USING THE TELEPHONE FOR CONTACTING POTENTIAL BUYERS
Only about 50% of sales opportunities are found in bookstores. In most cases, you’ll be more successful if you seek buyers in special-sales markets and sell to them. One effective way to contact many people in a short period of time is to contact them via the telephone. You can disqualify those who cannot meet your needs, and arrange a meeting with those who can.
You have only one chance to make a good first impression when you use the telephone, so you can’t afford to make any mistakes. Two of the best ways to maximize your results are to organize your calling area and create a script to guide you through your calls.
Be conscious of your surroundings.
A SCRIPT WILL IMPROVE YOUR PERFORMANCE
Actors and actresses use a script to make sure their performance is precise, and capable of being reproduced regularly. Professional speakers use scripts to make sure their speeches are presented smoothly and completely. You too should use a script to make your telephone prospecting more effective and efficient.
A script is not a detailed document you read word-for-word to your prospect, eliminating the spontaneity and charisma you must project on the telephone. Instead, it should be an outline providing consistency, security and momentum to your calling efforts.
* Consistency. Telephone calls are rarely identical to one another. Your presentation should be tailored to the specific needs of the prospect at hand. But the sequence in which you present your information should be consistent on every call. For example, you should begin with an attention-getting introduction and move on to a compelling and concise presentation, culminating in a request for an interview. Although the words you use on any one call may or may not be similar to another, a script makes sure that you move from step to step, methodically.
* Security. A script should contain the general questions you want to ask a person, as well as the major points you should communicate. It will keep your conversation proceeding in orderly fashion toward its proper conclusion. If you begin to lose track of your thoughts, your script will keep you moving ahead. You won’t have unwanted periods of awkward silence as you search for the proper words to use.
* Momentum. If you are having success with your telephone activities, a script will help you continue on a roll. On the other hand, you must bounce back quickly from a particularly negative discussion. A script will keep you on track and motivated to make the next call.
Your script should be an extension of your personality.
Your script should not be a crutch, but a tool. It should be an outline of key words and phrases to which you can refer at a glance. If you simply read from it, your presentation won’t come across as being extemporaneous. Use it to stay on track while you speak freely enough to release your real personality and build rapport.
Even the most well-organized script will not be successful if you can’t get through to your target. If you call and explain to the receptionist what you want, you will probably be told they are not interested. You do not want this to happen. You have to get through to the decision maker.
BEGINNING THE CONVERSATION
It’s up to you to keep the conversation moving ahead. Use your script and advance toward your objective methodically. You can do so by including several basic categories of information in it:
1) The prospect’s name. Leave room at the top of your script to pencil-in the name of each person as you call him or her. Write the correct spelling of the target’s name in your records, but write it phonetically on your script. It’s important to use the listener’s name regularly, and it could cause ill will if you mispronounce it.
2) A list of opening statements. Specify different ways to get the listener’s attention under a variety of conditions. That way you can choose the most appropriate one for each situation.
If you sense your prospect is busy:
“I wanted to talk to you about the ways in which I could help your company become more profitable quickly. But it sounds as if I’ve caught you at a bad time. Should I call back later this afternoon or would tomorrow morning be better?”
If you are calling based on a referral:
” Ms. Jones asked me to call you about the ways in which I could help your company increase its sales by 20% in the next six months.”
If you’re calling with a congratulatory remark:
“I read your article in today’s paper and thought it was excellent. Do you have a moment to listen to several ideas I have about your topic that could help your company?”
If you’re calling to follow up:
“I’m calling to follow up on the recent letter I sent you about…. Did you receive it? Do you have a moment now to discuss it or should I call back tomorrow morning?”
Follow these hints:
* Take control. When you initiate the call, the content and direction of the discussion is up to you. Be prepared with a list of questions that will keep your prospect involved in the discussion. Probe for areas of need and then let him know that you can satisfy these needs. This is how you create value for yourself.
* Be aware of the time of the day. If you say “good morning” when it’s afternoon where your prospect is located, you may come across as being unprepared. However, you can use this strategically. For example, it could be 7:30 pm where you are calling on the east coast, which makes it 4:30 pm on the west coast. You could say “good evening” and then correct yourself (to “good afternoon”) so the listener knows you’re calling from a later time zone. He may be impressed by how diligently you are working to seek employment with his company.
* Create a mnemonic. Try to give listeners something with which to remember you. For instance, if you have an unusual last name, you could spell it after saying it (I’m Brian Jud. J-U-D). They may comment on how unusual it is, and the conversation begins on a friendlier basis.
3) Your objective. Keep your objective in front of you. You may want to lead with it to get the prospect’s attention, and you’ll want to refer to it when you get to the action step.
