Source: http://goarticles.com/article/Book-Buyers-UK/7413318/

Book-Buyers.co.uk lists all the bestselling titles of guides and all from top authors and book merchants at the cheapest book prices online on one convenient website, linking you direct to the most trusted and secure book retailers on the web and offering outstanding value. I am a small business located in the Kirklees area offering a extensive variety of reading material and, a feedback system if you cannot find what you are looking for within.

Book Buyers.co.uk is your go-to online store committed to supporting you locate interesting and social reading matter and textbooks you want to read without having to browse through hundreds of other merchants to find them. Book-Buyers will only send you to the most reputable book outlets on the net, ensuring anything you invest in will be of the best quality and at the most competitive price ranges.

You can come across listings for bestselling book publications in all categories from fiction, classics and romance to reference books, poetry and drama. Don’t have the time or space to read a physical guide on the go? No issue, Book-Buyers has listings for the very best in audiobooks and Kindle as well, meaning you are guaranteed to find exactly what you are trying to find at the most competitive prices online.

Use Book-Buyers as your very first port of call when searching for any novel or school textbook, as our listings cover almost anything you may be trying to find, linking you direct to the merchants web page where you can make your sale and shop in safety, safe and sound in the knowledge that only reputable suppliers are linked by Book-Buyers. Buying with us doesn’t cost you anything and can help you to evaluate the top prices out there, as well as keeping you in the know about any new works of literature from your preferred author, or deals from your preferred shops.

To use Book-Buyers, just search for the book you are seeking in the search box to have results come up straight away, or if you are not certain and just fancy something engaging to read you can browse all of our categories to uncover something fantastic for you. You’ll find the required details of the e-book, such as title, price, a small picture of the cover and a brief description, permitting you to get a good idea of the textbooks you want to buy before committing to anything. From here you can either select your purchases from just one shop or use our site as a landing pad between numerous sites with different prices. With such a wide selection of great prices you might find yourself coming away with a few bargains as well!

Any queries or worries you may have can be handled by the store on their own web site, as Book Buyers is simply a forwarding site which allows you to make your choices before heading over to the retail site. This saves you time and energy, as well as assisting you to discover the products you want in as hassle free a way as possible.

If you have enjoyed reading through this section of books, then please circulate the website details to friends, family and colleagues so that they can also enjoy the selection of books. Whether it’s for school, personal or business related reading, there is likely to be something for everyone in here and, just buying one book regularly can stimulate your mind as well as increase your wealth of knowledge and enjoyment on any given interest.

And finally on a personal note: this also helps a small business to continue delivering the pleasure of books whether its audiobooks, ebooks, paperback or hardback books to people everywhere. My aim is to continue to build on this site and constantly update you with the latest special offers and top selling releases and bestsellers in order to maintain a topical collection of all the best that the book world and publishers have to offer so, feel free to send any constructive feedback as I will be adopting a continuous improvement policy and, a big thank you to all who have taken the time to read this and also to anyone who has placed an order: I hope your products bring you the greatest of pleasure now and in the future. http://www.book-buyers.co.uk

Book Buyers UK Online shopping for the biggest choice of Books, Magazines, Music, DVDs, Videos, CD and Audiobooks http://www.book-buyers.co.uk

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Source: http://goarticles.com/article/Top-7-Different-Ways-To-Make-Money-With-Your-Books/7484525/

One of the most astounding discoveries I made while writing and selling books was the fact that the sales from direct book sales should not be the main or the only source of revenue for authors. This was new to me before I ventured into the book selling business. I used to think I can only make money with my books only if I can sell lots of copies of it. In fact, this misplaced thoughts actually deprived me of catching on some opportunities at the early stage of my book business.

I will be using this money making articles to show you Top 7 Different Ways To Make Money With Your Books. These are interesting ways you can use your books to rake in lots of revenue for yourself. The money from the sales of your book should actually be the least revenue source for your book.

I have practically used most of these book selling tips.

1. Direct Book Sales

This is very common. Most authors have relied on this as their main source of income. Just like I mentioned above this should not be so. However, this is still a good source of revenue for your book especially if you know how to distribute or market your books. Writing your book is the first step in your book business, publishing it is another step, distributing or selling it is another and it is a very important one.

