Today, I read an interesting article in a publication called The Independent. The article highlighted ways “brick and mortar” bookstores are attempting to compete against the book selling giant Amazon.com. For example, some authors are offering extra material, say a chapter or two, for bookstore chains that sell their books.
Anyone who buys the new Joanne Harris paperback Peaches for Monsieur le Curé from Waterstones will find it contains an extra chapter not included in copies sold elsewhere, after the book chain signed an exclusive deal with the author.
This got me thinking. What would I do to get an “exclusive deal” with a bookstore chain?
1. Provide extra material? Of course.
2. Offer to lead book discussions? Yes.
3. Stock book shelves? Absolutely.
4. Vacuum the bookstore? Yup.
5. Offer customers beverages and finger foods? All day.
6. Make the finger foods? Let’s get cooking.
Guess you get the idea. I want to sell my book. So, why not go to Amazon.com and buy a copy. ; )
It’s always a good thing to work with local brick-and-mortar stores when you can, and that includes doing a little extra. I’m always glad to do signings or talks (which are enjoyable on their own terms) for a local shop. One caution, though — be careful about agreeing to a “consignment” deal where you provide the inventory and they sell it, and give you a cut. I did one of those without getting specific details first, and it turned out that the shop’s normal consignment rate returned to me less than my out-of-pocket costs to purchase from the publisher.
Thanks, Andy. I am working with a local bookstore. Hopefully, it will be mutually beneficial. I have experienced the same consignment problem and pulled out before I lost too much green. Thanks, again.
All good stuff. And it’s hard, these days, to sell books. Books are one of the few consumer products that can be returned by the store if they fail to sell (I usually end up with royalties held back by publishers as a hedge against such ‘returns’). They are, alas, a luxury item – discretionary spending. Anything that will help shift copies is a benefit. Extra content – special features – all this is good stuff.
Thanks, Matthew. I am doing my best.
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