4) Your skills/special talents. What skills and accomplishments do you have to get your contact’s attention and motivate him to invite you in for an interview?
5) Your prospect’s need? What is the one thing likely to get your prospect’s attention most quickly? Why will he be interested in talking with you further?
MAKING YOUR PRESENTATION
Once you have your prospect’s attention and permission to proceed, move immediately into your presentation. Follow up on your opening statement with a comment enticing the listener to invite you to come in for a personal meeting. Remember, that is your goal. You shouldn’t tell your entire story now, but only enough to whet your prospect’s appetite.
Offer a “hook” to get the listeners involved. This is either a statement or question that involves them in what you have to say. A statement should respond to their unspoken concern: “OK. Now you have my attention. Tell me what you have to say, and you had better make it worthwhile.” Begin by making a connection between their needs and what you can do for their companies.
If you begin with a question, it should elicit a positive response and immediately involve your prospect. Before you begin asking questions, seek the person’s permission to do so. A simple “May I ask you a question?” should eliminate his interpreting the exchange as an interrogation.
Be careful how you ask questions. Do not gamble by unwittingly prompting a negative response and thereby ending the conversation. For example, if you said, “Could you use a book like this?” he could simply say “No,” and you might be hard pressed to respond positively. Instead, ask your questions in a way that will start them talking, get them involved, and provide you with additional information.
Brian Jud is a book-marketing consultant and the author of Beyond the Bookstore (a Publishers Weekly book) and The Marketing Planning CD-ROM describing new ways to sell more books to special-sales buyers. Contact Brian at brianjud@bookmarketing.com, blog at http://blog.bookmarketing.com or www.bookmarketing.com or the Publisher’s Bookstore
This article from http://blog.selfpublishing.com/?p=189
Friday, May 11, 2007
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
SELLING YOUR BOOK THROUGH AMAZON
Excerpt from Steve Weber's book 'Plug Your Book!'
In just a few years, Amazon has demolished the barriers to book sales. No longer are new authors summarily locked out of the bookstore. Whether your book was trade-published or self-published, Amazon will not only stock it, but rearrange the whole store when a likely reader arrives. And if your book sells modestly well, Amazon will do lots more -— like displaying your book right inside the door, at the end of each virtual aisle, on eight different category shelves, and smack-dab in front of the cash register. Think your local bookstore might do this? Maybe if you’re William Shakespeare, but the rest of us are out of luck.
Book sales over the Internet now account for 15 percent of the average publisher’s business, up dramatically from 1 percent in 1997. But the real impact is far greater -— it’s not just the 65 million readers buying their books on Amazon, it’s the untold millions more using Amazon’s catalog and book reviews to inform their buying choices elsewhere.
Amazon is ground zero for your online campaign. It provides free worldwide exposure -— exposure to those readers most likely to buy your book. Simply having your book properly listed for sale on Amazon can create demand for it everywhere. Whether you’re a famous author or an unknown, Amazon is essential because it has a critical mass of buyers using its search engine, recommendations, and reader reviews.
Amazon helps create demand for niche books that have a widely dispersed audience that can’t be targeted effectively through traditional marketing. These are the books readers often can’t find in their local bookstore, or even the library -— but they’re easy to find on Amazon. Twenty-five percent of Amazon’s sales come from obscure books that aren’t even carried in a Barnes & Noble superstore stocking 100,000 titles. And the percentage of these “long tail” sales grows every year.
Sure, part of Amazon’s appeal is its discount pricing and free shipping offers. But the real value for book buyers is being able to find exactly what they want, says Chris Anderson, author of the 2006 business bestseller The Long Tail:
"It’s not enough that things be available, you need to be able to find them. The big problem with brick-and-mortar stores is, all shoppers experience the same store. But the problem of findability is solved when you go online. You have searching, recommendations, and all sorts of narrow taxonomies -— things can be in multiple categories at the same time."
For 50 years, publishers have been chasing blockbusters -— the bestseller hits. They had to, because with limited shelf space, bookstores had to focus on the stuff that moved fastest. Today, chasing blockbusters is obsolete. Authors and publishers have a wide-open opportunity in serving niches.
These niche books are the ones people care about most, and the ones Amazon is most effective in recommending, says Greg Greeley, Amazon’s vice president for media products: “The Web site is designed to help customers find books they didn’t know existed.”
Getting Recommended
Book sales are a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially on Amazon. The more people who buy your book, the easier it becomes for the next reader to discover it. When Amazon notices your book is selling, it automatically displays your book higher in its search results and higher in its category lists. And most importantly, Amazon starts plugging your book into book recommendations on its Web site and in e-mails to customers.
Book recommendations are Amazon’s biggest sales engine, after keyword searches. Sixty-six percent of sales are to returning customers, many of them acting on automated recommendations for books popular with customers with similar buying histories.
