Distribution, Bookstore Sales, and POD…Oh My!
Here is an outstanding article by Carla King at PBS/Mediashift. Its intriguing title (Want Your Self-Published Book in Stores? Weigh the Options) does more that reel you in, it provides an overview of the penetrating content of her work.
Ms. King’s concise, but illuminating article gives insight into the evolving industry that is small publishing: distribution, bookstore and non-bookstore sales, POD, ISBN, returns, marketing and more. Based on her solid experience, Ms. King has made this well researched, written and referenced piece is a must read. I hope you can make the time! Thank you, Ms. King.
Here is the link: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/06/want-your-self-published-book...
Tags: Bookstore, POD, carla, distirbution, king
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sandra Adell on -
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. It is a good and concise article. I feel fortunate to have recently been accepted into Baker & Taylor's Vendor program, but it's not cheap. I had to pay a one-time start up fee of $350 for the premier program, which is what I was offered. But then, I'm really interested in getting my books into the General readers sections of public libraries, so Baker & Taylor was just what I was hoping for.
It helped, I think, that for my first book I went with a hard cover and off-set printing (Sheridan Books). I also put together a carefully thought out business plan. I used the SPAN workbook, without which I don't think I would have done so well, since I had never written a business plan before. I never had a reason to do so, since prior to September, 2009, when I decided to publish my book myself, becoming a publisher was the last thing on my mind.
That all changed for the obvious reasons, rejections from literary agents, unable to find a small publisher willing to take a risk on my book, CONFESSIONS OF A SLOT MACHINE QUEEN. Well, I believed in the project and decided that if I'm asking someone else to take a risk, why not take the risk myself, especially since these days if you aren't famous you have to do most of the work of promoting a book yourself.
So, here I am, a businesswoman, a publisher. Getting with Baker & Taylor, is a load off my mind, because as you know, without distribution it's hard to take on other projects without risking going broke.
Sandy -
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Permalink Reply by Brad Poulson on -
Sandy,
Congratulations on your success!
It is a testament to your persistence, creativity, and flexibility in identifying, and then utilizing, all the resources that are available to you. In addition, thank you for sharing this concise outline of your situation and progress. It will provide a foundation for others who share similar goals.
Last, but not least, thank you for the testimonial to the efficacy of planning, and your utilization of SPAN's Marketing Plan Workbook. The Workbook, along with the comprehensive resources needed to complete it (audio and webinar presentations from leading self-publishing experts, an extensive library of articles pertaining specifically to this business, and valuable discounts on services for self-publishers), are available for a minimal investment of only $89 per year. By investing in SPAN, you and other SPANpro members, allow us to perform the education and advocacy work we do as a nonprofit association.
Without our SPANpro members, we could not provide this free resource, our Online Community SPANnet.org, where members like you are networking and helping each other to “plan your work and work your plan!”
Please keep us informed of your continuing success. Highest Regards,
Brad Poulson
SPAN Communications Director -
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Permalink Reply by Theresa M. Moore on -
That's all very nice. However, I have used Smashwords, and I still use Scribd, and neither one translates into effective distribution or sales. Scribd is nice for free ebooks and thousands of reads which do not result in book sales in any format, and Smashwords now charges $$ for a pathetic attempt at distribution which was not well-researched in the first place. I would love to use Lightning Source again but they require a line of credit and do not do ebooks. I use CreateSpace for the print books and Amazon for distribution and the store, and that is without having to go through the ISBN rigamarole. While she points these things out as viable options for someone with a huge amount of money to spend she does not address the issues involved in getting self-published, and the bookstores are slowly going out of business because they refuse to accept self-published books. I have been there, and painting a rosy picture does not make it work.
I have written a book on self-publishing called Principles of Self-Publishing: How to Publish and Market A Book or ..., now in its 2nd Edition, and I will bet I have more to say than a single article can produce. -
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