Religion, History, Community and Joy
On Tuesday, April 28, Bob and I attended the Historica school fair in Dunnville.
These events started in 1993 and now involve about 275,000 students in 1000 communities across Canada. Dunnville’s event is a relatively new one, starting as an in-house event at the Dunnville Christian School five years and expanding to a region-wide event in more recent years.
Students create exhibits or other kinds of presentations on various aspects of history and are awarded prizes for different categories, including genealogy and the history of science and technology. Judges also select four winners who travel to Ottawa to compete at the national fair.
As the Historica website points out, school fairs are as unique as schools and communities that sponsor them. I haven’t been to any other Historica fairs, but if Dunnville’s is an example, they are pretty spectacular events.
When I first learned that Dunnville Christian School was hosting the fair I was a little skeptical. I had visited public and Christian schools before, as guest speaker, and I found the students in Christian schools to be exceptionally attentive and well behaved. But I have to confess I was still a little biased.
As a lapsed Catholic who sometimes describes herself as a “born-again pagan” I have a number of issues with organized religion, especially if it’s the in-your-face evangelical variety.
Spirituality is another matter – that I understand. And I will admit I sometimes envy those whose faith is so strong that it suffuses their lives.
Well, last year’s Historica fair quickly dispelled any worries. And this year’s was absolutely transcendental.
There is obvious evidence that this is a Christian school, including quotations from scripture on some of the walls. The day’s events started with a prayer, as well “O Canada.” But, other than that, we might have been in any school in the country.
Or maybe not. Because the atmosphere was wonderful, starting with a smile from one of the older boys who greeted us in the parking lot and carrying on throughout the day. At one point, Bob and I were standing outside when another car approached. One of the boys on parking lot duty took a quick look at the driver and front-seat passenger, surveyed the nearly packed lot, then indicated a space right by the front door. “They should park here, because they’re elderly.”
How often do you hear that kind of consideration from a young adolescent?
Students and staff were extremely helpful, offering to carry our equipment and presentation props, offering directions, smiling and saying hello. Everyone seemed excited, and that excitement was contagious, judging by the chatter and socializing among the judges and presenters during lunch.
A lot of the credit for the school’s welcoming atmosphere has to go to the dedicated staff, headed by principal Joyce Koornneef. Joyce hurt her knee in a skiing accident, was still on crutches and was officially on sick leave. But there was no way on earth she was going to miss this day.
The main purpose of the Historica fairs is to foster understanding and appreciation of Canada’s rich heritage. The diversity of exhibits at the Dunnville event certainly accomplished that. They ranged from exhibits on the Avro Arrow and the Feeder Canal to Robert Munsch, Harriet Tubman, the War of 1812 and the history of fur-trapping. A number of awards were given out, and four exhibitors will be going to Ottawa to compete at the national fair.
But the event is also about bringing the community together. Although the Dunnville event started out small, it is now open to students right across Haldimand and Norfolk. Many of those schools have been slow to respond, possibly because of the same prejudices I had, but this is gradually changing.
Aside from bringing in students and teachers from other schools, the fair brings in adults, either as presenters or judges, as well as any family and friends who want to visit. So, during the afternoon, the gymnasium was buzzing as parents, grandparents and interested neighbours stopped by to see what the kids were up to and maybe discuss their own experiences of some of the topics.
However, the highlight of the event had to be the native dancers, a young man from Six Nations, and a young woman whose heritage is Ojibway and Cree. Their costumes immediately attracted attention, and perhaps for some of the younger students, that was the main focus. But the young man’s introductory remarks explained the spiritual component of their dances, and how dancing was part of his journey of self-discovery as well as a means of recovery from substance abuse.
The young woman made a similar statement. Her shimmering costume included a shawl, symbolizing a butterfly and spiritual transformation. Both the dress and shawl were decorated with grapes and grapevines, and afterwards she told me that they were a reference to a Biblical passage, John 15:
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ...
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Now it wasn’t all serious. The young man made a few jokes, including one where he explained that there wasn’t enough room on stage for singers, so they’d “packed them up tight” in a CD.
The dancing, the drum beat, and the native singing entranced the audience, and that alone would have been a great ending to the day. Then the young man took up a drum and had everyone form two circles, one within the other, demonstrated the step, and instructed the people in one circle to move clockwise, the other to move counterclockwise. The young woman joined the outer circle, the young man pounded a heartbeat rhythm on the drum and began to sing.
It was a joyful celebration of community, an appreciation of a tradition that is part of Canada’s collective heritage, and deeply spiritual – and it will likely stay with many of those present for a long time to come.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Speaking to Sell
One of the most effective ways to promote and sell books is through speaking engagements.
While some writers may cringe at the thought of public speaking, the ability to give an interesting talk to an audience is a skill that can be learned. And it can also be quite profitable.
What you talk about is your choice, but most writers have basically two options: talking about the subjects of their books, or talking about some aspect of the writing life. I’ve done both and much prefer the former. And I speak frequently, sometimes as often as five or six times a month.
My part-time speaking career evolved gradually. At first, what typically happened was some organization would hear about one of my books and invite me to speak. Writing a weekly history column also raised my profile in the community, and I’d get invitations to speak to local historical societies or other groups with an interest in history. Word of mouth led to other invitations.
