The Disheartening Demise of the last two bookstores in Springfield, Ohio - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T07:41:45Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/the-disheartening-demise-of?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A222843&feed=yes&xn_auth=noRighto! And then, of course,…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-21:537324:Comment:2229132009-12-21T14:54:33.636ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Righto! And then, of course, some authors simply enjoy the signings. In that case: by all means, enjoy!
Righto! And then, of course, some authors simply enjoy the signings. In that case: by all means, enjoy! I would have loved to do this…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-21:537324:Comment:2228892009-12-21T01:23:56.801ZKaren Dionnehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/KarenDionne
I would have loved to do this. Maybe next time!
I would have loved to do this. Maybe next time! For me, meeting and knowing h…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-21:537324:Comment:2228872009-12-21T01:06:09.076ZJack Getzehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JGetze
For me, meeting and knowing half a dozen independent mystery bookstore owners was one of the few victories in my one-man marketing campaign.<br />
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To me, it's simple math. A fan likes your book, she tells her friends. A bookseller likes your book, he/she tells hundreds of potential fans. Super-readers, I call them.
For me, meeting and knowing half a dozen independent mystery bookstore owners was one of the few victories in my one-man marketing campaign.<br />
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To me, it's simple math. A fan likes your book, she tells her friends. A bookseller likes your book, he/she tells hundreds of potential fans. Super-readers, I call them. I suspect we're not as far ap…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-20:537324:Comment:2228822009-12-20T22:10:04.224ZKaren Dionnehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/KarenDionne
I suspect we're not as far apart in our thinking as my previous post implies. I was speaking of a midlist author who WANTS to do a bookstore signing. I was simply saying that I think they'll get more mileage out of the experience if they schmooze the store owner, and put themselves in the owner's shoes and try to give them what they need and want.<br />
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However, I agree that for most authors, bookstore signings are a waste of time.<br />
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I did a handful of signings in bookstores when my novel released,…
I suspect we're not as far apart in our thinking as my previous post implies. I was speaking of a midlist author who WANTS to do a bookstore signing. I was simply saying that I think they'll get more mileage out of the experience if they schmooze the store owner, and put themselves in the owner's shoes and try to give them what they need and want.<br />
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However, I agree that for most authors, bookstore signings are a waste of time.<br />
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I did a handful of signings in bookstores when my novel released, and they were pretty grim, with a ridiculously low return on investment. Even drop-in signings were a waste of time. Sure, in a couple of days, I drove all over Detroit's northern suburbs and signed maybe 150 - 200 books, but the cost of gas and lost wages certainly didn't equal my 8% royalty on my $7.99 mass market paperback, even IF all of the books I signed sold, which I know they did not. And in most cases, I never met the store manager, and the CSR who helped me sticker the books were almost universally disinterested, so I seriously doubt there was any appreciable amount of hand-selling going on after I left.<br />
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I also quickly realized that I could do drop-in signings every day for a month and still not make a significant dent against the total number of books I had to sell in order for my mmp to be considered by my publisher as a success.<br />
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I'm all for an author getting involved with promotion, but we need to be smart about where we put our time and dollars - after all, we have a limited amount of both! :) Sorry, I don't buy that. The…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-20:537324:Comment:2228802009-12-20T21:47:55.147ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Sorry, I don't buy that. The numbers are just too small ever to pay off for the author. There are advantages for the store and for the publisher, but not for the author.
