Advice for Authors from a Bookseller’s Perspective
By Tracy Hahn-Burkett | July 30, 2015 |
Image courtesy Irina D via deviantART.com
I’m going to wear a different hat today than I usually do. (You can’t see me, but I’m taking off my writer’s hat—the one with the red-pencil holder and the built-in chocolate and coffee dispensers—and putting on another hat right now.) I’ve just completed a two-year stint as a part-time bookseller at a lovely independent bookstore. Aside from the obvious bliss of having spent two years surrounded by books and people who love them, I also came away with a new perspective regarding authors and how they approach their close allies, bookstores. I found myself with an excellent opportunity to study both the good and the bad, and I want to share with you what I learned.
Really, everything I’m going to say boils down to one thing: always be professional. This rule applies to all authors, of course. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t share my observation that the majority of the authors I met who needed a helping hand in this area were self-published authors who hadn’t made the necessary effort to understand the business they were entering.
*Write a good book and have it professionally edited. I wouldn’t write this if it didn’t still need to be said. You want your book to be the best book it can be, yes? Someone’s eyes have to be on it other than yours, and I mean someone other than your best friend/mom/spouse/etc. You’ve spent zillions of hours laboring over every word of your book, and you have to know that your eyes at some point glaze over the words and can’t pick up every flaw, every mistake, every typo. You might even miss some structural problems, never mind your personal writing tics. (Did you realize that your protagonist twists her hair over her left index finger every time she gets anxious? That was effective the first two times she did it. But the next thirty? The reader wants to rip her hair right out.)
*Understand that the bookseller wants to carry your book. For some, this might be the most surprising point of all. You and the bookseller are in the same business: convincing the public that it should be reading great books (instead of playing Trivia Crack, taking selfies and goodness knows what else). If the bookseller has a quality product to carry and market, her job is easier. So if you, the author, can approach the bookstore with a superior product–your book–and present it in a manner that demonstrates you understand the business aspect of books as well, you’ll be well on your way to establishing a mutually beneficial and lasting relationship.
*Respect the bookseller’s time and process. You came in and asked how to go about getting the store to carry your book. You were told: speak to a certain person; call Dave, email Judy, send a copy of the book to Steve, wait two weeks because it’s the holidays and the store is swamped, etc. Follow these guidelines. DON’T follow staff around the store pitching them your book, especially if they’re trying to help customers.
*Know how to do a professional pitch. What? Why? How? If you’re asking any of these questions, you’re not ready. There are literally hundreds of articles online about pitching. Look through this website, other reputable writing and publishing sites, take a class, or simply ask Google how to pitch a book. Learn how to do a one-sentence logline, an elevator pitch, and a couple of follow-up points if either of the first two gain you an engaged audience. DO NOT run through the entire plot of your book, point by point. DO NOT launch into the story of how you came to create the book, unless that story is a no more than a couple of sentences and is essential to understanding what the book is about. Keep it short and very appealing. If the bookseller wants to know more, he will ask.
*Know your market. When the bookseller asks you who your target market is, don’t answer, “I don’t know. It’s very hard to categorize.” Lots of books cross genres, but the bookseller has to put it on the shelves somewhere. Telling her you don’t know makes the bookseller’s work more difficult and demonstrates you haven’t done your market research.
*Related to the last point: don’t say, “There aren’t any other books like this.” Yes, there are. A better strategy is to tell the bookseller how your book differs from similar books in its genre. Don’t know in which genre your book fits? See the previous point.
*Don’t begin any sentence with “I assume you” or “I’m pretty sure you” and end it with something involving the how great is the store’s desire to carry your book.
*Do be flexible. Whether you’re trying to encourage a store to carry your book, attempting to schedule an event, or make arrangements for something else, be as flexible as possible given your own time constraints. As in any other professional situation, a little give can go a long way. Remember how many other authors—both individually and via publishing reps—are competing for booksellers’ attentions.
*Don’t become angry or vengeful if the bookstore chooses not to carry your book. Yes, this actually happens. There are any number of reasons a bookstore might choose not to carry a book; it doesn’t mean the store hates you, or won’t carry local authors, or will never display a self-published book, or I don’t even know what else. It might be a reflection of the quality of your book. It might be one of any number of other reasons. Can you be mad privately for a while? Of course. Should you take public action and potentially damage your relationship with a bookstore and readers forever? Be smarter than that.