Because they are personalized, Amazon’s book recommendations are network-powered word of mouth -— more effective than a highway billboard seen by everyone in town. And as long as your book keeps selling, Amazon continues recommending it month after month, year after year, to its likely audience. No longer are books sentenced to the bargain bin three months after publication. Online word of mouth can keep your book alive as long as it satisfies readers.
Each of Amazon’s 65 million customers sees a unique store. The layout is personalized, based on which books the customer previously viewed or purchased. Each customer has a recommendations list, based on which books are bought most frequently by other customers with similar buying histories.
If you have an Amazon account, view your recommendations here:
www.Amazon.com/yourstore
As an author, here’s how Amazon recommendations work for you: Let’s imagine you’ve written the book How to Grow Organic Strawberries. It turns out that one of every five Amazon customers who buys your book also purchased an earlier book, Healthy Eating With Organic Fruit. Realizing this, Amazon starts recommending your book to customers who bought the earlier book but haven’t yet bought yours. Why? Amazon knows the odds are good that once these readers discover your book they’ll buy it, too, and Amazon makes another sale.
Buyers see book recommendations in several places:
www.Amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/typographical-errors.html
(Chapter one goes on to describe Recommendation Effectiveness, including some nifty charts and statistics, and how your Sales Rank affects the big picture.)
* * * * *
About Steve Weber:A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Steve is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a Journalism graduate of West Virginia University. He now lives in Falls Church, Va., with his wife and their four-year-old daughter.
http://independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1138&urltitle=PLUG%20IN%20to%20Turn%20On%20Your%20Book%20Sales
In just a few years, Amazon has demolished the barriers to book sales. No longer are new authors summarily locked out of the bookstore. Whether your book was trade-published or self-published, Amazon will not only stock it, but rearrange the whole store when a likely reader arrives. And if your book sells modestly well, Amazon will do lots more -— like displaying your book right inside the door, at the end of each virtual aisle, on eight different category shelves, and smack-dab in front of the cash register. Think your local bookstore might do this? Maybe if you’re William Shakespeare, but the rest of us are out of luck.
Book sales over the Internet now account for 15 percent of the average publisher’s business, up dramatically from 1 percent in 1997. But the real impact is far greater -— it’s not just the 65 million readers buying their books on Amazon, it’s the untold millions more using Amazon’s catalog and book reviews to inform their buying choices elsewhere.
Amazon is ground zero for your online campaign. It provides free worldwide exposure -— exposure to those readers most likely to buy your book. Simply having your book properly listed for sale on Amazon can create demand for it everywhere. Whether you’re a famous author or an unknown, Amazon is essential because it has a critical mass of buyers using its search engine, recommendations, and reader reviews.
Amazon helps create demand for niche books that have a widely dispersed audience that can’t be targeted effectively through traditional marketing. These are the books readers often can’t find in their local bookstore, or even the library -— but they’re easy to find on Amazon. Twenty-five percent of Amazon’s sales come from obscure books that aren’t even carried in a Barnes & Noble superstore stocking 100,000 titles. And the percentage of these “long tail” sales grows every year.
Sure, part of Amazon’s appeal is its discount pricing and free shipping offers. But the real value for book buyers is being able to find exactly what they want, says Chris Anderson, author of the 2006 business bestseller The Long Tail:
"It’s not enough that things be available, you need to be able to find them. The big problem with brick-and-mortar stores is, all shoppers experience the same store. But the problem of findability is solved when you go online. You have searching, recommendations, and all sorts of narrow taxonomies -— things can be in multiple categories at the same time."
For 50 years, publishers have been chasing blockbusters -— the bestseller hits. They had to, because with limited shelf space, bookstores had to focus on the stuff that moved fastest. Today, chasing blockbusters is obsolete. Authors and publishers have a wide-open opportunity in serving niches.
These niche books are the ones people care about most, and the ones Amazon is most effective in recommending, says Greg Greeley, Amazon’s vice president for media products: “The Web site is designed to help customers find books they didn’t know existed.”
Getting Recommended
Book sales are a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially on Amazon. The more people who buy your book, the easier it becomes for the next reader to discover it. When Amazon notices your book is selling, it automatically displays your book higher in its search results and higher in its category lists. And most importantly, Amazon starts plugging your book into book recommendations on its Web site and in e-mails to customers.
Book recommendations are Amazon’s biggest sales engine, after keyword searches. Sixty-six percent of sales are to returning customers, many of them acting on automated recommendations for books popular with customers with similar buying histories.
