Why People Won't Buy Your Book

[Stafford Battle]

During the last few months, my wife and I have had the opportunity to attend many book shows and festivals -- in DC, Maryland, and New York City. It is gratifying to see so many new black faces promoting their literary works. However, in observing money transactions between authors and readers, sadly, many books just don't sell. At writer's meetings, authors complain of travelling hundreds of miles and spending hundreds of dollars only to sell one or two copies of their inventory.

What's up? Why aren't people buying?

There are a number of possible answers. 1) In a show that offers table after table after table of authors, customers find it difficult to choose. And, most buyers simply can't afford to buy every book or author they see or want to support. If you walk into Borders you don't buy every book on the shelf. You select carefully then purchase. Actually, it is much easier for authors to sell books at small venues with only a few authors. 2) Readers often purchase because of the author's presentation and not just the book. When an author stands infront of an audience and presents his or her story; more books are sold. Ask any motivational speaker -- their solitary back of the room table is crowded at the end of a talk. 3) Maybe your book is just NOT that good. Sure, you may have spent weeks or more likely months or years preparing your "baby". But if the cover is not up to par or, the inside of the book is not well designed, or the story is weak and uninspired, readers won't buy. They will smile and say "how nice" and walk away to the next table.

It is issue #3, that we as authors frequently must study.

Look in the mirror and say, "Is my book any good? How does it compare with similar books? Have my friends and family told me the complete truth about the quality of my writing and presentation?"

Honest criticism is the writer's best tool. That's why the most profitable writers relish hardnosed, horn-rimmed, by-the-stylebook-only editors whose red ink flows like rivers of blood over precious manuscripts. Its more than spell check and grammar. Someone other than your lover or parents must tell you when your words suck; and, most important, give suggestions on how to make them better.

Then you decide how to proceed. Maybe, that's why readers won't buy your book. You may need to write a better book.

[Diane]

Oh the horror! ". . .whose red ink flows like rivers of blood over precious manuscripts" - tough and sometimes scary words, but excellent advice.

[William Butler]

Dear Stafford,

All of your points are well made. I would like to make note on #2, however. Those who have been around for any length of time understand the importance of presentation. Yet it tends to be overlooked more often than not. Too many times poorly conceived and written novels sell remarkably well simply because of the manner they are presented to buyers. This holds true in every venture, not just bookselling. Microsoft became a software giant not because they had a superior product but because they marketed that product better than their competition.

Don't misunderstand. Every manuscript we produce should be of superior quality both in style and content. However, those qualities alone will not create the buzz necessary to win sales. I imagine most of us here haven't the means to launch national (or even regional) advertising campaigns. However, we should take the concept of such campaigns to heart and adapt them to every presentation we make. And that presentation must be aggressive rather than quiet and reserved.

We must pursue reviews in publications that cater to our target audiences. We must present ourselves to libraries, schools, book clubs, and writers organizations at every opportunity. We must market ourselves and our wares in a manner that causes readers to say, "I gotta have that book!"

The final installment of the Harry Potter series sold 8.3 million copies on the day of its release. If nothing else, that tells me people buy books--and the do so in vast numbers. Buzz sold those copies. And while none of us can create the kind of buzz that six previous novels and five movies will generate, we can create buzz locally and expand it until it becomes regional and ultimately national.

It can be a slow process. It can be that it will not happen with our first, second, or even our third manuscript. But it can happen--if we set our mind and our efforts along that track.

William

[Diane]

Bravo William. What you have stated above is exactly what we are trying to achieve with this online showcase and our offline events. They help authors with their regional and eventually, national - even international promotional campaigns. Check out the preliminary comments from the showcase held in DC this past Oct. 19th in the forums. Yes, folks buy books. We just have to bring them to the sources - us.

dw

[Jane Jordan]

I agree with you 100% because as you said, presentation is everything. I'm struggling in the area of marketing my debut novel entitled Playin' Church and I've sold books on my own and it is a good book according to every one thats purchased it. I fall short because its a good book that the public is really unaware of and to do marketing it takes money and sometimes authors who self publish their own books have to come up with creative ways to get the finances to professionally market their books. I thought writing the book was the hard part but then there's marketing which can either make you or break you. so as I've learned to appeal to my target audiences and book clubs for book sales until I have enough resources for the marketing. And my sophomore book I'll do the marketing first and the writing last.