You can’t make money from your books sales if you don’t have ways of putting it in the hands of people who will pay you cash in exchange for your book.

Strategies in direct book sales or book marketing are beyond the scope of this.

2. Distribute a Free Report

You can package your book and give it away as a free report or as a free book download on your website. Well you may be wondering how you can make money when you are giving out your book as a free report. There are simple and sure ways to make money using this strategy:

- You can use your free report to show your expertise and advertise your existing books or yet to be published book.

- You can use your free report to give publicity to your brand or organisation. You can visit our website to see what I am using free reports to do.

- You can include affiliate links in your report and encourage your readers to visit the links. An affiliate business is one that will give you the opportunity to sell other people’s products to earn a commission on each sale. There are many website online offering affiliate opportunities to visitors to their websites. Most of them offer free subscription.

- You can use your free book download to build a customer base. Place the report on your website using an auto responder form. When visitors come to your website to pick the report, they are asked to leave their contact information and expect an auto response from you containing the link to the book. Though, they are collecting this report free of charge, they may become paying customers in the future. You can always contact them with the contact information they left with you.

3. Start a Blog

A blog is an online diary where experts put their thoughts for the people to read. Blogging is big business now. Authors are now running blogs to show their expertise to the public and to promote their books. People will readily buy from an author they have read from on many occasions and the one they know is an authority on his subject. If you have written a book, you can break the book down into several articles and place them on your blog to showcase your expertise and also to promote future books.

Blogging can be a very rewarding exercise if you can make yourself to post consistently on it and show to your readers that you are an expert on your topic. If you combine blogging with the idea in tip 2 above, then you will be having a great sales system for your books that will make you money for a long time.

4. Distribute Articles

You can also break down your book contents into articles that you will distribute on the internet free of charge. Webmasters have used article distribution to promote their websites, products, brands etc. on the internet. They have also used them to promote affiliate products.

Webmasters have visited article submission websites to pick up these distributed articles for use on their websites. If yours are picked, it presents a wonderful opportunity for you to obtain cheap exposure for whatever you have used your articles to promote.

Therefore, instead of selling your book, you can break it down into articles and distribute them free of charge on the internet to promote other products.

5. Open Doors With Your Books

I love this strategy. I believe my books should open doors of other opportunities to me. After I published my first book, Silly Mistakes in Mathematics, lots of parents contacted me for consultancy work for their children. I made more money from these consultancy works than the money I made from the sales of the book.

I have voluntarily given my books out to experts in my industry expecting a joint venture opportunity with them. One of it gave me lots of money even before I began to sell the book. Books show you as an expert (which you are if you are the author of the book). Other experts will be willing to do business with you if they have seen your expertise on the pages of your book.

6. Show Yourself As An Authority

Sometimes, you are not directly interested in making immediate cash with your book. You just want to push a book out and distribute freely to show you as a voice in your industry. So you are just going to be distributing your books in the right places to shout out your brand to the whole world.

This may not give you immediate gains of more cash but an increased recognition in your industry will eventually make you wealthy in the nearest future.

7. Website Exposure

Lots of businesses are now going online. Web designers are having a field day designing websites for business owners. Now it is one thing to have a website online, it is another thing to bring people to it. You can use a book to give great exposure to your website by distributing it as articles or as free ebooks.

You should ensure that you persuade readers of your book to visit your website. You can put other free resources like free newsletters subscriptions, free reports etc. in your book asking readers of your free ebook to visit your website to pick them up. Your website links should be conspicuously placed at strategic positions in your ebook.

This article is part of an interesting free book, 20 Ways To Make Money With Your Books which you can download free of charge at our website.

We specialize in teaching our visitors how to make money with books. Our newsletter shares information on the following: importance of books, how to download free books online, latest books and literature news. It also gives out free books every month to its subscribers. Interesting information like author reviews, book reviews, excellent novels, news about best amazon books and many more. You can claim a free book, 20 Ways To make Money with Your Book at http://www.rocktech.biz/bookcash
Free online resources at http://www.rocktech.biz

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Source: http://www.adzines.com/Book-Marketing-Articles/Top-5-Book-Selling-Tips/6440

TIP # 1

Online reviews are paramount in importance when it comes to drawing attention to your book. And the best part is, you’re in control of your own destiny!