Because they are personalized, Amazon’s book recommendations are network-powered word of mouth -— more effective than a highway billboard seen by everyone in town. And as long as your book keeps selling, Amazon continues recommending it month after month, year after year, to its likely audience. No longer are books sentenced to the bargain bin three months after publication. Online word of mouth can keep your book alive as long as it satisfies readers.
Each of Amazon’s 65 million customers sees a unique store. The layout is personalized, based on which books the customer previously viewed or purchased. Each customer has a recommendations list, based on which books are bought most frequently by other customers with similar buying histories.
If you have an Amazon account, view your recommendations here:
www.Amazon.com/yourstore
As an author, here’s how Amazon recommendations work for you: Let’s imagine you’ve written the book How to Grow Organic Strawberries. It turns out that one of every five Amazon customers who buys your book also purchased an earlier book, Healthy Eating With Organic Fruit. Realizing this, Amazon starts recommending your book to customers who bought the earlier book but haven’t yet bought yours. Why? Amazon knows the odds are good that once these readers discover your book they’ll buy it, too, and Amazon makes another sale.
Buyers see book recommendations in several places:
- On Amazon’s home page, where it says, Hello, [NAME], we have recommendations for you. Click here to view all your book recommendations.
- In e-mails titled “Amazon.com Recommends” and “New for You,” periodically sent to Amazon customers.
- In the “Gold Box” treasure chest icon at the top right of Amazon’s home page. Clicking the box reveals special offers on books and other merchandise on your recommended list.
- In a book’s “Also-Bought” list. Every book’s detail page on Amazon includes a list with the headline Customers who bought this item also bought. The Also-Bought list shows the five other books bought most frequently by customers who also purchased the displayed book.
- An extended Also-Bought list including many more titles is accessible from each book’s detail page at the link Explore similar items. Buyers can view the same list during the checkout process by viewing Customers who bought [Title] also bought…
The Wisdom of Crowds
Amazon’s recommendations aren’t just a computer talking, it’s the collective judgment of millions of people acting independently in their own self-interest. Amazon is the biggest and most effective word-of-mouth generator for books because it measures not what people say, but what they do. People don’t always recommend their favorite current book to each of their friends and acquaintances. But Amazon factors each buying decision into its recommendations for like-minded customers.
Just as a well-programmed computer can defeat a master chess player, automated recommendations can suggest just the right book, including books that would never occur to a brilliant bookstore clerk, says Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos:
"I remember one of the first times this struck me. The main book on the page was about Zen. There were other suggestions for Zen books, but in the middle of those was a [recommended] book on 'How to have a clutter-free desk.' That's not something that a human editor would ever pick. But statistically, the people who were interested in the Zen books also wanted clutter-free desks. The computer is blind to the fact that these things are dissimilar in some way to humans. It looks right through that and says, 'Yes, try this.' And it works."
Bubbling to the Top
The more your book sells on Amazon, the more frequently it’s shown and recommended. Books that sell well on Amazon appear higher in search results and category lists.
Let’s imagine your book How to Grow Organic Strawberries outsells a competing title, Idiot’s Guide to Growing Organic Strawberries. When Amazon customers search for the keyword “strawberries,” your book will appear on top -— customers will see it first, and notice it before the competition.
More benefits result from your Amazon sales: Your book moves up in category lists, providing another way for potential readers to discover it. For example, your title on organic strawberries would appear in this Amazon subcategory:
Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > Techniques > Organic
This subcategory list is like a bestseller list for your niche. Amazon has 35 top-level categories (like Arts & Photography; Business & Investing) divided into dozens more subcategories. Unlike general bestseller lists compiled by the New York Times or USA Today, Amazon’s subcategory lists show what people care about at the niche level, where passions run deepest.
Amazon’s subcategories are discrete enough that just a few sales can push your title near the top, exposing your book to more people who care about that topic. In our example subcategory Home & Garden > Organic, your book could claim one of the top three spots with only two or three sales per week on Amazon.
Once you’ve bubbled up to the top of your subcategory, you’re firmly inside the positive feedback loop. Amazon acts as a huge funnel, sending thousands of readers to your book. That’s why some authors encourage their Web site visitors to buy books on Amazon -— each additional sale boosts their exposure, prompting yet more sales.
“Simply put, the more customers you send to Amazon who buy your book, the more visible it will be on Amazon, and the more books Amazon will sell for you,” says Morris Rosenthal, publisher of Foner Books.
If your book continues selling for six months or so, Amazon can assign it to more categories, making it even more likely browsers will find you after browsing in related categories. Books that sell moderately well eventually can be assigned to 12 or more categories, the same exposure as your book being shelved in a dozen different sections of a brick-and-mortar bookstore.The big difference is, Amazon is the world’s largest bookstore.
To see your book’s subcategory assignments on Amazon, find the section on your book’s detail page headed “Look for similar items by category.” Clicking on those links takes you to a list of the subcategory’s bestsellers.
