Tag: book promotion

How Many Books Should I Print?

Posted on | by Guest Author

This morning, a lovely author from Greece and I spoke for over an hour.  During this time, she asked many great questions.  But it was the last question asked before she hung up that really struck me…

“One last thing,” she said. “Is printing 5000 copies crazy?”

“Well,” I replied, “it depends… what are you going to do with the 5000 units?”

“Sell them I guess” was her answer.

When deciding on a print run number, the  decision often comes from how many units can one purchase for a deeper discount.  At 5,000 the unit price goes down nicely. What most small publishers fail to recognize however, is that until the books are sold, those unit costs are totally fake.  If you pay $15000 for 5000 units of your book and only sell three books, each book cost you $5000.

There is a better way.  When choosing your print run number, start from the END (sales portion) of the process and move back towards the printing part of the process.

For example:

  • How many bookstores will you sell your book into?
    • How many ARE there in your area of attention?
    • How many are you going to contact and ask them to stock your book?
    • How many will likely say yes?

If there are 1000 bookstores in your country AND you have a plan on how to contact 500 of them in 2016, AND 150 of those agree to stock 2 copies of your book AND half of them (75) sell two copies of your book (150) and don’t return them you are looking at 150 units in 2016.  Even if ALL 1000 bookstores are contacted and HALF of them agree to sell your book and NONE of them return the books they get you are looking at 1000 units.

  • How many will sell on line?
    • Well, how many sold of a competitor’s book?
    • Why will your book get as much attention as theirs did?

If Amazon was able to sell 3000 copies of a book like yours, published and promoted by a large publishing house, you can rest assured that you will not be spending the time and money on promoting it that they did.  Sooooo I’d shoot for 10% of their sales.  AT BEST.  That is 300 units.

  • How many do you need to give away?
    • A few hundred to reviewers
    • A few hundred to magazines and newspapers editors and freelancers
    • A few hundred as sample books for bookstores and libraries to use to evaluate

That is 600 give or take.

Sell 1000 to libraries?  Sure! If you have the time to call 500 libraries in 2016 you will sell them!  The nice thing about libraries is that they DO buy books and rarely return them.

Let’s look at  the total:

Bookstores 150 – 1000

Online 300

Give Aways 600

Libraries 1000

3000 units TOTAL in 2016 and that is ONLY IF you actually take the time and expense to present the books to libraries, bookstores, reviewers and editors.  These books will not sell themselves.

How many do you want to print?  5000 makes sense if you are okay with having them for a few years, are willing to do the work to sell them and start with the sales expectations and work backwards.

Want to learn HOW TO SELL more than a few hundred copies?  We can teach you.  Email Amy at amy@newshelves.com and send her a bit of info about your book and she will come up with a plan for you.  (Sales evaluations and plans are always free of charge at New Shelves!)

 

This post was written by Amy Collins and originally published on newshelves.com

What (Not) To Wear for a TV Interview

Posted on | by Angelle Barbazon

Have you ever watched an interview on television and couldn’t help but feel that something was drawing your attention away from the person’s message? Perhaps it was what they were wearing.

People shouldn’t make judgments based on your appearance, but some will, even subconsciously. Certain colors, patterns and types of clothing can create unintentional distractions on camera when they would typically go unnoticed in everyday situations.

While there are always exceptions to every rule, here are a few tips to keep in mind for your next television interview:

Don’t wear white, black, red or green. Cameras are sensitive, and these colors can be harsh on screen. While white tends to glow, black will absorb light, and bright red hues can be distracting. Green also interferes with digital backgrounds. Solid blue and pastel tones are generally a safe bet.

On that note, stay away from patterns, including stripes, plaid and small designs. Again, cameras pick up everything, and some designs can create visual interference.

The general rule for attire is business casual. Avoid wearing short skirts, dresses, shorts or other revealing clothing. It’s also a good idea to look online for recent interview clips to get an idea of the set and see what other guests have worn in the past.

Before an interview, remove any jewelry that moves, makes noise or could hit your microphone. This includes dangly earrings, bangle bracelets and long or bulky necklaces.

Avoid brand name logos and words on your clothing. You want viewers to hear what you are saying, not your T-shirt.

You’ve GOT to budget for publicity

Posted on | by Marissa DeCuir

So often we hear from authors who are interested in publicity but are also cash-strapped from having already spent vast resources on preparing their books for publishing. Self-publishing is especially expensive and authors have to make huge upfront investments before their books even see the light of day.

Indie authors have the extra expenses of publishing their book that a traditionally published author does not incur. It’s important to budget for publicity for a book just as you would budget for a book cover, editing, formatting, distribution and all other aspects of publishing – no matter if you hire a publicist or choose to do your own promotion.

Unfortunately self-publishing has such an expense tied to it that a lot of people budget for everything to create the book and nothing to get the word out that it even exists. Kind of like the old saying, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

It’s scary to commit to the unknown. I get it. As a former journalist, I was very skeptical of publicity and if it actually made any sort of difference. After more than seven years as a book publicist, I can without a doubt say it does. Just at JKS Communications alone we have seen indie authors hit bestseller lists, become the go-to expert interviews for major mainstream media, receive daily book club requests, start movements, and even land six-figure publishing deals.

Every publicity campaign will differ in scope depending on the book, genre, author, messaging, budget and other factors. But one thing is for sure – without any publicity, your book will get lost among the millions published each year.

I wish for authors that writing the book would be the end of their hard work. That on its own is an incredible feat. But book publicity has become increasingly important over the last decade especially with the ever-changing publishing industry.

So regardless of whether you hire a publicist or not, treat publicity just as you would any part of publishing your book. Publicity is just as important as your cover, your content, your distribution, your editing and everything else that goes into not only making the book, but making it known.