If you haven’t yet submitted your own review on sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, what are you waiting for? This should be one of the first steps for every published author.

Encourage other family members and friends to review the book, too. They’re inclined to be more generous than perfect strangers, but don’t underestimate the effect of any honest review. Published reviews on sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the many other sites Outskirts Press books appear demonstrates interest in your book. And that’s a good thing! Post a review for your book today, and ask others to do likewise.

TIP #2

Enhance your online listing with Amazon.com by participating in their “Search Inside the Book Program.”

Sign up to join this revolutionary new way to merchandise your book on Amazon.com. When customers search for books on Amazon.com, actual words from inside your book – not just the author or title – are engaged to return the best possible matches. With this powerful new search feature, customers can discover books that may never have surfaced in previous search results!

With “Search Inside the Book,” customers can also browse sample pages and do additional searches inside a particular book to confirm that the title is just what they’re looking for. All of this helps authors like you sell more books.

Once you sign Amazon’s Publisher Participation Agreement and are accepted into the program, you will need to provide Amazon.com with a physical copy of each book you would like to include in the program.

TIP #3

Become an “expert” in your field and book sales will follow. It’s true that promoting a book requires a great amount of resolve, but it is also true that working smarter, rather than harder, can help reap those rewards.

By projecting yourself as an “expert” in the genre in which you write, you can open new doors for networking, doors that often remain shut without that expertise status.

How does one go about making himself or herself an expert? Easy! You already are one. The name on your published book proves it. Now just use that book as a calling card to line-up speaking engagements, freelance writing gigs, and other opportunities at a variety of venues.

Two good places to begin are AOL and the ABOUT.COM information network. Both have category-specific forums in which you can participate, and by mentioning that you are the “Author of such-and-such” within the scope of your communication, you begin to label yourself as an expert to fellow participants.

Being recognized as an expert in a technical or “non-fiction” category is admittedly easier than the largely subjective category of “fiction expert” but even if you have written a work of fiction, becoming a recognized expert is conceivable.

Whether you’ve penned poetry, horror, or romance, there is a forum in which to voice your opinion. The Internet is full of chat rooms, use groups, genre-sites, and more – all thirsty for content from published writers. You just have to know where to look. Start selling books tomorrow by being an expert today.

TIP #4

“Pay For Performance” internet advertising is making big waves lately. While most search engines feature such sponsored links, there are currently only a number of engines providing the back-end technology, and of those, only one serves the majority of search engines used by the public: Overture.

The way pay-for-performance (or p4p) works is simple. You bid on search terms (either words or phrases or a combination of both). Your webpage link then appears in search engine results relative to the price of the bid. If you’re the highest bidder, your webpage appears at the absolute TOP of many search engines. Remember the frustration of typing in a search for your webpage and never finding your link? No longer!

But that’s not even the best part. The best part is this – you only pay if someone actually clicks on your link. And since you’ve defined the search term, the people clicking on your link are already predisposed toward your subject. In essence, they’re already pre-sold.

Let’s look at an example. Say you’ve published a mystery novel about the death of a land baron in Louisiana. Not exactly a new plot, and yet millions of “whodunit” readers would be anxious to read it. Your solution? Open an Overture account and bid on search terms like “Louisiana Mystery Novel” and “Mystery Book Plantation” and similar terms. Counter-intuitively, the more vague the term, the better, since very specific searches deliver very motivated buyers to your page, and since you’re paying for each click, you want those people to buy!

That brings us to the down-side. You have to be very careful managing your bids, or it can be expensive. Do not bid on ridiculously vague and popular words like “book” because you will never recoup your money. Instead, focus your search terms as specifically as possible.

If you’ve been clamoring for more traffic to your free Outskirts Press webpage, Overture may be just your ticket. To sign-up, click below. They’ll even give you a $10 credit to begin. Visit Overture at their website for more information.

Tip #5

Use ebooks to help promote and sell your paperback or hardback edition.

