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"Self-Publishing and Book Promotion" Column

BUT IT’S NOT A BOOKSTORE! 
By Rusty Fischer 

The Author of BEYOND THE BOOKSTORE Reveals Five (Other) Places to Sell Your Self-Published Book 

We all know that selling a self-published book can be a daunting task. Finding your way into the Megabookstores, as nearly anyone can tell you, is a Herculean effort that doesn’t end once your book gets placed on the shelf.  

So how does a self-published author rise above the depressing statistics and make his book one of the rare success stories? Simple: Stop thinking of it as a BOOK! This may be a difficult task for the literary professor who has just published his treatise on French Aristocrats in Turkish Cinema, but for the rest of us, it gets a little easier every day. 

Yes, you hold in your hand a book that you self-published. You’re proud of it, the cover makes you smile, and seeing your name on the spine is a dream come true. But what you also hold in your hand is a “product.” Something to sell. Like soap or perfume, seashell sculptures or hand-crocheted potholders, you have just produced a consumer product.

So why be content with pawning it off on a few Megabookstores and leaving it at that?  

Branch out, explore, and you are sure to find a wealth of other venues to sell your self-published book. 

Here are 5—for starters:  

LIGHTS! CAMERA! SALES

Hey, this one might not be as hard a sell as you think. As we all know, independent movie theaters are hurting thanks to huge chains like Carmike and AMC, and are often willing to run any in-store promotion or find another sales opportunity to increase their bottom lines. So doing a book reading or signing, and offering attractive displays of your self-published book next to the popcorn salt and soda straws could just be the weekly boost your local theater needs to stay afloat! 

(SALES) HISTORY IN THE MAKING

Local museums and other historical sites don’t have much to offer in their gift shops, and anything they can put a “local” tag on is sure to attract their attention, especially if your self-published book just happens to have local appeal, such as a historical scandal or gossip book! Naturally, any book by a “local author” such as yourself will be of interest to such establishments, and will help to pump up the volume in their stodgy gift shops.

And what museum manager wouldn’t want that? 

I WANT CANDY

No, kids aren’t the only ones keeping bustling candy stores in business these days. From housewives with sweet-tooths to businessmen looking for a quick sugar fix or something to fill their desktop candy dish, candy stores specialize in giving the public what it wants. And why shouldn’t they want—your book?  

In addition to selling candy by the bar, the bag, or the gumball, most candy stores attract customers by offering ready-made gift baskets, tins, or bags containing non-candy items, such as baby bottles, bachelor party gifts, or other such themed gifts. Find a theme, suggest a gift, and furthermore suggest including your book as part of it to any and all local candy store managers and you could be reaping sweet profits for years to come! 

JOIN THE CLUB

Local book clubs, thanks to Oprah, are springing up all over the country. Often boasting eight to eighteen like-minded souls, these groups meet often and buy books based on common likes and interests. Finding one in your local newspaper and asking to join is a great way to spend quality time with kindred souls, and chat up your book at every opportunity! 

No, you won’t make a mint trying to sell your books at a local book club, but you will make valuable contacts, and eventually, you will be able to sell one copy of your book to each of its members. But like ripples in a shallow pool, if your book is any good at all, they’ll tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends—the possibilities are endless. You just need lots of patience and a little tact to pull this one off. 

E-GROUPS FOR E-PROFITS

Subscribing, or even starting your own, eGroup devoted to the topic of your self-published book is a great way to communicate its presence with hundreds, if not thousands, of others. Simply go to Yahoo.com and look up “newsgroups” and you’re sure to find plenty in your area of writing interest. Sign up, post messages, and always include the hyperlink to your book’s Website for great exposure, and extra sales! 

Copyright 2001 Rusty Fischer All Rights Reserved.

Rusty Fischer is a successful freelance writer, former magazine and book editor, and multi-published author. His traditionally published print books feature two popular series for two major publishers: He wrote two installments of the best-selling The Creative Writing Made Easy series for McGraw-Hill, and five of the 224-page nonfiction reference guides in The Buzz On series by Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. bear his name.

In addition, he has self-published numerous books with some of today's leading independent presses, including Freedom to Freelance by Writers-Exchange.com Publishing, 101 Ways to Promote Your eBook-for FREE by Athina Publishing, Season's Rhymings by Wordbeams Press, The 25 Stories of Christmas by Xlibris and The 12 Stories of Christmas through IndyPublish.com.

Through his years of experience marketing and promoting his own eBooks, Print-On-Demand (POD) books, and print books, he has amassed a wealth of alternative ideas for selling hundreds of copies of books, and none of them occur anywhere near a bookstore! Such is the unique premise of his groundbreaking new book, Beyond the Bookstore.