Sometimes persistent publishers can talk the folks at Amazon into assigning their books to additional categories, or removing the book from inappropriate categories. Research other books in your niche, and see which categories they’re displayed in.
Narrow a list down to 10 categories and send your list, ISBN, and contact information to Amazon. You can send your message, along with any other typographical corrections for Amazon, by using this form:
www.Amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/typographical-errors.html
(Chapter one goes on to describe Recommendation Effectiveness, including some nifty charts and statistics, and how your Sales Rank affects the big picture.)
* * * * *
About Steve Weber:A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Steve is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a Journalism graduate of West Virginia University. He now lives in Falls Church, Va., with his wife and their four-year-old daughter.
http://independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1138&urltitle=PLUG%20IN%20to%20Turn%20On%20Your%20Book%20Sales
Friday, April 27, 2007
FREE E-BOOK! DOWNLOAD HERE
Hesperian Press have generously provided an online guide to publishing your book with them. This guide explains the process involved, from preparing your manuscript right through to printed book.
http://hesperianpress.com/publishingyourbook.pdf
The various stages in which you, as the author, will be involved are explained.
Should you wish to have a book published with Hesperian Press please pay close attention to this guide. By adhering to it you will ensure that your book is published quicker and cheaper (for you and Hesperian Press). Further, they know from many years of experience and after having published hundreds of titles, the information in this guide will assist you in the preparation of your manuscript.
'Publishing Your Book with Hesperian Press' is a guide only and the information it contains describes the way they publish books and the style they require. It is recognised that other styles are equally valid and no pretensions are held that this guide is the definitive text on spelling, grammar or style.
Hesperian Press is run by a Non-Profit organisation.
http://hesperianpress.com/publishingyourbook.pdf
The various stages in which you, as the author, will be involved are explained.
Should you wish to have a book published with Hesperian Press please pay close attention to this guide. By adhering to it you will ensure that your book is published quicker and cheaper (for you and Hesperian Press). Further, they know from many years of experience and after having published hundreds of titles, the information in this guide will assist you in the preparation of your manuscript.
'Publishing Your Book with Hesperian Press' is a guide only and the information it contains describes the way they publish books and the style they require. It is recognised that other styles are equally valid and no pretensions are held that this guide is the definitive text on spelling, grammar or style.
Hesperian Press is run by a Non-Profit organisation.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
GETTING DISTRIBUTION THROUGH AMAZON
Anyone interested in self publishing has probably at least heard of author services like iUniverse, Xlibris, AuthorHouse, Lulu.com, Booklocker, Outskirts Press, and Amazon’s own BookSurge — services commonly referred to as “self publishing companies.” (Many self publishers prefer to call them subsidy publishers, but I’ll stick to the common usage here.)
You may also know that these businesses are based on print on demand. Though this term describes a printing technology, it usually refers also to a distribution model—which, to the self publisher aiming at Amazon, is just as important. But to understand print on demand as a distribution model, you need to know a little about how the industry is set up.
Most people assume that the big self publishing companies print the books they sell, but in most cases they don’t. In fact, the only one in the U.S. that does is Amazon’s BookSurge. Nearly all the rest rely entirely on the company that is the real heart of the industry: Lightning Source Inc.
Never heard of it? I wouldn’t be surprised. Lightning—as I’ll often call it for short—doesn’t want you to! They don’t want to work directly with “authors” at all, only with publishers and author services, because otherwise they’d be overwhelmed.
So, Lightning Source lets the self publishing companies act as “front ends” for the operation. Those services take your book, convert it to a form that Lightning can use, and take care of all the submission and administrative details. Meanwhile, as of 2006, Lightning churns out a million books a month!
But let’s get back to distribution. There’s something else you need to know about Lightning Source: It’s owned by the same company that owns Ingram Book Group, the biggest book wholesaler in the U.S. Almost every bookstore in the country, along with many libraries and schools, orders books from Ingram.
As you might expect, Lightning Source has a direct line into Ingram. In fact, Ingram “carries” every title printed by Lightning—even if Ingram doesn’t really keep the title in stock. Actually, it does stock popular Lightning titles, but the others it can get from Lightning overnight. So if a bookstore inquires, Ingram reports any Lightning book as immediately available.
So, by working with any of the self publishing companies that feed into Lightning Source, you automatically make your book available to booksellers throughout the U.S. (Contrary to what many new self publishers think, though, Ingram does not promote books and get bookstores to buy them. Ingram only makes them available and waits for orders.)
