The Unexpected Book For Sale
By W. Terry Whalin
http://www.right-writing.com/
I arrived to the restaurant for my lunch meeting a few minutes early so I went into the nearby Borders. Whenever I enter one of the big box stores, I always like to see the "for sale" material in the entry. For example, I found an audio book by a former President of the United States for only $5.99 and it probably originally retailed for $29.95. Many people outside of publishing don't realize these products are on the path of destruction. If they aren't sold, they will be returned to the publisher and destroyed. As much as I love books, I hate to think about it but it's the reality for unsold products.
As I glanced through the various books, I was surprised to find several copies of Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder by Herschel Walker. The original sticker price of $20.95 was on this book but now it was priced at $2.99.
While holding the book in my hand, I was instantly transported to the last time I held this particular book about eight months ago or last April. In New York City, I spent a day with editors at a number of publishing houses. An editor at a Simon and Schuster imprint showed a copy of Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder. It was his first book at the publishing house and he barely allowed me to hold it for a minute explaining, "This book is embargoed until it's release and Herschel will be on Good Morning America talking about it."
Some books are embargoed where retailers are specifically forbidden to sell the book ahead of a certain release date and Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder fell into this category and the publisher had high hopes for the title. It was totally unexpected to see this book for sale as a remainder in Borders.
There are several lessons for any book author or potential book author from my brief experience. First, many authors are dreaming about a major publishing house to take their book proposal or book manuscript and bring it into the bookstore. Those major publishers are impatient for success with their books and often give is a small window to perform in terms of sales or they put it out of print. With a single letter to the author from the publisher, a book can be put out of print and the remainders sold. The smaller publishes are often more patient with authors and keep their books in print for a much longer period of time.
Also remember as a book author, it is all about book sales. An appearance on national television does not make a promotion campaign for a book. The marketing and promotion process is continual for any author who wants to find their audience. Some times books take a while to locate that audience. As the author, you have the greatest passion (and responsibility) for your own book promotion. Yes, you may prefer to be writing the next book but never forget the books in print and the need for a steady stream of sales.
Another lesson is that not every book succeeds in the marketplace--even a name brand sports figure. Publishers gather the best information at the time and make a decision. Some books succeed unexpectedly and others flounder and disappear.
As a book author, you have to be aware of the massive amount of new books and backlist books in the marketplace. There is a continual need to be telling people about your book and it's availability to generate those sales. I love the famous saying from P.T. Barnum in the front of Raleigh Pinskey's fascinating bestseller, 101 Ways To Promote Yourself. "Barnum is the father of a well-known marketing cry, 'Without promotion something terrible happens--nothing!'"
You can't control the future for how the marketplace will receive your books. Instead be committed to doing what you can do.
Other good book links:
Book Crossing: http://www.bookcrossing.com/
This is a brilliant concept of making books available through the internet. Members can post details of exactly where they have left a book and then others can pop round and collect if it is in their area. Restaurants and Pubs often serve as Book Crossing transfer points and one can pick up a valuable title right there when you have your meal.
Well worth looking into. It enables books to be on the move and enjoyed by many, without having to go through a lenthy process of purchase and waiting for the post to arrive. The Book Crossing site has many other features.
Take a look.... Book Crossing http://www.bookcrossing.com/
Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/
It has been great making this discovery. Their service is excellent and they offer free postage internationally... really good deal. Their site is fascianting too and they stock a huge range of titles. Really recommend them to you - give them a try.... I recently was looking for the book "Three Cups of Tea" which is an excellent story by the way, and as is my normal procedure I checkout on the Book Head - a price comparison site http://www.bookhead.co.uk/ To my surprsie I discovered that The Book Depository had the best price for a new copy and no postage. So you know what happened from then on.
About The Book Depository
The Book Depository is the UK's largest dedicated online bookseller offering the largest range of titles in the world, available for dispatch within 48 hours. Founded in 2004 to make 'All Books To All' we focus on selling 'less of more' rather than 'more of less', differentiating ourself from other retailers who increasingly focus on bestsellers.
All books available to All
Currently, The Book Depository is able to ship over 2.5 million unique titles, within 48 hours, from our fulfillment centre in Gloucester, United Kingdom. This figure is increasing everyday. Apart from publishers, distributors and wholesalers, we even list and supply books from other retailers!
Free Worldwide Delivery
The Book Depository is an international bookseller shipping our books free of charge, worldwide, to nearly 90 countries. By working with various world postal authorities and other carriers, we are always looking to add more countries to this list and will work to do so in the future.
Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/ http://www.amazon.com/
Of course this ever expanding company is still very much at the heart of the book industry. I find their service good and have used them for some time. However, I am now using the Book Head and Book Depository route first just to see where the best bargains are happening.
BookHead http://www.bookhead.co.uk/
This is an excellent book price comparison site. I've used it to advantage on several occasions.
Remember to check out the Short-on-ideas blog page