But I still wasn’t speaking on a regular basis. So, about three years ago, I decided on a more pro-active approach. I put together some simple flyers, one for each topic I was prepared to speak on. Altogether there were about six, five of them tied to a book I’d written, the sixth based on the research I was doing for my master’s thesis. In a couple of cases, I also had slides to bring along.
The flyers went out, along with a nice cover letter, to every historical society and museum within two hours of home. And it worked! I now speak to groups about 40 times a year, sometimes on my own, sometimes with my partner, Bob Blakeley.
It’s definitely worth the investment of time and energy. First of all, it brings our books to the attention of people who might not otherwise see them – especially since some of the titles aren’t carried by major chains. Secondly, it usually results in fairly respectable sales, sometimes as much as $400 worth of books in a single evening. And thirdly, it brings in a bit of extra money, because we always charge a fee.
The matter of a fee was something I wrestled with initially, but after listening to and reading about other writers who speak, I am completely comfortable charging a modest fee. Usually, it’s $50, $100 if Bob and I are doing “Conversations with Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Nichol” together. Some speakers charge much more, but because we’re dealing mostly with heritage groups who are often strapped for funds, we keep our rates reasonable.
Even so, some organizations balk at paying for our services. I suspect that’s because they are probably more accustomed to inviting speakers from corporations with healthy p.r. budgets, or representatives from government organizations, social service or health agencies. While these speakers may offer their services “for free”, in fact they are being reimbursed if they’re on salary, and ultimately either customers or taxpayers are footing the bill.
There are also some speakers who waive their fee because they are promoting a particular cause or a just so enthralled by their subject that they are happy to have an audience. For writers like Bob and me, however, speaking is an aspect of our business, which means it has to bring in some money.
We make sure that we will be able to sell books after our presentation. Even so, the message isn’t always relayed to the general membership. Bob came up with a good solution: he tells people that we have books to sell and “we’d be happy to relieve you of some of your hard-earned money.” This year, we’re going to do a little added publicity on our own, providing the group we’re speaking to welcomes members of the public.
We also bring along handouts, usually a business card and a list of the books we have for sale. This gives people the option of buying our books elsewhere, buying them from us at a later date, or possibly passing on information to another group, resulting in another speaking engagement.
And we’ve discovered that, along with the extra revenue, speaking engagements have a couple of other benefits. We’ve met a lot of really interesting people, many of whom share our passion for history. We also get to hear what’s going on in various communities, what people are interested in, what they want to know more about. That kind of feedback is priceless, because it often provides inspiration for future writing projects, and proof that public speaking is an important part of any writer’s career.
One of the most effective ways to promote and sell books is through speaking engagements.
While some writers may cringe at the thought of public speaking, the ability to give an interesting talk to an audience is a skill that can be learned. And it can also be quite profitable.
What you talk about is your choice, but most writers have basically two options: talking about the subjects of their books, or talking about some aspect of the writing life. I’ve done both and much prefer the former. And I speak frequently, sometimes as often as five or six times a month.
My part-time speaking career evolved gradually. At first, what typically happened was some organization would hear about one of my books and invite me to speak. Writing a weekly history column also raised my profile in the community, and I’d get invitations to speak to local historical societies or other groups with an interest in history. Word of mouth led to other invitations.
But I still wasn’t speaking on a regular basis. So, about three years ago, I decided on a more pro-active approach. I put together some simple flyers, one for each topic I was prepared to speak on. Altogether there were about six, five of them tied to a book I’d written, the sixth based on the research I was doing for my master’s thesis. In a couple of cases, I also had slides to bring along.
The flyers went out, along with a nice cover letter, to every historical society and museum within two hours of home. And it worked! I now speak to groups about 40 times a year, sometimes on my own, sometimes with my partner, Bob Blakeley.
It’s definitely worth the investment of time and energy. First of all, it brings our books to the attention of people who might not otherwise see them – especially since some of the titles aren’t carried by major chains. Secondly, it usually results in fairly respectable sales, sometimes as much as $400 worth of books in a single evening. And thirdly, it brings in a bit of extra money, because we always charge a fee.
The matter of a fee was something I wrestled with initially, but after listening to and reading about other writers who speak, I am completely comfortable charging a modest fee. Usually, it’s $50, $100 if Bob and I are doing “Conversations with Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Nichol” together. Some speakers charge much more, but because we’re dealing mostly with heritage groups who are often strapped for funds, we keep our rates reasonable.
Even so, some organizations balk at paying for our services. I suspect that’s because they are probably more accustomed to inviting speakers from corporations with healthy p.r. budgets, or representatives from government organizations, social service or health agencies. While these speakers may offer their services “for free”, in fact they are being reimbursed if they’re on salary, and ultimately either customers or taxpayers are footing the bill.
There are also some speakers who waive their fee because they are promoting a particular cause or a just so enthralled by their subject that they are happy to have an audience. For writers like Bob and me, however, speaking is an aspect of our business, which means it has to bring in some money.