Foremost among the booksellers that can get your book from Ingram is Amazon.com. And because Amazon draws book data directly from Ingram’s electronic catalog, you are guaranteed that Amazon will automatically list your book. What’s more, because Amazon regularly uses Ingram for drop shipping, all Lightning titles are normally listed on Amazon as in stock or available within 24 hours, even if Amazon doesn’t have its own copies at the time.
The connection between Lightning Source and the rest of the U.S. industry is even stronger than that. A few huge booksellers have the resources to tap into Lightning Source’s electronic systems and order directly instead of going through Ingram. These include
Baker & Taylor, the second largest U.S. book wholesaler and the largest supplier to U.S. schools and libraries.
NACSCORP, another major wholesaler, as a service of the National Association of College Stores.
Barnes & Noble, including BN.com.
And of course, Amazon.com. Though Amazon normally orders from Ingram to fill immediate customer demand, it orders directly from Lightning to stock a book.
Meanwhile, Lightning’s overseas branch, Lightning Source UK, is similarly well connected. Among the companies it supplies are Gardners Books and Bertram Books—prime U.K. book wholesalers and major suppliers of Amazon.co.uk—and the national chain Blackwell’s. Books handled by Lightning in the U.S. can easily be earmarked for printing and distribution by Lightning UK as well—and vice versa.
Despite its printing in only these two countries, Lighting Source’s books show up on all Amazon sites worldwide. Books from Lightning in the U.S. are sold also by Amazon in Canada, while books from Lightning UK are sold by Amazon in Canada, France, Germany, and Japan.
Of course, BookSurge—Amazon’s own self publishing service—will get your book onto Amazon.com as easily as can any company associated with Lightning Source. But it can’t begin to match the rest of the distribution that Lightning automatically provides. In fact, at this writing, BookSurge can’t even get your book onto Amazon in other countries! Amazon.com might be your main marketing target, but you still want your book available as widely as possible.
So, just as print on demand can remove cost as a deciding factor in publishing, print on demand through Lightning Source can also remove what has traditionally been the biggest roadblock for self publishers: lack of access to the channels of distribution. What’s more, it does it in a way that eliminates most of the ongoing labor of publishing. Success no longer means you must spend your time taking orders, shipping copies, and sending invoices and reminders for payment.
Instead, just let booksellers, schools, and libraries order your book from Lightning Source or one of its partners or major accounts. Then all you need do is sit back and wait for your monthly check. In fact, except for maybe a few copies for promotion and gifts, you don’t need to keep a stock of your book at all. (And as one who remembers having a hallway full of printed books in the “old days,” I can’t begin to tell you what a blessing that is.)
So, you should run right out and sign up with one of the self publishing companies, right?
Not if you can help it!
As I said, self publishing companies like iUniverse and Xlibris are basically front ends for Lightning Source Inc., which does all the printing and maintains the distribution channels. The cut that these companies take for their middleman role is no doubt well-earned, but it’s hefty. In fact, for each copy printed, it about doubles your cost of getting the book out.
But what can you do about it? Lightning Source declines to work directly with authors, limiting its dealings to publishers and author services. How can you get around that?
Well, you can become a publisher.
Now, this may or may not be the best idea if you’re handling only a book or two. But especially if you’ll be producing any more, then setting yourself up as a publishing company makes very good sense—even if it’s only to work with Lightning. Doing that can not only cut your costs in half, it can also let you set your own terms on discounts and returns!
If you live outside the U.S. or U.K., you’re not left out. Because of the Internet, it’s no trouble to work directly with Lightning or Lightning UK from anywhere in the world. Once you set yourself up as a publishing company, you’re ready no matter where you live.
No other avenue to Amazon can match the full range of benefits available to publishers who work directly with Lightning Source. Working with Lightning, then, is a key element to the new business of self publishing. If you plan to keep going in publishing and don’t need a lot of handholding, Lightning is the very best way to aim at Amazon.
By Aaron Shepard
Excerpted and adapted from the book 'Aiming at Amazon: The NEW Business of Self Publishing', Shepard Publications, 2007
For more resources, visit Aaron Shepard’s Publishing Page at www.aaronshep.com/publishing
You may also know that these businesses are based on print on demand. Though this term describes a printing technology, it usually refers also to a distribution model—which, to the self publisher aiming at Amazon, is just as important. But to understand print on demand as a distribution model, you need to know a little about how the industry is set up.
Most people assume that the big self publishing companies print the books they sell, but in most cases they don’t. In fact, the only one in the U.S. that does is Amazon’s BookSurge. Nearly all the rest rely entirely on the company that is the real heart of the industry: Lightning Source Inc.
Never heard of it? I wouldn’t be surprised. Lightning—as I’ll often call it for short—doesn’t want you to! They don’t want to work directly with “authors” at all, only with publishers and author services, because otherwise they’d be overwhelmed.
