Wednesday, January 16, 2013

How I Got Shelf Space for Silver Lake - Kathryn Knight

I'm thrilled to have received premium shelf space for the entire year at our local bookstore, despite the fact that Silver Lake is my debut novel, published with a small press with limited distribution of print books.  How did I do it?  My persona with the MBA in Marketing wants to say I used a combination of push and pull strategies.  But what it really came down to was hard work and luck.

My first inquiry at the independent bookstore in our town was received with only mild interest.  Local bookstores like to help local authors, but there are many local authors hoping to sell their work.  And since Silver Lake is a POD (print-on-demand) title, ordering copies requires either a leap of faith (no returns) or a consignment agreement (more paperwork).

Determined, I visited a few more bookstores in neighboring towns, dropping off postcards.  And I got lucky--one store was having a Halloween event, and felt my ghost story would be a perfect fit.  Would I be interested in doing a signing at the event?  You bet!  I immediately dropped off some advance copies of Silver Lake by request, and received my first consignment agreement.

Now I had a signing scheduled and I was in one bookstore.  I saw an opportunity to capitalize on these positive developments.  The local paper had agreed to do a story on my book when I first contacted them, so I followed up with the editor there.  I emphasized the Halloween/ghost story connection and politely asked if the article could make it into the paper in time for my book signing.  Another piece of luck fell into place: they said yes, they could do that.

I raced back to the bookstore in our town with something to offer: I was being featured in our local paper this week, and they would list my book signing events.  We quickly set one up--now I had 2 book signings in one weekend with a corresponding newspaper article on the front page of the Arts section.  It was a banner weekend!

So that was mostly a push strategy--hopefully I wasn't too pushy, but I was persistent.  Signings are a lot more difficult that I imagined, but with the help of the bookstore owner and the news article, I began getting Silver Lake into the hands of local readers.

Thankfully, readers liked it--so much so that several members of the town Women's Club nominated it as a 2013 selection for their Book Club.  A book for each month of the upcoming year is chosen in December, and Silver Lake was selected for January.  I was ecstatic!  Now I had a book club creating demand for my book, a pull strategy.  The bookstore owner requested more copies, which I delivered immediately.

Then she showed me the best part: all the town book club selections for 2013 stay up on the main shelf for the entire year, labeled with their club and month.  Silver Lake is up on a shelf beside titles such as Gone Girl, Body Surfing, Room and The 19th Wife.  My next-door neighbor up there is You Learn by Living, by Eleanor Roosevelt.  Nice company!

I wish I knew of a magic formula in this competitive market for those of us without well-known names and enormous advertising budgets.  For me, leg work and lucky timing were two big factors for getting up on the shelf.  But there is one thing that I think is probably the most important: coming out of your comfort zone.  Most authors, including myself, would prefer to write.  It's what we do.  Selling ourselves is hard.  We'd prefer people to just want to read our books--but they never will if they haven't heard of it! 

In terms of digital promotion, I asked my publisher if we could do a limited time Kindle & Nook sale at 99 cents.  It's currently ongoing, so I can't say for certain if a low sale price will generate a significant bump in sales.  But so far, Silver Lake's Amazon sales rank has improved during the sale, so that's encouraging.

So that's my story.  I'd love to hear yours--what has worked for you in terms of marketing?  Have you had any lucky breaks?  Forced yourself out of your comfort zone?  Has it paid off?


 

13 comments:

  1. What a thrill to have secured such amazing shelf space for your book! I'm very nervous about my first book signing; the local book store is happy to work with me. I just hope the manager I spoke with is still there in May when my book is released...ha! Did you find that the newspaper article really helped in getting warm bodies through the door for your book signings?

    Congrats on such great success in getting Silver Lake into readers' hands!!!

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    1. Thanks for coming by, Niecey - I replied in more detail below re my experience with the book signing. You'll do great!

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  2. Way to go, Kathryn! Persistence is everything. My best tactic locally is a book sell/signing with some local artists in November. I've sold around 40 books at each event. I'm definitely going to check out the local bookstores given your success. Thanks! Rolynn

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    1. Thanks Rolynn! 40 books at an event is amazing! I've signed up in February for a local "Valentine's Pyschic Fair"...I had to pay for a table, but my love story/ghost story dovetails nicely with the theme of this event - mediums, spiritualists, etc, and right near Valentines Day. Fingers crossed it will go well. Good luck with the book stores!

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  3. Thanks Niecey! I did find the newspaper article helped - people who knew me but did not know I was an author came in specifically for the signing. Of course I had visions of it being that easy the whole time - it's not. I learned quickly that I had to talk to every customer that came through the door, introduce myself and my book, and try to interest them in a copy. It's very stressful if you're not a born salesperson, lol. You will do great, just try to get all the promo you can, even a mention in the paper helps. Good luck!

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  4. Such a great post detailing how stepping out of your comfort zone and persistence pays off. Congratulations to you on all fronts, Kathryn, and I hope your efforts continue to see such wonderful success!

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    1. Thank you Melissa! We all work so hard writing, it is difficult to have to work so hard at promotion too - it's great when it pays off! Best of luck to you too :)

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  5. Wow, you're amazing, Kathryn. Melissa is right. This is a great post. I doubt I could accomplish a fraction of what you did on my book, but I'm thrilled to hear about someone else being so resilient and resourceful, and your post is a terrific lesson for those of us still struggling with the best way to market our work. So thanks, and may you have even more luck with your many future books.

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    1. Thanks Darcy, I'm glad you enjoyed the post - it was a stressful but rewarding few weeks, and I continue to try to think of new ways to approach promotion. It is so easy to get discouraged in this business, but when that happens I try to remember why I'm doing this - my passion for reading and writing. Best of luck with your book!

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  6. Hi Kathryn. I shudder at the thought of a live book signing even though my novella is only ebook so not much I can do with it. Congrats on your success! I already have my copy but enjoyed your ride.

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    1. Hi Calisa! Yes the signings are scary, sitting there trying to get people's attention makes you feel very vulnerable. But I get better at it each time! Thanks for coming by :)

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  7. This is wonderful Kathryn. I will also be going the small town route when my books come out. It is hard to get out of our comfort zone and jump into the icy cold waters of promotion, isn't it? ; ) So happy for your successes, and may they continue to increase.

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    1. Thanks Robena! I'm having a tough time balancing promotion and writing and yes it is tough to come out of the comfort zone. In March I agreed to a local tv show...yikes! Best of luck with your releases!

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