Think of e-books as a teaser. With a lower purchase price and more immediate gratification, many people are inclined to give an e-book a try when they might pass on a traditional paperback. Furthermore, if they like the e-book, 80% of people end up purchasing the “real” book, too!

There are three schools of thought concerning the way in which e-books should be sold.

1. Some believe that e-books should have a very low purchase price, somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.00 for the entire book.
2. Other believe that e-books should only contain excerpts, or sample chapters of the full book, and that they should be provided for free.
3. Still others believe that e-books best serve their purpose when the entire e-book is given away. This encourages word of mouth about the author and the book, which in turn helps support additional book sales and really shows dividends when a subsequent book is published by the same author.

Whichever course you follow, there is little doubt that e-books are beneficial to your promotion efforts. If you don’t yet have an e-book, what are you waiting for?

Brent Sampson is the President & CEO of Outskirts Press Publishing at OutskirtsPress.com and author of Publishing Gems: Insider Information for the Self-Publishing Writer. Information at http://outskirtspress.com/publishinggems

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Source: http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/2011/06/how-much-should-you-price-your-e-book.html

In today’s post, I want to take a shot at the question that everyone seems to be asking, and answering, these days: How much should you price your e-book? Perhaps the real question beneath the surface is really, “Should I price my e-book at $0.99?” For those who are following the success of John Locke, you’ll know that this is literally the million dollar question. (For a great commentary on the John Locke pricing question, check out Steven Lewis’ post, John Locke is an idiot – LA Times).

Here’s the gist of the pricing issue as I understand it. Amazon pays you a royalty of 70% on all Kindle titles priced between $2.99 and $9.99. For e-books priced below $2.99 and above $9.99, Amazon pays a royalty of 35%.

That means, the least you can price your book to get the 70% royalty is $2.99, which will yield you a net royalty of $2.09 per sale. If you opt to price your book at $0.99, then you’ll get 35 cents per sale. In order to get $2.09 in royalties with a book priced at $0.99, you’ll have to sell 6 books.

Let’s look at these numbers in a different way. If you sell 1000 books at $2.99, then you’ll make $2,090. If you are contemplating a price drop to $0.99, then you’ll have to sell 5972 books to make the same net royalties you did when it was priced at $2.99.

If only book math were so straightforward, our decisions would be easy. But the strait royalty calculations are only one factor in the success of a book. Why do some author’s price their book at $0.99 when the math seems to be so against that model? Consider these factors:

• A lower price can help a reader take a chance on a book that looks interesting- If you are an unknown author trying to build your readership base, then a lower price point can literally be the difference in someone making an impulse decision to buy your book or not. The higher you price your book, the less the impulse and more thought has to go into the decision to pick up your book. While $2.99 doesn’t sound like a lot, it does mean the difference between 1 book and 3 books for the purchaser.
• You’re sales don’t have to increase by 6X’s to move on the Amazon best selling lists- On Amazon, as your book sales increase, your best-selling rank increases as well. This can become another influence on a reader to try your book. So, a drop to $0.99 may cause you to rise in the ranking and gain visibility there, visibility you might not have gotten if you kept your book price higher.
• You can get more visibility on Amazon as your book sales increase- When you visit your book page, you’ll see a section that says “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought.” The real value for you is when your book appears in that section on other successful books. Amazon will list up to 100 books in this section and readers will often scroll through that list to discover other books that look interesting. Again, a drop of $0.99 may be the catalyst to increase your sales enough to land you in that section on some popular books.

So, there are some of the big reasons to consider dropping your Kindle book price to $0.99. There are some authors who make a living, and very nice living– no, a VERY, VERY nice living by pricing their books at $0.99. But the thing to keep in mind is that pricing is only one factor in the success of a book. There is no guarantee that if you drop your book price to $0.99, then the sales will come. That’s why it’s important to continue to market your book and actively seek out ways to get it in front of new readers.

We are in a fluid environment when it comes to e-book pricing. Things are so new, and changing so rapidly, that pricing strategies can be outdated in the blink of an eye. One of the great things for authors who self-publish their e-book is the ability to change their book price, test different price points and react to the market demand. With a few clicks of the mouse, you can change your e-book pricing strategy overnight.