*Don’t say, “My book is a fiction novel.” Just don’t.
Remember: booksellers love books as much as you do, and they are always searching for the next book to adore and recommend to readers. Try to be an author who is easy to work with and who generates warm and fuzzy feelings in the bookseller whenever your name is mentioned. If you write a great book and make sure you are always prepared, professional and considerate, you’ll be able to establish a good working relationship that should endure throughout your career.
[coffee]
Tracy Hahn-Burkett is a writer and public policy advocate who has written everything from speeches for a U.S. senator to texts seeking proof-of-life from her kids in college. She’s published dozens of essays, columns, articles, reviews and a story, and teaches writing for advocacy. She currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband, cat, and dog, and she is revising her first novel. Her website is TracyHahnBurkett.com. You can find her on Threads as @tracyhahnburkett.
Fiction novel makes me itch. It takes all my “I love authors” self-control to not ditch every single blog pitch I get that uses this phrase without reading the rest of the email. I would imagine booksellers would cringe – or to offer to show the author the true non-fiction section of the store. ;-)
Ha! I know what you mean, Amy. And those two words do reveal a lot.
Ha ha ha! I hear you. The other one that drives me nuts is when someone’s novel is “a true story”.
What a fabulous article! And here I’m going into my first local bookstore tomorrow! Golden advice, Tracy. I’ve got the one-sentence blurb down, but hadn’t thought of some other things you mention.
I don’t suppose we are related by chance! My folks settled in Bradford VT and I have relatives all across those two states, but I don’t think we’ve met. Unless I just forgot, I have a lot of cousins… thanks for a great piece.
Thank you, Will! I’m glad it’s so timely and helpful for you.
It’s always possible we’re related, but I think the odds are low. My relatives tend to come from Brooklyn via Ellis Island. I think I’m the first to move to New England!
If you’re lucky, you’re related to the Hahns that own the vineyard in California. I’ve always wanted to be related to them. :)
Great advice and information for all new self-publish author who are trying to sell their book.
Thanks, KB.
Great insights, and so well-said Tracy! All of these points are such key common sense yet far too often overlooked. Bought you a coffee :-) Now, off to work on my fiction novel!
Ha, Sharon, you almost made me do a coffee spit-take! Thank you, and thank you so much for the coffee!
This is brilliant. I will share it widely.
Thank you so much, Erika!
Two quick follow-up point: in thinking about how to demonstrate that your self-published book is good and professionally edited, blurbs are an absolute must-have. One or 2 blurbs from some traditionally-published authors you know will go a long way toward demonstrating your book’s quality up front. Don’t know any traditionally-published authors? Yikes. Another sign that you may not be ready.
And how to present these blurbs, as well as your pitch? Create a professional sell-sheet to hand out, showcasing a short book summary, blurbs and reviews, the cover image, your headshot and a very short version of your bio.
Sharon, thank you for adding these points. They are so valuable. From what I’ve seen, presenting a package like this would go a very long way to establishing a self-published author’s seriousness and credibility.
Last week, I heard a traditionally-published author comment that she was prohibited by her publisher to add her blurb to a self-pub work. An affirmative nod from a majority of the participants left no doubt this was a common practice in the industry.
Great market intel, Tracy. Thanks for sharing it with us!
You’re welcome. Thank you for reading!
I’ve been to many bookshops (indies and local shops). Here’s some obstacles I’ve gotten when approaching local bookshop owners to take my book either on consignment or order at Ingram. They say something like “How am I going to sell your book when I can hardly sell the well-known authors on the best seller lists?” :-( Or, “We have such limited shelf space, I’ll stock one copy and if it sells in 3 months, I’ll buy another. Otherwise, you’ll have to take it back.” :-) … But then my book gets buried on a dark bottom shelf in a blur of spines at the back of the shop. How in heck will it sell down there? :-( Here’s my favorite: “I’ll do one copy on consignment for 50/50 split for ten weeks only,” … which means I actually lose money IF they sell it. :-) Thrilling!