Sorry, I don't buy that. The numbers are just too small ever to pay off for the author. There are advantages for the store and for the publisher, but not for the author. The back and forth of this di…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-20:537324:Comment:2228762009-12-20T20:51:30.438ZDana Kinghttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DanaKing
The back and forth of this discussion is evidence (to me, at least) of something I've suspected for a while now. The publishers and bookstores don;t want to get behind midlist or new writers; the payback is too low, and it's too risky. They want to play the sure thing and live year-to-year selling blockbusters. That, they tell you, is where the money is.<br />
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Except both ends (publishers and booksellers) spend the rest of their time--when they're not telling you bestselling blockbusters is the only…
The back and forth of this discussion is evidence (to me, at least) of something I've suspected for a while now. The publishers and bookstores don;t want to get behind midlist or new writers; the payback is too low, and it's too risky. They want to play the sure thing and live year-to-year selling blockbusters. That, they tell you, is where the money is.<br />
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Except both ends (publishers and booksellers) spend the rest of their time--when they're not telling you bestselling blockbusters is the only way they can make money--by complaining how they're going broke.<br />
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If I didn't have a vested interest in trying to get a book deal, I'd be happy to see both ends of the equation go belly up. The more I learn, the less confidence I have that either side of the equation has a clue what they're doing. Marketing and promotion is al…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-20:537324:Comment:2228752009-12-20T20:35:19.937ZKaren Dionnehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/KarenDionne
Marketing and promotion is all about the other person. In a capitalistic society, there's no such thing as entitlement. No one owes anybody anything. Just because I put out a product, whether it's hand-made jewelry or a book or dish soap, doesn't obligate any store to carry it, nor does it obligate anyone to purchase it.<br />
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We're actually not all in this together. Yes, we're dependent on each other, but each part of the capitalistic system has to get something out of the deal, or the whole…
Marketing and promotion is all about the other person. In a capitalistic society, there's no such thing as entitlement. No one owes anybody anything. Just because I put out a product, whether it's hand-made jewelry or a book or dish soap, doesn't obligate any store to carry it, nor does it obligate anyone to purchase it.<br />
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We're actually not all in this together. Yes, we're dependent on each other, but each part of the capitalistic system has to get something out of the deal, or the whole arrangement breaks down.<br />
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I think Jack makes a great point. An unknown or a midlist author who wants to do a signing at a bookstore should be thinking in terms of what the store is going to get in return. I think if they do that, they'll be much more likely to have a successful signing. Authors are often told that it's as important to make friends with bookstore owners as it is to sell books, and adding our marketing efforts to promote the event in order to draw in more customers for the store to me, just makes sense. Actually, now that I think ba…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-20:537324:Comment:2228742009-12-20T20:35:01.697ZJack Getzehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JGetze
Actually, now that I think back, there was a major exception. (I'm getting old). Murder by the Book in Houston has a big following of mystery fans, and when I appeared there in 2008, six or seven people came to hear me talk, and one or two of them was a real fan (So far, the highlight of my fiction writing career). They do a nice promotion in their newsletter and in the store, and I understand brand new authors always get some kind of audience.<br />
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So maybe you guys are on to something. If MBTB…
Actually, now that I think back, there was a major exception. (I'm getting old). Murder by the Book in Houston has a big following of mystery fans, and when I appeared there in 2008, six or seven people came to hear me talk, and one or two of them was a real fan (So far, the highlight of my fiction writing career). They do a nice promotion in their newsletter and in the store, and I understand brand new authors always get some kind of audience.<br />
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So maybe you guys are on to something. If MBTB can do this, why not other stores? I know they are much envied for their following. People come to bookstores to…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-20:537324:Comment:2228732009-12-20T20:22:36.876ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
People come to bookstores to shop and discover the authors. For that matter, if the store advertises (as one independent store did and B&N did not) people do come specifically to hear an author. The problem is that the numbers are too small.<br />
As for me, I don't go to those affairs unless it's a friend, and I no longer shop in stores.
People come to bookstores to shop and discover the authors. For that matter, if the store advertises (as one independent store did and B&N did not) people do come specifically to hear an author. The problem is that the numbers are too small.<br />
As for me, I don't go to those affairs unless it's a friend, and I no longer shop in stores. Good point, Jack. But some ki…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-12-20:537324:Comment:2228712009-12-20T19:44:19.390ZB.R.Statehamhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BRStateham
Good point, Jack. But some kind of proactive effort has to take place between bookstore and writer for anything to get sold. Obviously the national chains are hurting banking only on big-names to pull them through. So some kind of paradigm shift has to take place.
Good point, Jack. But some kind of proactive effort has to take place between bookstore and writer for anything to get sold. Obviously the national chains are hurting banking only on big-names to pull them through. So some kind of paradigm shift has to take place.