So, how much should you price your e-book? I wish I could give you a conclusive answer, but I can’t. It depends on your genre, your commitment to marketing, and the winds of the marketplace at any given moment. With Amazon’s sample feature, readers can also download a free sample of your book, the equivalent of flipping through the book at a bookstore. That means that the quality and entertaining value of your book is more important than ever. A poorly written book may not sell at any price. While I may not have concrete answers for you, here are some guidelines I feel comfortable suggestion to you:

• If you are a new author who doesn’t have a readership, lowering your price may help you find sales you would not get otherwise.
• If you have a series, you may want to lower the first book in the series to entice people to give you a try. Other books can then be priced higher because you are no longer a new author to those who have purchased your book.
• Never be afraid to change the price of your book, up or down, to adjust to the market. However, if you are seeing success at one price, think hard before trying to cash in on a higher price. You don’t want to kill the momentum of your sales which may be a hard thing to restart if you do.

Good luck with your e-book pricing strategies. As I said before, it’s an exciting time to be an author!

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Source: http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/2010/05/selling-your-book-to-specialty.html

by Tony Eldridge

Do you fret over getting your book in every bookstore? That’s understandable, but do yourself a favor and don’t forget about other locations that can proudly display and sell your books.

I have successfully sold copies of my book, The Samson Effect, in bookstores as well as gas stations, lumber yards, print/mail shops, and accountant’s offices just to name a few.

Recently Dana Lynn Smith interviewed me and three other authors who have been successful in selling books to a variety of non-book retailers. In her comprehensive article, How to Sell Books to Gift Shops and Specialty Retailers, you’ll learn:

• What type of stores may be a good fit for your book
• Tips for locating and contacting retailers
• How displays and promotions help sell books
• What type of re-seller discounts and sales terms to consider

This article will also be featured in an upcoming issue of The Independent, published by the Independent Book Publishers Association, but you can check it out now. There really is a lot of great stuff by good book marketers that you can learn.

And just an FYI, tomorrow I am releasing another video for my newsletter subscriber where I share 10 Twitter Tips and Tricks that I use to enhance my Internet exposure. If you want to view this video, make sure you sign up for my free Video Marketing Tips newsletter and I will e-mail you the link to the video as soon as it’s up.

Tony Eldridge is the author of the action/adventure book, The Samson Effect, that Clive Cussler calls a “first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure” and the Twitter marketing book,Conducting Effective Twitter Contests which helps people find targeted Twitter followers. He also shares his book marketing tips with fellow authors through his blog and through his free video marketing tips for authors. You can follow him on Twitter @TonyEldridge

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Source: http://www.adzines.com/Book-Marketing-Articles/Navigating-the-Amazon-Sales-Ranking/6441

First, the disclaimers: Since the algorithm Amazon uses to generate its sales ranking is proprietary, the details contained herein are extrapolated from research and field tests. The resulting consensus finds Amazon’s system to provide marginal sales data at best.

To whit, read Amazon’s own definition of its system, slightly paraphrased from their FAQ: “The Sales Ranking system exhibits how books are selling. The lower the number, the higher the sales. The calculation is based on sales and is updated each hour to reflect recent and historical sales of every item sold. We hope you find the Amazon.com Sales Rank interesting!” This last sentence seems to indicate Amazon’s own perspective on the importance with which the sales rankings should be viewed.

You’re not supposed to find the sales rankings informative or helpful. You’re supposed to find them interesting.

In actuality, the process is somewhat more convoluted than they let on. Only the top 10,000 books are updated every hour and the ranking does not depend upon the actual number of books sold, but rather, on a comparison against the sales figures of the other 9,999 books within that same hour. Simultaneously, a trending calculation is applied to arrive at a computerized sales trajectory. So, hypothetically, a book that held a ranking of 2,000 at 2pm and 3,000 at 3pm, might hold a 4,000 ranking at 4pm, even if it actually sold MORE books between 3-4 than it did between 2-3.

Books with rankings between 10,000 and 100,000 are recalculated once a day, rather than once an hour. Current projections, as well as historic sales information play a key role in these calculations. In fact, the predictive nature of the Amazon ranking system is what makes it possible for a newly-released book to outrank an older established title, even though the actual sales figures for the latter far exceed the former.