Paula, I know this can be frustrating. And I know it’s hard, but remember that for the booksellers, this is a business. You have poured your heart and soul into your work of art, and the booksellers get this–they truly do–but if they don’t make a profit, they won’t exist anymore.
So, what can you do about this? First, get mad privately. Eat some chocolate, go for a run, do some yoga, or whatever makes you feel better. Then, try not to take it personally. Remember, the bookstore sells thousands of books, and it really can’t give each book in the store top billing. Recognize unhelpful comments for what they are (that first bookstore response you list falls into this category). Next, try to think if there’s something you can do that you haven’t already done to improve your book or your pitch, or to make your book stand out more.
Finally–and this is for everyone–if you know a bookstore owner or manager fairly well and are on good terms, offer to buy him or her a cup of coffee in exchange for an explanation of how this all works. This is research. You probably did some of this to write your book, right? Same technique. You’ll learn why some books get placed on the front tables, how consignment works, etc.
If you do all this, you won’t be guaranteed to get the results you want. But you’ll be in a much better position the next time you approach a bookstore.
Thanks, Tracy. All good advice. Absolutely, you are right. I find most booksellers don’t have time to chat much or have coffee to initiate a new author. And while I have gotten several booksellers to take on both my books (supernatural mysteries), sales at these shops are very low. Unless your book is displayed on a book stand, cover facing forward, how will a buyer discover it? Most shoppers don’t normally read through the spines of a row of book titles on a shelf. So many of us complain that our books are buried on Amazon but this is also true of bookshops. Part of this is not just how to get the bookseller to say yes to stocking your book, but also how to get them to display it so shoppers will see the cover and pick it up. Not an easy road. But we as authors know that.
Hi, Tracy:
My advice to many of my students and editing clients is this: Walk into a first-rate indie bookstore. Look around. Notice all those books. Read the jackets copy — see how interesting the books sound, how clever their concepts, how accomplished their authors. Your book has to be at least as good as many of these others, probably better. Are you up to that challenge?
If you find yourself shrinking from the task, well… that’s important. If not, let’s get to work.
I also do this myself, and ask the same question.
Great, informative post. Thanks so much. Love the new hat, but I think the old one suits you perfectly fine.
David, yes! That is excellent advice, and a perfect exercise for authors.
And thank you for that comment at the end. No worries; the hat-switching is not a permanent change!
What great advice. I wish I had seen this a couple of weeks ago when I accompanied a debut author to our local B&N, a store more than willing to support new writers, traditionally or self published. She had nothing prepared. No tips sheet. No elevator pitch. When she was turned away by the buyer, she walked around the store with copies of her book trying to get readers interested. I was so humilated. She had no clue that she behaved like an amateur and burned any future chance with B&N. Thank goodness they know me and didn’t let her behavior color my relationship with the buyer.
I will share through FB.
Thanks for commenting and sharing this with others, Betsy. I’m glad you were at least able to save your own relationship with B&N!
Good stuff, Tracy — thanks!
May I add a couple of suggestions? Do not mention Amazon. Really. Bookseller attitudes toward Amazon vary, but mentioning the company that many see as their biggest obstacle to success is not a good conversation starter.
Send in your friends. When they want to buy the book, don’t send them to Amazon or sell them a copy from the back of your car, even if you do make more money that way. If we want indies to thrive, and if we want them to carry our books, we must make sure they have customers. Shop there yourself, too. I no longer feel obliged to buy a book every time I do an event, but if I’m a first-timer at the store, I darn sure buy a book and make sure the owner/manager knows it.
Sisters in Crime’s 2015 Publishing Summit focuses on independent booksellers: Independent Bookstores: Our Partners In Crime. Here’s the report — and it’s useful for all writers, not just mystery and crime https://www.sistersincrime.org/?page=21
Thank you, Leslie. Yes, please, support indie bookstores! Where would we be without them?
I won’t get into the larger discussions here–that’s a whole other blog post. But it’s always wise to be prudent in discussing a business’s competitor when you’re speaking to a particular business, and bookstores are no exception.
Tracy-
You have a hat that dispenses coffee? Need one of those.
Great advice, starting with the most important of all: “Write a good book.” Maybe we should repeat that? Everything else hinges on it.
So much of what you say applies to the process of meeting any industry folks, including agents and editors. Pitching them may feel impossible but it’s not. They must pitch all the time. If they can do it, so can you.