We make sure that we will be able to sell books after our presentation. Even so, the message isn’t always relayed to the general membership. Bob came up with a good solution: he tells people that we have books to sell and “we’d be happy to relieve you of some of your hard-earned money.” This year, we’re going to do a little added publicity on our own, providing the group we’re speaking to welcomes members of the public.
We also bring along handouts, usually a business card and a list of the books we have for sale. This gives people the option of buying our books elsewhere, buying them from us at a later date, or possibly passing on information to another group, resulting in another speaking engagement.
And we’ve discovered that, along with the extra revenue, speaking engagements have a couple of other benefits. We’ve met a lot of really interesting people, many of whom share our passion for history. We also get to hear what’s going on in various communities, what people are interested in, what they want to know more about. That kind of feedback is priceless, because it often provides inspiration for future writing projects, and proof that public speaking is an important part of any writer’s career.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Selling Books - Part 3
The retailers who carry my books are a big part of my sales team. But I get the most satisfaction from one-on-one selling, also known in the book biz as “hand-selling.”
For one thing, the profits are larger, since I don’t have to pay the retailers’ commission, which can range from 20 to 40 percent. There are still expenses involved, since I usually sell at special events like book or heritage fairs, or at a speaking engagement. Most of the time, there’s a cost involved for renting space, plus there’s mileage expenses and the time invested.
Occasionally I have attended events where I haven’t sold a single book, let alone enough to cover my expenses. But that has become the exception, for a couple of reasons.
One is the War of 1812 clothing I usually wear to events. Almost all my books are historical non-fiction, and some relate to the War of 1812, so it’s a nice fit. But the clothing also gets loads of attention, especially when few other people are wearing period outfits. I have Bob Blakeley to thank for that, since he’s the one who persuaded me to get involved in War of 1812 re-enacting.
Bob and I do a lot of events together, and invariably he wears militia tunic. The colour, scarlet, and all the gold braid just fascinates people, and once they start to ask questions, it’s easy to direct them to the books we’re selling.
Sometimes, though, we’re at an event where people are a little distracted or overwhelmed because there is so much going on. That’s when our opening pitch comes in. Bob’s better much at this than I am, although I’m learning. Most of the time, I’ll just say hello and let people look over the books themselves. But we’ve found that this isn’t quite enough in many cases.
So Bob has developed a couple of opening lines. Sometimes he tells people that they’re looking at the very finest books on Canadian history. More often, he’ll say something like, “Cheryl and I have written nearly every book on this table.”
That usually gets people’s attention, although we have had a couple of people (both men) who didn’t believe us. One actually called Bob a liar; the other mumbled something about Pinocchio. What caused those reactions is anybody’s guess, but we think there are a lot of people out there who assume we’re booksellers, not the authors. So now we post little signs and make sure we mention that we’re the people who wrote the books.
Obviously we can’t present an unbiased opinion about our books, but we certainly know the subject matter and can talk them up, at great length if necessary. And our approach is pretty friendly. No hard selling, just talking about an aspect of Canadian history that interests us, and, we hope, interests the prospective customer. Now, they won’t all buy – some just aren’t readers, some don’t have the money, some are simply more interested in the social aspect of the event rather than the actual history. We know this going in, so we aren’t disappointed.
But what we try to do is get every person to take away something physical – a business card or a list of our books, anything with contact information that might eventually lead them or a friend to make a purchase.
Another factor that seems to have increased our sales is a team approach. For more than 20 years, I sold all my books on my own at various events. My husband is simply not interested in books or history. Teaming up with Bob has been one of the best things that ever happened to me. There are the obvious benefits of having an extra person around to handle busy times. But there is also something else going on, which Bob and I have discussed at length. Some women are not comfortable dealing with a sole man, some men are not comfortable dealing with a sole woman, some couples are not comfortable dealing with a sole person of either sex. Some people are not comfortable dealing with the only person in the room in a period outfit. But when there are TWO of us, most of the obstacles disappear.
What also helps is that Bob and I have complementary skills and really enjoy each other’s company. For instance, after we unload everything at an event, he usually wanders off to smoke his pipe and get us coffee, while I set up. I move fast, and I’m quite tense when setting up. When he comes back, he usually makes a few adjustments to fine-tune our display, but by this point the hard part is done and I’m much more relaxed. Just by getting out of each other’s way for a little while, we set ourselves up for success. Similarly, because we share common interests and a strange sense of humour, we really enjoy ourselves at these events. And THAT – the positive vibes we’re sending out – more than anything else, brings in the customers. We’re just having so much fun they have to come by and talk!
Underlying all this is our fundamental faith in our books. We believe they’re good, otherwise we wouldn’t have written them. And, although they’re aimed at a small niche market, we also believe they’re important. We want people to share our enthusiasm for history, and our joy in writing about it. Yes, the money is important – we have to buy groceries and pay the rent. But one-on-one sales goes way beyond that. It’s a way to connect with readers and get immediate feedback.
And it’s a lot of fun.
Next time: Speaking to Sell
The retailers who carry my books are a big part of my sales team. But I get the most satisfaction from one-on-one selling, also known in the book biz as “hand-selling.”