So, Lightning Source lets the self publishing companies act as “front ends” for the operation. Those services take your book, convert it to a form that Lightning can use, and take care of all the submission and administrative details. Meanwhile, as of 2006, Lightning churns out a million books a month!
But let’s get back to distribution. There’s something else you need to know about Lightning Source: It’s owned by the same company that owns Ingram Book Group, the biggest book wholesaler in the U.S. Almost every bookstore in the country, along with many libraries and schools, orders books from Ingram.
As you might expect, Lightning Source has a direct line into Ingram. In fact, Ingram “carries” every title printed by Lightning—even if Ingram doesn’t really keep the title in stock. Actually, it does stock popular Lightning titles, but the others it can get from Lightning overnight. So if a bookstore inquires, Ingram reports any Lightning book as immediately available.
So, by working with any of the self publishing companies that feed into Lightning Source, you automatically make your book available to booksellers throughout the U.S. (Contrary to what many new self publishers think, though, Ingram does not promote books and get bookstores to buy them. Ingram only makes them available and waits for orders.)
Foremost among the booksellers that can get your book from Ingram is Amazon.com. And because Amazon draws book data directly from Ingram’s electronic catalog, you are guaranteed that Amazon will automatically list your book. What’s more, because Amazon regularly uses Ingram for drop shipping, all Lightning titles are normally listed on Amazon as in stock or available within 24 hours, even if Amazon doesn’t have its own copies at the time.
The connection between Lightning Source and the rest of the U.S. industry is even stronger than that. A few huge booksellers have the resources to tap into Lightning Source’s electronic systems and order directly instead of going through Ingram. These include
Baker & Taylor, the second largest U.S. book wholesaler and the largest supplier to U.S. schools and libraries.
NACSCORP, another major wholesaler, as a service of the National Association of College Stores.
Barnes & Noble, including BN.com.
And of course, Amazon.com. Though Amazon normally orders from Ingram to fill immediate customer demand, it orders directly from Lightning to stock a book.
Meanwhile, Lightning’s overseas branch, Lightning Source UK, is similarly well connected. Among the companies it supplies are Gardners Books and Bertram Books—prime U.K. book wholesalers and major suppliers of Amazon.co.uk—and the national chain Blackwell’s. Books handled by Lightning in the U.S. can easily be earmarked for printing and distribution by Lightning UK as well—and vice versa.
Despite its printing in only these two countries, Lighting Source’s books show up on all Amazon sites worldwide. Books from Lightning in the U.S. are sold also by Amazon in Canada, while books from Lightning UK are sold by Amazon in Canada, France, Germany, and Japan.
Of course, BookSurge—Amazon’s own self publishing service—will get your book onto Amazon.com as easily as can any company associated with Lightning Source. But it can’t begin to match the rest of the distribution that Lightning automatically provides. In fact, at this writing, BookSurge can’t even get your book onto Amazon in other countries! Amazon.com might be your main marketing target, but you still want your book available as widely as possible.
So, just as print on demand can remove cost as a deciding factor in publishing, print on demand through Lightning Source can also remove what has traditionally been the biggest roadblock for self publishers: lack of access to the channels of distribution. What’s more, it does it in a way that eliminates most of the ongoing labor of publishing. Success no longer means you must spend your time taking orders, shipping copies, and sending invoices and reminders for payment.
Instead, just let booksellers, schools, and libraries order your book from Lightning Source or one of its partners or major accounts. Then all you need do is sit back and wait for your monthly check. In fact, except for maybe a few copies for promotion and gifts, you don’t need to keep a stock of your book at all. (And as one who remembers having a hallway full of printed books in the “old days,” I can’t begin to tell you what a blessing that is.)
So, you should run right out and sign up with one of the self publishing companies, right?
Not if you can help it!
As I said, self publishing companies like iUniverse and Xlibris are basically front ends for Lightning Source Inc., which does all the printing and maintains the distribution channels. The cut that these companies take for their middleman role is no doubt well-earned, but it’s hefty. In fact, for each copy printed, it about doubles your cost of getting the book out.
But what can you do about it? Lightning Source declines to work directly with authors, limiting its dealings to publishers and author services. How can you get around that?
Well, you can become a publisher.
Now, this may or may not be the best idea if you’re handling only a book or two. But especially if you’ll be producing any more, then setting yourself up as a publishing company makes very good sense—even if it’s only to work with Lightning. Doing that can not only cut your costs in half, it can also let you set your own terms on discounts and returns!
If you live outside the U.S. or U.K., you’re not left out. Because of the Internet, it’s no trouble to work directly with Lightning or Lightning UK from anywhere in the world. Once you set yourself up as a publishing company, you’re ready no matter where you live.
