willing to carry local artists, and the opportunities can be limitless, so be creative when thinking about your positioning.
When I was researching for this article, I went to my web browser and typed in my home city and state to search local and current events. Since I live in the Midwest and it’s currently a frozen tundra, I expected few results. But to my surprise, I found site after site of extensive event calendars that included book fairs, farmer’s markets, chamber of commerce events, genre-related fairs and shows, health and fitness shows, children’s resource fairs, international fairs, gun and knife shows, home and garden shows, and craft fairs. All of these are places you might be able to sell books. Most of the local events welcome local artists and businesses. First-time attendees are often offered discounted booth space to encourage them to participate. But make sure you do your planning and know what events are happening in your area ahead of time, as some events fill up quickly and don’t allow for last minute additions.
No matter how or where you decide to sell your book and no matter if you’re traditionally published, self-published, or supported self-published, social media are the quickest, easiest, and most affordable means of transmitting your message and driving fans to purchase your book. According to a recent key research report, for the first time in history, the internet has surpassed television as the main news source for people between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine. It also is quickly becoming the primary news source for individuals between the ages of thirty and forty-nine and is expected to surpass television for this age group in the next two years. The way we communicate and receive information has changed drastically in the last five years and continues to change at record speed. Social media don’t have to be a way of life, but they need to be something you’re learning and actively engaging in if you need to get your message to the masses in a time-efficient and affordable way. Social media have removed traditional media as the gatekeepers. You are now in control of your overall message—its frequency, timing, and exposure. At no other time in history have authors had this kind of control and these kinds of resources at their fingertips.
But is all of this just too much, unmanageable, unrealistic? Well, it can certainly seem that way. That’s why we start with the basics: Twitter, blogging, and Facebook. If you have something to say, blog about it. Try to find like-minded individuals to follow and engage with you; look for them on Twitter. Are you looking for a place to direct readers to purchase your book and post interesting ideas and articles that allow you to engage people one-on-one? Then start using Facebook. It’s the quickest and easiest way for you to start engaging your audience today. Social media isn’t the end all be all of marketing your book, but it is a great place to start engaging the contacts you already have while meeting and reaching out to others that you would never find otherwise.
While getting your book into your favorite national bookstore chain isn’t impossible, you should know the facts about the obstacles that you might encounter along the way. When pitching to traditional retailers, remember to follow their instructions for submission to the letter, be kind, be polite, be patient, and have a backup plan should you encounter rejection. Be creative and consider nontraditional retailers as an option. Check out local events that are appropriate for your participation. And remember to lead with social media in your marketing plan and sales strategy. There will be times when this industry, and especially retail, will break your heart, because it doesn’t seem like it should be this hard to sell a book. But stay focused on your dream. Be specific and realistic about your goals. Make a plan. Be persistent. Don’t be afraid to engage your immediate and extended community. Be strong and courageous in this adventure. Your time is now. Good luck, and happy selling.