The economy has been a roller coaster the last few years. Times are tough for many. And, most likely, it’s going to get worse. Do you latch down the hatches and toss your publishing dreams aside or do you plow forward?
It depends … it depends on whether you viewed your publishing venture as a business or a hobby. This isn’t the time to pile money into hobbies … it is, though a time to support and grow your publishing business. To create a plan.
Authors need to have a strategy on not only how the book is going to look and feel, but on how they are going to sell it. Sure, it’s great you have your book … but how are you going to get it into a buyer’s hands and exchange cash for it?
It takes planning. Judith’s primary distribution chain for sales is through her speaking business—she pre-sells, sells onsite and post sells her books to groups that she speaks for. Often, those sales have a retail value of many thousands of dollars at a time. It’s her plan.
Judith’s books, as all the books published by Mile High Press, Ltd., net a minimum of 90 percent of full retail price. Does she sell via wholesalers for book store distribution and Amazon? Sure, but it’s a minimal amount of effort. At a 55 percent discount of the retail price, she would rather focus on something that could yield a higher return—like 90 percent. It’s her plan.
When times are tough, there are always opportunities. What need does your book fill? Who’s the crowd/the people who need your book to fill or solve that need? Where are they? How do you connect with them?
With the economy in an upheaval, you might assume that no one wants to spend money. Judith recently spoke at a conference with several hundred attending. After she did two talks, books were bought. At the end of the afternoon, over $3000 had exchanged hands. The next day paralleled the same. Why did people buy books? She offered hope … answers … solutions. It’s all her plan.
What’s yours? What have you done to strategize how you are going to move/sell books in these challenging times? How are you going to drive a buyer to place that they can find your book?
The Plan … create one.