For one thing, the profits are larger, since I don’t have to pay the retailers’ commission, which can range from 20 to 40 percent. There are still expenses involved, since I usually sell at special events like book or heritage fairs, or at a speaking engagement. Most of the time, there’s a cost involved for renting space, plus there’s mileage expenses and the time invested.
Occasionally I have attended events where I haven’t sold a single book, let alone enough to cover my expenses. But that has become the exception, for a couple of reasons.
One is the War of 1812 clothing I usually wear to events. Almost all my books are historical non-fiction, and some relate to the War of 1812, so it’s a nice fit. But the clothing also gets loads of attention, especially when few other people are wearing period outfits. I have Bob Blakeley to thank for that, since he’s the one who persuaded me to get involved in War of 1812 re-enacting.
Bob and I do a lot of events together, and invariably he wears militia tunic. The colour, scarlet, and all the gold braid just fascinates people, and once they start to ask questions, it’s easy to direct them to the books we’re selling.
Sometimes, though, we’re at an event where people are a little distracted or overwhelmed because there is so much going on. That’s when our opening pitch comes in. Bob’s better much at this than I am, although I’m learning. Most of the time, I’ll just say hello and let people look over the books themselves. But we’ve found that this isn’t quite enough in many cases.
So Bob has developed a couple of opening lines. Sometimes he tells people that they’re looking at the very finest books on Canadian history. More often, he’ll say something like, “Cheryl and I have written nearly every book on this table.”
That usually gets people’s attention, although we have had a couple of people (both men) who didn’t believe us. One actually called Bob a liar; the other mumbled something about Pinocchio. What caused those reactions is anybody’s guess, but we think there are a lot of people out there who assume we’re booksellers, not the authors. So now we post little signs and make sure we mention that we’re the people who wrote the books.
Obviously we can’t present an unbiased opinion about our books, but we certainly know the subject matter and can talk them up, at great length if necessary. And our approach is pretty friendly. No hard selling, just talking about an aspect of Canadian history that interests us, and, we hope, interests the prospective customer. Now, they won’t all buy – some just aren’t readers, some don’t have the money, some are simply more interested in the social aspect of the event rather than the actual history. We know this going in, so we aren’t disappointed.
But what we try to do is get every person to take away something physical – a business card or a list of our books, anything with contact information that might eventually lead them or a friend to make a purchase.
Another factor that seems to have increased our sales is a team approach. For more than 20 years, I sold all my books on my own at various events. My husband is simply not interested in books or history. Teaming up with Bob has been one of the best things that ever happened to me. There are the obvious benefits of having an extra person around to handle busy times. But there is also something else going on, which Bob and I have discussed at length. Some women are not comfortable dealing with a sole man, some men are not comfortable dealing with a sole woman, some couples are not comfortable dealing with a sole person of either sex. Some people are not comfortable dealing with the only person in the room in a period outfit. But when there are TWO of us, most of the obstacles disappear.
What also helps is that Bob and I have complementary skills and really enjoy each other’s company. For instance, after we unload everything at an event, he usually wanders off to smoke his pipe and get us coffee, while I set up. I move fast, and I’m quite tense when setting up. When he comes back, he usually makes a few adjustments to fine-tune our display, but by this point the hard part is done and I’m much more relaxed. Just by getting out of each other’s way for a little while, we set ourselves up for success. Similarly, because we share common interests and a strange sense of humour, we really enjoy ourselves at these events. And THAT – the positive vibes we’re sending out – more than anything else, brings in the customers. We’re just having so much fun they have to come by and talk!
Underlying all this is our fundamental faith in our books. We believe they’re good, otherwise we wouldn’t have written them. And, although they’re aimed at a small niche market, we also believe they’re important. We want people to share our enthusiasm for history, and our joy in writing about it. Yes, the money is important – we have to buy groceries and pay the rent. But one-on-one sales goes way beyond that. It’s a way to connect with readers and get immediate feedback.
And it’s a lot of fun.
Next time: Speaking to Sell
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Selling Books, Part 2
Book distribution services are expensive. Large chains ask for a sizeable commission – if they’re even willing to carry your books. According to the March/April 2009 issue of Writer’s Digest fewer than 20,000 new books published annually are carried by major chain bookstores in the United States. That’s just under 5 percent!
I don’t know what the Canadian statistics are, but it’s clear that the odds of getting a self-published book into a chain store are pretty slim. So what’s a writer or small publisher to do?
The answer is learn how to market, and market aggressively. For me, it helps that almost all my books fall into a clearly defined category: historical non-fiction. And, until recently, all my self-published books had strong local connections. The next question was where was I likely to find readers who’d buy local history?
Museums seemed like a good place to start. Most have gift shops or a gift area, and since museums almost need money they’re usually willing to carry books on consignment. It also helped that I already knew a lot of museum people.
But the results weren’t completely satisfactory. Museums do sell books to tourists, as well as to devoted local history buffs. However, in my experience, museum sales really aren’t sufficient when you’re trying to make a living from writing and publishing. One of the problems is that a lot of readers never even think of a museum as a place to buy books. Another is that those who do may not be comfortable going into a museum.