Books with rankings over 100,000 are also recalculated every day and applied with historic sales information and projections, although in the case of these books, history takes a back seat. Sales projections and trending take an active role here, which is why a book’s ranking can leap from 900,000 to 200,000 in the span of 24 hours or less. Does this mean the book has sold 700,000 copies in 24 hours? Absolutely not! What it does mean is that recent activity (i.e. purchases) for that book is trending higher than those 700,000 books it just surpassed. But, don’t get excited just yet; since the activity of those 700,000 other books range from slow to stagnant, one or two orders are sufficient to catapult a ranking.

If a book’s ranking breaks into the top 100,000, the sales history calculation starts to rear its head, which is why a “phenomenon” book has a hard time maintaining a high, legitimate ranking. A phenomenon is defined by a book that leaps from the high hundred-thousands into the lower thousands (or better) in the span of 24 hours or less, usually due to some concentrated marketing initiatives. Since Amazon’s sales history for that title doesn’t support the leap, the spike occurs and then quickly drops again.

HOW DOES ALL THIS TRANSLATE TO ACTUAL SALES FIGURES?

Since the data is recalculated every hour and/or every day (depending upon a book’s current ranking), it’s impossible to get cumulative sales figures, although those figures are applied to the algorithm during the calculation. No, to get a very rough idea of the actual number of books being sold, the sales ranking has to be dissected dynamically, with the same immediacy as the ranking being calculated, (hourly for top 10,000 books or daily for top 100,000 books). Chart the ranking of a top 10,000 book every hour for 24 hours and divide by 24 to arrive at its average daily ranking. In the case of a top 100,000 book, take its ranking every day for 7 days and divide by 7 to arrive at its average weekly ranking.

Bear in mind that this next piece of information is extremely arbitrary, based upon sales ranking/sales figure comparisons and data received from third party sources. In other words, it’s probably completely wrong. But rather than disclaiming this chart until the cows come home, I’ll just say this: It is difficult to make sense of something that doesn’t make sense. But it sure is interesting, and now, perhaps, even slightly helpful.

If the book’s average ranking is:

• 2,000,000-plus, then perhaps a single inventory/consignment copy has been ordered.
• 1,000,000-plus, the current trends indicate total sales will most likely be under 40.
• 100,00-plus, then current trends indicate total sales will most likely be under 200.
• 10,000-plus, you can estimate between 1 – 10 copies are being sold per week.
• 1,000-plus, you can estimate between 10 – 100 copies are being sold per week.
• 100-plus, you can estimate between 100 – 200 copies are being sold per week.
• 10-plus, you can estimate between 200 – 1000 copies are being sold per week.
• In the top 10, you can estimate over 1,000 copies are per week

Brent Sampson is the President & CEO of Outskirts Press Publishing at OutskirtsPress.com and author of Publishing Gems: Insider Information for the Self-Publishing Writer. Information at http://outskirtspress.com/publishinggems

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Source: http://www.go-publish-yourself.com/archive/articles/book-marketing/rossm2.php

Written by: Marilyn and Tom Ross

Want to move into the big time? Many creative small presses and self-publishers are discovering a practical path for penetrating bigger “establishment” trade houses. They bring out a quality book, market it successfully, then allow a trade publisher to buy the rights. While this sounds patently simple, it isn’t. But it does often work. How do you accomplish such a victory?

Your best ammunition is a good, well-focused book. By good we mean one that has been meticulously edited and attractively crafted. Is the cover striking and clear? Has the interior designer laid out the book so it is appealing to the eye and simple to use? A well-focused book meets a specific need and is distinguishable from similar titles in one or more distinct ways. Outflank the competition by making your book more complete, more useful, or more unique.

Now that you have a quality product, go on the offensive and sell the heck out of it! Tap into every possibility for free PR—get reviews and author interviews—cultivate that all-important word-of-mouth. Place ads in specially targeted media and, if your book retails for $25 or more, consider launching a consumer direct mail campaign. Seek every opportunity to develop momentum for your title.

