Bookstores: To Be or Not to Be (In)?

When you self publish, you should be prepared for certain questions.  One common one is, "Are you in any bookstores?"  Your answer should be, "Yes."

I admit I originally got us into a few bookstores because I thought it would be kool.  I knew Phoenix Books, our neighborhood independent bookstore, had a section for local authors.  Why not us?  Phoenix said yes.  Full of Power & Success, I went on to two other independent bookstores in nearby neighborhoods: Dog Eared Books on Valencia and Alley Cat Books in the Mission.  Great names and fun places to spend your money.

I didn't think of chains but other people did.   "Why aren't you in Books Inc. (local chain)?"  I said to myself: Get real, Ricky.  Ginger Snaps is a self-published book we did on blurb.com.  No chain is gonna take it.  But I buy books from Books Inc. so next time I went I noticed that the Castro Books Inc. had my friend Vince Meis's self published books, Eddie's Desert Rose and Tio Jorge.  It's like Gingers: Once you notice us, we're everywhere.

How important are bookstores though?  Well, we are asked more often "Is it in bookstores?" than "Can I buy it on Amazon?" so that seems like a hopeful sign for brick and mortar.  However, don't expect to sit back and let bookstores sell your book onto the NY Times bestseller list.  My own experience is: if you self publish you better self sell.  If you can get into bookstores, great! but it's just one way to sell your book.  Doesn't it make sense to use every way?

What are they?  Online sales outlets are essential.  We're tied to blurb.com but you should definitely get your book on amazon.com and Barnes & Noble online.  Take your book on the road at readings, especially beyond your friend network.  Do an ebook edition; it aint that hard.  Authors I meet who are making a living at writing say they make more money off ebooks than print.  Sell your book on your website or blog.  Ask your author friends to sell it on theirs.  Also, people like free content.  Seth Harwood is the Master of Free Podcasts, followed by a paperback edition.  Take a look at his site.

Happy selling!

(If you think of other ways to sell books I haven't mentioned here, please let me know.  We all can learn from one another.)

Check out our Ginger stuff!

   Ginger Snaps: the Book http://blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3577527
   Ginger & Gingerphile tshirts http://gingergingerphiletee.logosoftwear.com

Our goal is to break even

I did find and eat (way too many) gingersnaps, in case you were wondering.  Sad to say, our neighborhood Whole Foods does not have them, at least not the official Gingersnaps from Nabisco.  They do have something gingeresque from Paul Newman (may his gorgeous soul rest in peace) but I was after the real deal, which I eventually found at the dreaded Safeway on Market.

But enough about sustenance, I promised to talk money.  No, not the national economy.  The Economy of Rick and David.  How can we afford to publish Ginger Snaps, produce official ginger/gingerphile tshirts, and pay for an 8-stop book tour?  Independently wealthy, you ask?  Hahahahahahahahahahaha!
The kindness of strangers?  WE WISH.  No, we went begging, hats in hands, to our family and friends, who came thru big time for us.

We applied some vc expertise learned thru Kickstarter and gave ourselves a goal of raising $1500 in 30 days.  We set backer bucks levels, thought of terrific rewards for backers, and cautiously optimistically sent off our first email.  I learned pretty quickly that Kickstarter definitely is worth the money so don't leave home--financially speaking--without it.  In this day and age, people want to pay by credit card.  Kickstarter makes that easy, plus they have nicely organized, easy to use templates.  Just plug it in, baby.  Here endeth the commercial.  Credit cards.  Luckily, we had PayPal.  Twice as much money came to us via PayPal as from checks & cash.

Bottom line, we raised $3500--$2000 more than our goal!  Yow!  It came from parents, cousins, aunts & uncles, nieces, sisters, and friends friends friends.  46 peoples.  Average backer buck donation: $76.  Of course that was skewed when David's parents sent us a check and we landed on the big money space.  Thanks, Mom and Dad/Richard and Sheila!!  Thanks, everybody!!  Because of you we'll be able to reimburse ourselves for all (hope, hope) of what we spent to publish and buy books, tshirts, party refreshments, game prizes, and miscellaneous items too many (and boring) to list.

We're about to buy our first refreshments and prizes for our first book tour event: the Castro Kickoff  tomorrow night.  If you're nearby definitely come celebrate with us.  We'll have Ginger food & drink, play Ginger games with Ginger prizes, sell Ginger/Gingerphile tshirts, read a couple of Ginger stories and show ALL the Ginger photos--and, oh yeah, sign Ginger books.

Details: Oct.18 at the Johnston Tax Group offices (thanks, Jeff!), 2327 Market St., SF (between Noe and Castro).  7:30 reception, 8pm program.

NEXT TIME: We tell all about the Castro Kickoff and list when the Ginger choo choo is coming to your town--or at least within 1500 miles of it.