In addition, some museums lack staff with a good understanding of how to sell books. One museum actually kept all the books it had for sale under glass! As an avid book buyer, I was horrified. Most book buyers have to pick up a book, look at both front and back covers, maybe read the table of contents and a few samples of text before making the decision to buy.
The next step was to get the books into independent book stores. When I started, I didn’t know any of the owners, I had no sales experience, and I was a bit shy about the whole process. But selling is a skill, and like any skill it can be learned. It helped enormously that most of the independent store owners were more than willing to carry my books because they knew that some of their customers would be interested. What also helped was that I’m pretty good at promoting books through media releases, so in a number of instances the retailers were either aware of the book or had actually been asked about it by their customers.
I also tried placing books with gift shops, which, with one or two exceptions, was not quite as satisfactory. Sometimes, the shop owner had little affinity for books, and so they weren’t displayed well. In other instances, the clientele was just not interested in books.
Dealing with retailers means that, in addition to being a writer and publisher, I’m the sales department, the publicity department, and the distributor. As soon as I know a book is nearing completion, I let my retailers know about it. While it’s being printed, I try to get posters to them, usually with a picture of the cover and the words “Coming Soon” included. When I send a release announcing the publication of the book to local media, I mention what local stores will be carrying it. When feasible, I arrange book signings, although I find these tend to work best in conjunction with other events.
Then it’s basically a matter of tracking sales and making sure the retailers have an ample stock on hand.
Aside from increasing my sales, dealing directly with independent bookstores has had some unexpected bonuses. I’ve acquired some interesting friends, most of whom willingly make suggestions or provide advice on what customers like, what they don’t and what they might be interested in reading next. That has been a huge bonus.
The strategies I use can be adapted to almost any kind of book. For instance, someone who has published a cookbook might contact local kitchen supply stores or gourmet food shops. Someone who has written a sports-related book could do the same with sporting goods shops or hardware stores.
However, since most of my retailers are in a fairly limited geographic area, I’ve had to adopt other strategies, including what is called in the book trade “hand-selling.” I’ll discuss this in my next blog.
I don’t know what the Canadian statistics are, but it’s clear that the odds of getting a self-published book into a chain store are pretty slim. So what’s a writer or small publisher to do?
The answer is learn how to market, and market aggressively. For me, it helps that almost all my books fall into a clearly defined category: historical non-fiction. And, until recently, all my self-published books had strong local connections. The next question was where was I likely to find readers who’d buy local history?
Museums seemed like a good place to start. Most have gift shops or a gift area, and since museums almost need money they’re usually willing to carry books on consignment. It also helped that I already knew a lot of museum people.
But the results weren’t completely satisfactory. Museums do sell books to tourists, as well as to devoted local history buffs. However, in my experience, museum sales really aren’t sufficient when you’re trying to make a living from writing and publishing. One of the problems is that a lot of readers never even think of a museum as a place to buy books. Another is that those who do may not be comfortable going into a museum.
In addition, some museums lack staff with a good understanding of how to sell books. One museum actually kept all the books it had for sale under glass! As an avid book buyer, I was horrified. Most book buyers have to pick up a book, look at both front and back covers, maybe read the table of contents and a few samples of text before making the decision to buy.
The next step was to get the books into independent book stores. When I started, I didn’t know any of the owners, I had no sales experience, and I was a bit shy about the whole process. But selling is a skill, and like any skill it can be learned. It helped enormously that most of the independent store owners were more than willing to carry my books because they knew that some of their customers would be interested. What also helped was that I’m pretty good at promoting books through media releases, so in a number of instances the retailers were either aware of the book or had actually been asked about it by their customers.
I also tried placing books with gift shops, which, with one or two exceptions, was not quite as satisfactory. Sometimes, the shop owner had little affinity for books, and so they weren’t displayed well. In other instances, the clientele was just not interested in books.
Dealing with retailers means that, in addition to being a writer and publisher, I’m the sales department, the publicity department, and the distributor. As soon as I know a book is nearing completion, I let my retailers know about it. While it’s being printed, I try to get posters to them, usually with a picture of the cover and the words “Coming Soon” included. When I send a release announcing the publication of the book to local media, I mention what local stores will be carrying it. When feasible, I arrange book signings, although I find these tend to work best in conjunction with other events.
Then it’s basically a matter of tracking sales and making sure the retailers have an ample stock on hand.
Aside from increasing my sales, dealing directly with independent bookstores has had some unexpected bonuses. I’ve acquired some interesting friends, most of whom willingly make suggestions or provide advice on what customers like, what they don’t and what they might be interested in reading next. That has been a huge bonus.
The strategies I use can be adapted to almost any kind of book. For instance, someone who has published a cookbook might contact local kitchen supply stores or gourmet food shops. Someone who has written a sports-related book could do the same with sporting goods shops or hardware stores.
However, since most of my retailers are in a fairly limited geographic area, I’ve had to adopt other strategies, including what is called in the book trade “hand-selling.” I’ll discuss this in my next blog.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Selling Books, Part 1
Over the years I’ve been asked a lot of questions by reporters covering book fairs or heritage events, but yesterday a reporter from the St. Catharines Standard came up with a really good one.