What does it take to interest a large trade publisher or an aggressive mid-sized house? An impressive print package and a strong sales track record. When you have that delightful duo you’re bargaining from a position of power. You’re offering a proven product; the risks have already been taken.

Research to determine who publishes your kind of book. First, look in Literary Market Place under “Book Publishers.” There is an index at the end of the section telling who publishes in what genre. Writer’s Market also has a very useful subject cross index. Second, call and get the name and correct spelling of the appropriate current editor. Next, request their current catalog. (Many will have toll-free ordering numbers you can use.) Now study the catalogs. Look for books with similar subject matter. Often you can show how your book will complement another title on their list. Or perhaps you’ll detect an obvious void you title would fill.

Now go to a large bookstore and carefully explore your subject area. Again, tune into relevant titles. The reason we succeeded in selling our Big Marketing Ideas for Small Service Businesses to Dow Jones-Irwin was because we saw their Service America while doing homework at Denver’s Tattered Cover Bookstore. We suggested our book be positioned with it.

Now develop a proposal with pizzazz. Tell how the book meets a present need and why it is different. Give them your sales figures. Include copies of reviews, large purchase orders, and newspaper interviews. This is what we did to sell Writer’s Digest Books the rights to our Complete Guide to Self-Publishing.

When negotiating a contract, you may find it makes sense to bargain in person rather than just by mail, email, and phone. This allows you to “read” the other person better, and more quickly consummate a deal. Otherwise, contracts usually go back and forth several times. Sometimes they even falter and collapse. We feel sure the five-figure advance we negotiated for one of our books would have been considerably smaller had we depended on a less personal form of communication.

The negotiation process should be a win/win proposition. Think about what you would like to have—and what you must have. But be willing to compromise. There is no way around it: Publishers Row has some sacred cows. They aren’t going to alter their position on certain issues for you or anyone else. Be reasonable in your expectations, but firm in explaining what you must have.

The success stories using this springboard technique could go on and on. Last year Putnam came out with Breaking into the Boardroom, a book we helped a client privately publish in 1986 and for which St. Martins ultimately bought the paperback rights. What Color is Your Parachute, How to Avoid Probate, and The Elements of Style are other classic examples of self-published works that zoomed to stardom. So if you want to fatten your wallet, consider pursuing a trade publisher to pick up the rights to your proven product.

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© Copyright 2004 Marilyn and Tom Ross

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Marilyn and Tom Ross are the coauthors of 13 books including the best-selling Complete Guide to Self-Publishing and the award-winning Jump Start Your Book Sales. Through phone consultations and ongoing coaching/mentoring, Marilyn empowers authors and self-publishers to realize their dreams. She can be reached at 719-395-8659 or Marilyn@MarilynRoss.com. Visit http://www.SelfPublishingResources.com and sign up for their FREE monthly ezine on how to make more money selling books—plus get your FREE downloadable copy of “15 Smart Strategies for Self-Publishing Success.” Order books by calling 800-331-8355.

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We’re all susceptible to the impulse purchase. That’s why the grocery and discount stores line the checkout lanes with goodies to catch your eye. It works – you buy more.

Put this human impulse to work in your favor by using point-of-purchase displays to put your books in direct line of sight of people with their wallets already out of their pockets. We sell outdoor recreation guidebooks to trails for hiking, bicycling, and skiing. We’ve gotten them displayed on checkout counters in bike shops, gift shops, nature centers, wineries, coffee shops, and even gas stations.

When we make a sales call we offer a free plastic counter-top display stand if they buy 5 or more books. With the stand (and some not-so-subtle suggestions), nine times out of ten, our books end up being displayed on the checkout counter. We tape a business card to the back of the stand, which gives the owner of the shop quick access to our reorder phone number.

Of course, some shop owners say no – their counters are too crowded already. But, the ones who say yes end up selling many more books and we make our minimal investment in the display stand back very quickly. I’ve seen this work for other genres of books also. Target which stores you approach with the free book stand idea carefully. If your book appeals to grandparents, target stores where grandparents shop. If your book is historical (fiction or non-fiction) target stores where people interested in that history might shop.