Remember too, that as cold as agents, editors and booksellers may seem, there are key players who are even more picky and demanding: book consumers. They for the most part don’t even get to meet you or hear your pitch, which throws us back to the most important piece of Tracy’s advice.
“Write a good book.”
Don, if I could figure out how to manufacture and market a coffee hat, can you imagine how wealthy I’d be? :)
Thank you for echoing that first point. It IS the key to everything.
And yes, the book consumers are the toughest customers of all. The booksellers themselves have to have pitches at the ready for their favorite books, because if you can’t convince Customer X in 30-60 seconds that Book Y would be the perfect book for her, she’s probably never going to buy it. A sale lost, a terrific book not read.
And thanks for the cup of coffee!
After seeing which entries win in writing contests and which books actually get published I’ve decided that I’m not going to concern myself with getting published unless I self-publish. Instead, I’m going to keep writing until I die because it is for myself, my greatest and most discerning audience, that I write in the first place. If it happens that someone else publishes me and my books/stories sell, so be it but I have stopped being concerned about it.
Thanks for the article,Tracy.
“Do be flexible.” Good point! Thank you for great advice.
Great article with great advice.
I am small independent bookstore owner and even smaller independent publisher. My store is approached weekly (some weeks daily) by self-published authors asking how they can go about getting their books into my shop. We want their books to be well written, edited, and packaged. However, in nearly every case, these books fall short in one of these key areas. If a book LOOKS like you slapped it together at the local copy place, shoppers can tell. Any bookseller worth their salt will turn a book like this down, even if the author has a good pitch. We want to be able to hand sell our customers not just a good book, but something that looks professionally produced. Also, I turn down authors all of the time because they don’t understand the economics of bookselling. Too many authors self-publish a book without building enough of a margin into their pricing. When an author approaches me with a book, with a cover price of let’s say $15.00, and wants to sell them to me for $12.00 (because they got robbed by their printer, and paid $10.00 each for them), I find I have to spend 30 minutes explaining the economics of bookselling to them. And with each successive author who comes in, my patience is beginning to wear thin. We do want to carry your books….we really do. But like anything in business, please do some research before getting started. And as a side note…..when it comes to pricing, whatever your expected print cost is, you should be multiplying it by 4 or 5 to arrive at your cover price. This allows you to offer the book at 40-50% off the cover price to the bookseller, and still get paid yourself. Using today’s publishing methods (both traditional offset printing and digital on-demand), this should be easily attainable. And, by the way, it’s OK if a self-published or small press book costs a dollar or two more than a comparably sized mass produced book…to a point. A 200 page trade paperback novel shouldn’t cost $23.00. We’ve had a few of those lately too. Again, they were rejected. We booksellers understand the economics of smaller print runs, but we also have to be able to justify price to our customers too, and telling the customer that they have to pay twice the going rate for a novel because the author didn’t shop around at different printers won’t fly.
Anyway…thank you for the article, and I hope authors will take it to heart.
I self-published my first book in 1989 and spent a lot of time getting that book and my subsequent “The Joy of Not Working” into independent and chain bookstores. Nowadays, I wouldn’t waste my time on independent bookstores.
An independent bookstore in my hometown still owes me several hundred dollars from my books that I provided to them for a career conference several years ago. From what others tell me, this Canadian bookstore doesn’t even carry my retirement book even though it’s one of the best-selling retirement books in the U.S. That’s their problem and not mine, given that this book continues to make me a great income, one that is better than what 97 percent of corporate employees earn. (And I only work about half an hour a day.)
In short, you are right. It’s the consumers who make the final decisions and not the bookstore owners. That’s why my books (mainly self-published) have sold over 875,000 copies worldwide. The great thing is that a self-published author today does not have to depend on independent bookstores to make a great living. What it takes is an exceptional book, backed by some truly creative marketing, combined with a great relationship with Amazon.com and B&N!
Ernie J. Zelinski
“Helping Adventurous Souls Live Prosperous and Free”
Author of the Bestseller “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free”
(Over 260,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and the International Bestseller “The Joy of Not Working”
(Over 280,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)
Tracy, the whole article was solid. You especially nailed it with two key pieces of advice. Know your pitch and know your market.