She asked about the importance of selling books at events like book fairs, rather than through large chain stores. Yes, it was important, I told her, and explained why.
One of the reasons the question impressed me was that I’d recently gone through an attempt to get the books Bob and I self-publish into a large chain. The chain already carries several of my books from trade publishers, including the Hamilton Book of Everything, which I co-authored with Kim Arnott and Marvin Ross. It was selling quite briskly before Christmas and was known to my contact at the chain.
Well, I sent off a package of books with high hopes, but it turns out they’re not going to be carrying them. In some cases it’s because the books don’t meet industry standards, as they lack scannable barcodes, These are older books – I do put barcodes on everything now.
Other criticisms were that some of the newer books weren’t big enough, more like booklets. They’re all about 6 x 9 inches and a minimum of 100 pages. (Those 100 pages was more than adequate to cover the subject matter, and, having written for newspapers and magazines for years, I’m really reluctant to pad a manuscript just to meet some particular word length or page count.)
There were also issues about some of the fonts used in the text, the selection of photographs, the cover art and the price.
You’ll note that there was no discussion about the content, and if that shocks you, welcome to the wonderful world of book publishing.
I’ve thought about the comments and don’t have a problem with some of them. The font issue is a matter of personal preference, and in this case it was somewhat large and unconventional – Bookman TC, 12 point with 16 point leading. But I’ve learned from experience as a writer of historical non-fiction that many of my readers are “of a certain age” and often appreciate somewhat larger font.
The cover issue was very specific – my contact thought the cover art on ONE book looked a little pixellated. And yes, on very close examination it does. But customer reaction to the cover (and I’m talking about independent book store owners, as well as buyers) has been excellent.
Then there was the price point. My contact felt the books were too expensive. Keep in mind that the chains ask for 45% commission, and if you get a distributor as well, you’re paying out 60%. On a $15 book, this means the chain and the distributor get $9, leaving just $6 to cover design, printing and marketing expenses.
Now, a book like this (about 100 pages) can be printed for as little as $2 or so, if you’re willing to print a couple of thousand, have the money to pay for them and some place to store them. Go the print-on-demand (POD) route and you pay closer to $5, especially if you’re only ordering smaller quantities.
In this case, the author makes a whopping profit of $1 per book!
What this means is that, while POD is a great option for self-publishing, it has its drawbacks. Especially since it appears the chains are set up to handle books that can be published by traditional publishers, who can take advantage of economies of scale and print several thousand copies at a time. And they are apparently not willing to carry “product” that veers too far away from the industry standard
So, for the foreseeable future, getting our self-published books into chains does not seem to be an option. But there are plenty of others, and I’ll talk about them next time.
She asked about the importance of selling books at events like book fairs, rather than through large chain stores. Yes, it was important, I told her, and explained why.
One of the reasons the question impressed me was that I’d recently gone through an attempt to get the books Bob and I self-publish into a large chain. The chain already carries several of my books from trade publishers, including the Hamilton Book of Everything, which I co-authored with Kim Arnott and Marvin Ross. It was selling quite briskly before Christmas and was known to my contact at the chain.
Well, I sent off a package of books with high hopes, but it turns out they’re not going to be carrying them. In some cases it’s because the books don’t meet industry standards, as they lack scannable barcodes, These are older books – I do put barcodes on everything now.
Other criticisms were that some of the newer books weren’t big enough, more like booklets. They’re all about 6 x 9 inches and a minimum of 100 pages. (Those 100 pages was more than adequate to cover the subject matter, and, having written for newspapers and magazines for years, I’m really reluctant to pad a manuscript just to meet some particular word length or page count.)
There were also issues about some of the fonts used in the text, the selection of photographs, the cover art and the price.
You’ll note that there was no discussion about the content, and if that shocks you, welcome to the wonderful world of book publishing.
I’ve thought about the comments and don’t have a problem with some of them. The font issue is a matter of personal preference, and in this case it was somewhat large and unconventional – Bookman TC, 12 point with 16 point leading. But I’ve learned from experience as a writer of historical non-fiction that many of my readers are “of a certain age” and often appreciate somewhat larger font.
The cover issue was very specific – my contact thought the cover art on ONE book looked a little pixellated. And yes, on very close examination it does. But customer reaction to the cover (and I’m talking about independent book store owners, as well as buyers) has been excellent.
Then there was the price point. My contact felt the books were too expensive. Keep in mind that the chains ask for 45% commission, and if you get a distributor as well, you’re paying out 60%. On a $15 book, this means the chain and the distributor get $9, leaving just $6 to cover design, printing and marketing expenses.
Now, a book like this (about 100 pages) can be printed for as little as $2 or so, if you’re willing to print a couple of thousand, have the money to pay for them and some place to store them. Go the print-on-demand (POD) route and you pay closer to $5, especially if you’re only ordering smaller quantities.
In this case, the author makes a whopping profit of $1 per book!
What this means is that, while POD is a great option for self-publishing, it has its drawbacks. Especially since it appears the chains are set up to handle books that can be published by traditional publishers, who can take advantage of economies of scale and print several thousand copies at a time. And they are apparently not willing to carry “product” that veers too far away from the industry standard
So, for the foreseeable future, getting our self-published books into chains does not seem to be an option. But there are plenty of others, and I’ll talk about them next time.