Don’t limit your thinking to book shops. As I mentioned, even gas stations worked for us and ours were the only books they had ever carried. Think about what shops might by visited by your specific customers, then make a sales pitch to the shop owner. Offering a book stand is sometimes the tipping point that gets them to say yes rather than no.

We also use book stands to give our books a lift at festivals, book signings and seminars. We’ve spent time and money to get there, and often shelled out money for the honor of setting up our table. If we spread our books on the table (as I’ve watched many authors do) and sit back as people wander past, sending only a fleeting glance toward our table, an opportunity is lost. Instead, we capture that opportunity by using display stands to set our books upright at various heights. We’ve invested in designing captivating covers so we display them front-out to passers-by and let their glance light upon our covers, enticing them over for a closer look. This works well, even if you’re not an aggressive marketer. Some authors can engage people in conversation as they walk by, but many of us are too shy to do it successfully. Whether you’re shy or aggressive, displaying books on stands helps to entice potential customers to your table.

And, if you’re giving a talk or workshop, having your books on display stands on a table in the back of the room is much more noticeable to attendees. They’re more likely to see them upon entering the room and stop to browse. Browsing often turns into buying.

Try it. Use book stands to leverage your book’s exposure at retail stores and at upcoming festivals, exhibits, and book signings.  Increase impulse purchases and watch your sales increase.

Written by Sue Freeman

Sue Freeman is the publisher of Footprint Press, Inc. (www.footprintpress.com) and the owner of DisplayStands4You.com (www.displaystands4you.com).

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Developing a support system of your peers makes complete sense. Networking with other authors and small publishers provides mental stimulation, emotional comfort, and a source for getting your questions answered. Find a writing group or publishing association in your area, or organize one if none exists. The collective promotional ideas will amaze you. You may also find someone willing to serve as an informal mentor, guiding you toward greater heights in this exciting venture.

Capitalizing on contacts is a surefire way to expand awareness of your book. Alert friends, relatives, acquaintances, and business associates about your “new baby.” They may know someone who produces a local TV show or be able to put you in touch with an organization that would be interested in making bulk purchases. There is a “six degrees of separation” rule that connects all of us. That means anyone you would care to meet is only six people away from you. Start asking who knows whom!

But don’t stop there. Tell the main newspaper in the city of your birth that a native son or daughter made good. If your parents, children, or brothers and sisters have influence in their hometown, see if you can ride on their names to get mention in a newspaper column or maybe even a feature story or author profile by telephone.

Cultivate word-of-mouth buzz

Anything you can do to get people talking about your book is like money in the bank. The most baffling and elusive element in a book’s success is word-of-mouth. Statistics from a Gallup poll bring this point quickly into focus: When asked why they bought fiction, 4 percent of the respondents said it was because of ads in magazines and newspapers; book reviews fared only slightly better. By contrast, 27 percent bought because they were familiar with the author and 26 percent because a friend or relative recommended the book. Powerful testimony to word-of-mouth.

Said the former president of B. Dalton in an interview in the New York Times, “I would probably rate the most effective techniques for selling books as being the individual telling a friend, reviews, and the author’s ability to appear on talk shows.”

Sometimes you can turn adversity into opportunity. When the Wall Street crash struck, the financial community mourned the loss of a fortune. Meanwhile, the publishing community dreamed of a fortune to be made. Publishers across the land reached into their backlists and dusted off titles having to do with the stock market and investing. Headlines capitalized on the crash. Simon & Schuster’s new ad campaign shouted, “Brilliantly plausible . . . Horrendously disturbing . . . and starting to come true.” It’s the old story: If life gives you a lemon, make lemonade! Better yet, add salt and a lime slice and make a margarita.

Donate to charity auctions

Our friend Raleigh Pinskey suggests you donate products to charity auctions. It’s a “giving to get” philosophy that builds title recognition and goodwill. Learn about such possibilities by checking the social section or calendar listings of your local newspaper for charity events, association happenings, chamber of commerce banquets, service organizations auctions, children’s events, businessmen/businesswomen meetings, etc.

All you do is call the RSVP number and offer your book for the auction, a raffle, a gift table, goody bag, or what have you. Charitable donations always reflect positively on the giver.

By Marilyn & Tom Ross

© Copyright 2005 Marilyn Ross

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