Selling Those Books

When we first started talking about his book, F/V Black Sheep, Mark and I discussed the many options in publishing available today. My first opinion was that he should go the NY route — trying to find a New York Publisher and going through the whole endless submission process. He, on the other hand, was thinking of going with one of the popular internet publishers like Xlibris or iUniverse. He had talked to a few of them and thought that was the way to go.

Ultimately, after getting involved with groups like IPNE (Independent Publishers of New England) and Cape Ann Publishers, we settled on the idea of a small, independent press — Silver Perch Press. There are pros and cons to this. Naturally, the publishing ideal is to get a contract with one of the big publisher that pays a decent advance and provides you with an editor, a publicist, etc. If you are lucky enough to get good ones everything is great. If you are not that lucky it is another story. I have heard authors talk about both experiences.

If you have a good designer, editor, publicist, etc. you are golden. They do all the work, you just show up for the book signings and collect the benefits. If you do not the experience can be more difficult than doing it yourself — not only does it take literally years for your book to get to market but, once it is there, you have little say in how it is marketed. Authors like Anita Diamant and John Grisham have been through this and are successful now because they took control of the situation and did their own marketing.

So, ultimately, Mark chose the small press route. It left him in control of the final product but also with a big challenge ahead. He has a good attitude about it. He says he doesn’t expect it to take off fast, that this will be a long, slow process and will take a lot of work. So far I’m impressed with what he has done.

Yesterday we made some revisions to the book that will, hopefully, be the last ones. Enough people have read the book and given feedback that we now feel confident we don’t need more changes. I cleaned up the typos and inconsistencies readers have pointed out and he took care of the few text changes. The third box of books is being printed now.

I have to say I’ve been impressed with how diligent he has been at marketing! I drove down Main Street yesterday and his book was in the window of both of the local independent book stores. He has two signings planned — one at The Bookstore on Main Street and one at his favorite little coffee shop where we spent a lot of hours working on the book.

And he’s being creative in his marketing. He contacted a couple of local establishments that are mentioned in the book and was able to place books in them, too. He has sold books in coffeeshops, restaurants, at the guesthouse, in his favorite bar and other places where people know him. Right now this is all grass roots but it is a good start and, because he’s doing it on his own, he’s walking away with a good chunk of the profits. That encourages him, too.

We are talking about the press releases that should go out soon and then sending out review copies. The book is available on a national scale through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. We’ve had enquiries from a couple book festivals — one on the west coast. I am learning a lot watching him. My book is weeks away from delivery and then I’ll have tog et busy, too.

I love this independent publishing stuff. It’s exciting and a whole new publishing world. I’ll keep you posted.