Great Niagara Heritage Book Fair at Grimsby
Yesterday, (Saturday, February 21), was the date of the First Niagara Book Fair, sponsored by the Grimsby Archives.
Bob Blakeley and I attended in our War of 1812 outfits and had a wonderful time. The venue was very nice. Exhibitors were set up in two locations, Carnegie Commons, originally built in 1917 as a Carnegie library and now the home of the Grimsby Archives, and the adjacent library and art gallery.
The exhibitors included local authors and historical societies, including Lundy’s Lane Historical Society and the Point Abino preservation project. Tim Warnick was there in Civil War uniform, along with an interesting array of Civil and Fenian material and artifacts. So were Trudi and George Down of the Hamilton-based Book Band, which represents a number of small Canadian publishers.
There was a steady stream of visitors through much of the day – in fact some of them arrived before the official opening. The volunteers were very friendly and helpful, at least two reporters showed up to cover the event, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. For Bob and me it was also a profitable event, not just in terms of sales, but also in terms of contacts.
The organizers should be extremely proud – first time events often start shakily, but this one definitely did not. All indications are that it’s going to be a repeat event, another great way to promote writing and heritage as well as a charming Niagara community.
Read the St. Catharines Standard report on the event at
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1446606
Bob Blakeley and I attended in our War of 1812 outfits and had a wonderful time. The venue was very nice. Exhibitors were set up in two locations, Carnegie Commons, originally built in 1917 as a Carnegie library and now the home of the Grimsby Archives, and the adjacent library and art gallery.
The exhibitors included local authors and historical societies, including Lundy’s Lane Historical Society and the Point Abino preservation project. Tim Warnick was there in Civil War uniform, along with an interesting array of Civil and Fenian material and artifacts. So were Trudi and George Down of the Hamilton-based Book Band, which represents a number of small Canadian publishers.
There was a steady stream of visitors through much of the day – in fact some of them arrived before the official opening. The volunteers were very friendly and helpful, at least two reporters showed up to cover the event, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. For Bob and me it was also a profitable event, not just in terms of sales, but also in terms of contacts.
The organizers should be extremely proud – first time events often start shakily, but this one definitely did not. All indications are that it’s going to be a repeat event, another great way to promote writing and heritage as well as a charming Niagara community.
Read the St. Catharines Standard report on the event at
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1446606
Friday, February 20, 2009
Robert Nichol Plaque Official
It's official!
The news was broadcast on CD 98.9 FM, Simcoe this morning. Approval has come through for an Ontario provincial plaque in memory of Robert Nichol.
My partner Bob Blakeley and I are celebrating, even though we've known this was coming for weeks. (We actually heard just before New Year.) Appropriately this is Heritage Week, and on Monday Bob and I participated in North Erie Shore Historical Society's 28th annual Heritage Day in Selkirk.
Despite the cold, the weather was pretty good and the crowds seemed larger than ever. Which means probably 1000 people turned out.
As usual at events like this, Bob and I were in our War of 1812 outfits and, along with selling books, told everyone who seemed interested about Robert Nichol.
You can learn more about him at www.heronwoodent.ca -- just click on the Col. Robert Nichol button on the left side of the home page. For now, what's important is that he was a prosperous merchant-miller who took on the duties of Quartermaster-General of Militia during the War of 1812. Although he was at first reluctant, his good friend Isaac Brock insisted that no one else could do the job as well. Nichol had all kinds of business connections across the province, a proven record for negotiating delicate international business, and the kind of organized mind and determined attitude that would not let him give up anything he decided to do. Not only did he fulfill his duties as Quartermaster-General, supplying the militia with food, clothing, shelter and equipment, he also participated in a number of battles. At Fort George, he was nearly killed when his horse was shot from under him.
Nichol paid dearly for his war-time service. His extensive estate was destroyed by American invaders in May 1814 and compensation was so slow in coming that he had to struggle for many years. Eventually he moved back to the Niagara area, settling in Stamford (now part of Niagara Falls) and took on numerous duties as a judge, commissioner and advisor, all the while serving as Member of the Legislative Assembly for Norfolk County. Always outspoken, he emerged as leader of the opposition by 1817, at a time when criticizing the government was often viewed as treason. Although Nichol's war record made it impossible to question his loyalty, he did have many enemies.
Which is why there was suspicion of foul play when his horse and wagon plunged into the Niagara gorge in early May 1824. Although Nichol was found with his neck-cloth stuffed in his mouth, a coroner's jury under William Lyon Mackenzie ruled the death accidental and Nichol was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hamilton family cemetery at Queenston.
Within a relatively short time, he was almost completely forgotten, even though he had been one of the most important figures in Upper Canadian politics and business for more than a dozen years.
In the 1920s, eminent War of 1812 historian E.A. Cruikshank wrote a series of scholarly articles on Nichol and his life, and in one of them wondered why he had been so completely forgotten. Writing in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography more than half a century later, historian Robert L. Fraser wondered the same thing.