No other avenue to Amazon can match the full range of benefits available to publishers who work directly with Lightning Source. Working with Lightning, then, is a key element to the new business of self publishing. If you plan to keep going in publishing and don’t need a lot of handholding, Lightning is the very best way to aim at Amazon.
By Aaron Shepard
Excerpted and adapted from the book 'Aiming at Amazon: The NEW Business of Self Publishing', Shepard Publications, 2007
For more resources, visit Aaron Shepard’s Publishing Page at www.aaronshep.com/publishing
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
SHOULD YOU FIND A DISTRIBUTOR FOR YOUR BOOK?
Not all self publishers give thought as to how they will market their book once the final product is in their hands. There are many ways to market a book, which usually involves the publisher doing the leg work. However, not all publishers see themselves as marketers, so one way to sidestep the sales process is for them to find a distributor.
Vanity Press Distributors (www.vanitypress.com.au) was originally set up to keep distribution costs for the publisher down. It's aim was to simply be an online bookshop for use by Australian small and self publishers to sell their books.
Today I had a telephone call from a brand new self publisher seeking distribution advice. Naturally, I want her book on my site, where our commission is 25%. However, as her print run was in the thousands, it occurred to me that perhaps I could phyically distribute the book for her, as well as posting it on our website. The topic on which she wrote has a potentially wide appeal, and I was confident that bookshops, even the major high street stores, would be interested.
It took only a couple of phone calls for a reality check.
The Recommended Retail Price (RRP) for her book is $29. The major book chain I called wanted a 45% disount. This is a modest discount as far as bookshops are concerned, being that some stores are asking for up to 60% trade discounts AND MORE.
So let's do the math.
As a self publisher, my client had spent about $10 per book. This included editing costs, the cover design, and the print run. At $29 for a direct sale, she should make $19 per book, if postage charges are paid for by the buyer. This does not include the freeby copies she would give away in her own marketing adventure.
On the Vanity Press Distributors website, the commission would amount to $7.25, leaving the publisher $21.75. Compare this to the bookshop's commission, which would be $13.05, leaving only $15.95 for the publisher - a profit margin of only $5.95 per book.
If I were to physically represent her book to book chains for a further 25% commission, that would leave the publisher a mere $11.96, reducing her profit margin to a tiny $1.96, hardly worth getting out of bed for!
This is the rather tough world of publishing as it exists today.
So, do you find a distributor, or do you D.I.Y?
That is a question only you can answer. However, a combination of means can be used. As there are few online distributors in Australia, Vanity Press Distributors is certainly filling a void in niche publishing, with one of the lowest trade discounts in the industry. This means can be used in combination with others, which have been addressed in previous articles on this site, and which will be addressed in further detail in the future.
Dallas Robertson
Vanity Press Distributors
www.vanitypress.com.au
Vanity Press Distributors (www.vanitypress.com.au) was originally set up to keep distribution costs for the publisher down. It's aim was to simply be an online bookshop for use by Australian small and self publishers to sell their books.
Today I had a telephone call from a brand new self publisher seeking distribution advice. Naturally, I want her book on my site, where our commission is 25%. However, as her print run was in the thousands, it occurred to me that perhaps I could phyically distribute the book for her, as well as posting it on our website. The topic on which she wrote has a potentially wide appeal, and I was confident that bookshops, even the major high street stores, would be interested.
It took only a couple of phone calls for a reality check.
The Recommended Retail Price (RRP) for her book is $29. The major book chain I called wanted a 45% disount. This is a modest discount as far as bookshops are concerned, being that some stores are asking for up to 60% trade discounts AND MORE.
So let's do the math.
As a self publisher, my client had spent about $10 per book. This included editing costs, the cover design, and the print run. At $29 for a direct sale, she should make $19 per book, if postage charges are paid for by the buyer. This does not include the freeby copies she would give away in her own marketing adventure.
On the Vanity Press Distributors website, the commission would amount to $7.25, leaving the publisher $21.75. Compare this to the bookshop's commission, which would be $13.05, leaving only $15.95 for the publisher - a profit margin of only $5.95 per book.
If I were to physically represent her book to book chains for a further 25% commission, that would leave the publisher a mere $11.96, reducing her profit margin to a tiny $1.96, hardly worth getting out of bed for!
This is the rather tough world of publishing as it exists today.
So, do you find a distributor, or do you D.I.Y?
That is a question only you can answer. However, a combination of means can be used. As there are few online distributors in Australia, Vanity Press Distributors is certainly filling a void in niche publishing, with one of the lowest trade discounts in the industry. This means can be used in combination with others, which have been addressed in previous articles on this site, and which will be addressed in further detail in the future.
Dallas Robertson
Vanity Press Distributors
www.vanitypress.com.au
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