Enter the bookstores
Let’s face it, regardless of the odds, we authors still want to get into bookstores. But if you’ve had a hard time with this, take heart. It is increasingly difficult to enter stores but not impossible. Let’s look at some of the possibilities here.
First, it’s important to understand the pressure stores are under right now. With the increased focus on publishers to get their authors out there, corporate offices are giving most of the orders to bookstores. New York publishers buy and pay for bookstore shelf space, which makes getting on shelves or displays a bit tricky, if not impossible. So here’s a game plan for those of you trying to survive outside of the traditional market.
1) Know your local store. I know this may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many authors don’t actually know the people at their local store. The thing is, if you know them, they know you, and when you’re ready to promote your book, they might be more open to having it in their store if you’ve taken the time to get to know them.
2) Start following the types of events they do in the store. Get a calendar of events or sign up for their email list. You will start to see trends emerge. For example, they could have an independent author night that you could participate in. Also watch out for big launches like the recent Stephanie Meyer events that many stores had planned. If you’re trying to grab a store’s attention when they’re in the middle of a major book launch, chances are they’ll ignore you.
3) Buy a book. Don’t wander around the store trying to make friends – shop there. Support your local stores regardless of whether they are chain or independent. You’d be surprised what a difference this makes when you’re trying to meet the people who might book you for an event.
4) Book signings are boring, offer to do an event instead. Events are a draw, book signings aren’t unless you’re a celebrity. Plan to speak, educate, entertain, or illustrate. This will be a more attractive tone for the bookstore and will attract more people to your talk.
5) Get to know the local authors in your area, and then offer to plan events for them. This is how this works. Bookstores are inundated with local authors asking for a time slot, but what if you went to the manager of the bookstore and told him that you would be willing to coordinate an event once a month with all the local authors? The bookstore could just refer you to all local independently published authors, you could coordinate this and guess what? Not only are you helping the store, but guess who is getting a monthly display in their store. You guys. You can do this with more than one store if you have time, but keep in mind that with downsizing, often a store manager will be overseeing a few locations, so you may only have to go through one person.
6) If they won’t let you coordinate a monthly event, suggest they have a separate author night if they haven’t started one yet. If they have an independent author night you should definitely join in, it’s a great way to gain exposure, not to mention network with some local people.
7) Do your best to funnel everyone to a store to buy your book. If you’re having a hard time getting shelf space (and not all of us are), funneling people to a store could mean that store has a few copies of your book on hand. Whenever you do local presentations or media outlets, let them know by name and address where they can get your book. Stores have been known to accept books they get a lot of requests for, regardless of how they’re published, so if you’re sending people to one store instead of chunking them into a bunch of different ones, you could start to build ongoing interest in reordering.
Getting into bookstores is not impossible, but it does require a pinch of creativity. Keep in mind that if bookstores aren’t receptive despite trying the tips in this article, you may be in a tight market. Areas like Los Angeles, New York and Chicago can be tough areas to get noticed because they are often the first stops traditional publishers look for when planning author tours. If you’re near those areas, try looking outside the city for alternatives that are often overlooked in New York. If that doesn’t work for you, consider non-bookstore events. Over the years, we’ve planned events for our author in all sorts of places that aren’t bookstores, like: video stores, electronics stores, gyms, and even grocery stores, so if events are your goal, keep the Keep an open mind and remember: often the biggest part of landing an event at a bookstore is the relationships you build with them.