Although there had been some effort in the Niagara area to mark his grave after Cruikshank's articles appeared, nothing materialized. Nichol remained a footnote character, mentioned in passing in many books on the War of 1812, but never really familiar to most readers of Canadian history.
Bob and I have been separately fascinated by Nichol's story for a long time and decided to join forces to promote his story. One of the results was "Conversations with Colonel Robert Nichol" a presentation we developed for historical societies and other groups. Our long term plan is write a full-length biography on Nichol, and we've just brought out a small booklet on his life, Robert Nichol: Forgotten Hero.
In the meantime, Harry B. Barrett, a well known Port Dover historian decided the time had come to get serious about getting a plaque in his memory. Harry has been the driving force behind a number of historic plaques during his long and productive life and knew just exactly how to go about it.
Bob and I heard about his plans in Port Dover late this summer and provided the historical background for the grant application. Ian Bell, curator at the Port Dover Harbour Museum took care of the application -- and the result is that the plaque will be unveiled in Dover on September 24, 2009.
FINALLY, more than 185 years after his death, Robert Nichol is getting some of the recognition he so richly deserves.
Before the plaque goes up some fund-raising will have to be done, and Bob and I plan to be involved. As plans are developed, I'll post them here, as well as on my website.
So please stay tuned!
The news was broadcast on CD 98.9 FM, Simcoe this morning. Approval has come through for an Ontario provincial plaque in memory of Robert Nichol.
My partner Bob Blakeley and I are celebrating, even though we've known this was coming for weeks. (We actually heard just before New Year.) Appropriately this is Heritage Week, and on Monday Bob and I participated in North Erie Shore Historical Society's 28th annual Heritage Day in Selkirk.
Despite the cold, the weather was pretty good and the crowds seemed larger than ever. Which means probably 1000 people turned out.
As usual at events like this, Bob and I were in our War of 1812 outfits and, along with selling books, told everyone who seemed interested about Robert Nichol.
You can learn more about him at www.heronwoodent.ca -- just click on the Col. Robert Nichol button on the left side of the home page. For now, what's important is that he was a prosperous merchant-miller who took on the duties of Quartermaster-General of Militia during the War of 1812. Although he was at first reluctant, his good friend Isaac Brock insisted that no one else could do the job as well. Nichol had all kinds of business connections across the province, a proven record for negotiating delicate international business, and the kind of organized mind and determined attitude that would not let him give up anything he decided to do. Not only did he fulfill his duties as Quartermaster-General, supplying the militia with food, clothing, shelter and equipment, he also participated in a number of battles. At Fort George, he was nearly killed when his horse was shot from under him.
Nichol paid dearly for his war-time service. His extensive estate was destroyed by American invaders in May 1814 and compensation was so slow in coming that he had to struggle for many years. Eventually he moved back to the Niagara area, settling in Stamford (now part of Niagara Falls) and took on numerous duties as a judge, commissioner and advisor, all the while serving as Member of the Legislative Assembly for Norfolk County. Always outspoken, he emerged as leader of the opposition by 1817, at a time when criticizing the government was often viewed as treason. Although Nichol's war record made it impossible to question his loyalty, he did have many enemies.
Which is why there was suspicion of foul play when his horse and wagon plunged into the Niagara gorge in early May 1824. Although Nichol was found with his neck-cloth stuffed in his mouth, a coroner's jury under William Lyon Mackenzie ruled the death accidental and Nichol was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hamilton family cemetery at Queenston.
Within a relatively short time, he was almost completely forgotten, even though he had been one of the most important figures in Upper Canadian politics and business for more than a dozen years.
In the 1920s, eminent War of 1812 historian E.A. Cruikshank wrote a series of scholarly articles on Nichol and his life, and in one of them wondered why he had been so completely forgotten. Writing in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography more than half a century later, historian Robert L. Fraser wondered the same thing.
Although there had been some effort in the Niagara area to mark his grave after Cruikshank's articles appeared, nothing materialized. Nichol remained a footnote character, mentioned in passing in many books on the War of 1812, but never really familiar to most readers of Canadian history.
Bob and I have been separately fascinated by Nichol's story for a long time and decided to join forces to promote his story. One of the results was "Conversations with Colonel Robert Nichol" a presentation we developed for historical societies and other groups. Our long term plan is write a full-length biography on Nichol, and we've just brought out a small booklet on his life, Robert Nichol: Forgotten Hero.
In the meantime, Harry B. Barrett, a well known Port Dover historian decided the time had come to get serious about getting a plaque in his memory. Harry has been the driving force behind a number of historic plaques during his long and productive life and knew just exactly how to go about it.
Bob and I heard about his plans in Port Dover late this summer and provided the historical background for the grant application. Ian Bell, curator at the Port Dover Harbour Museum took care of the application -- and the result is that the plaque will be unveiled in Dover on September 24, 2009.
FINALLY, more than 185 years after his death, Robert Nichol is getting some of the recognition he so richly deserves.
Before the plaque goes up some fund-raising will have to be done, and Bob and I plan to be involved. As plans are developed, I'll post them here, as well as on my website.
So please stay tuned!
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