[jawar]

Greetings Jane,

Money has made many of us unable to tap into our creative imagination. Even before money it has been my experience that you need to have three things in order to succeed in most cases.

You Need:
A Burning Desire
A Practical Plan -preferably written
Daily Execution of that planned

Through your experience you too have found that while money may be used it isn't the thing that most will separate those who succeed and those who fail. After all it is reported that Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before getting the light bulb right. When asked why did you continue after failing 10,000 times he replied I figured if I found all the wrong answers I was bound to find the right one, because that would be the only thing left.

You'll also want to distribute your book as an ebook. For details visit Make Money Self Publishing.

JaWar -Motivational Speaker/Author/Business Consultant regularly speaks and consults on how to make money online, self-publishing your own book/ebook, personal achievement and the music business. Schedule JaWar as a featured speaker for your next event or to get consulting by calling 678-887-4656.

[jawar]

Greetings William,

Thank you for words so true and a basic outline for others to follow.

I had the opportunity to do a book signing with a young lady. She told me she had printed 1,000 books and was happy that she had sold nearly all of them and that she was preparing to write her second book. I said great how soon before you go to press to get more of your books that are nearly sold out. Her response "I hadn't thought about reprinting." WHAT, I replied have you ever considered that their are billions of people on earth. Your book is your intellectual property that should be reprinted and packaged as many times as the market will bear.

These books we write and publish I told her help set us up for residual/passive income that may be passed to future generations. This is how we continue to build our legacies I suggested. After that she said she would reprint her first book.

My point here is to say that many times we stop before we have begun with no fault of anyone or anything but our own.

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JaWar -Motivational Speaker/Author/Business Consultant regularly speaks and consults on how to make money online, self-publishing your own book/ebook, personal achievement and the music business. Schedule JaWar as a featured speaker for your next event or to get consulting by calling 678-887-4656.
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[Inez Laurie-Douglas]

This is quite interesting. I just started a discussion on a similar subject having no idea that you already addressed some of my concerns. My underlying question is how do we convert viewers to buyers?

Thanks for sharing this.

[Stafford Battle]

Years ago, I worked closely with the African Heritage Literature Society (AHLS) in Washington, DC. Our goal was to promote Black Fiction. Our biggest draw was our monthly meetings at the Howard Inn (long gone). Reading is not a solitary activity. People like to talk about what they've read and interact with other readers with similar interests. Perhaps, we need to bring the authors out more in large and small venues, to meet readers. Also, maybe we can offer support for existing book clubs and encourage new groups to form and buy books.

[George Wilder Jr.]

That's a good question. And I'm still looking for the answer. I think to get others to buy a book is to give them reasons to why they should purchase it. Whether fiction or non-fiction readers look for reasons to purchased. In this day and age consumers are holding on to their hard earned money. As writers, we are completing with each and every author out there. Give them a very good reason and maybe they will buy. Keep your fingers crossed.

[jawar]

Greetings Inez,

Perhaps this has already been mentioned, if it has forgive me, if it hasn't then it's right on time.

Traditional marketing wisdom teaches us that it takes about seven (7) impressions before people respond to an advertisement or marketing materials. This means they must hear, touch, taste, smell, see or otherwise experience something before they buy. If we hold that to be true it's safe to assume that if you were to enter a new market without any set up you are doomed to fail miserably for the most part, because most the people at the book expo or trade show would only have heard about you and your book for the first time. There are exceptions to the rule. For instance, if you are relentless in your efforts during the event you may be able to change your sell to impression conversion rate. In an attempt not to use to much jargon here are some solutions.

1) Prior to attending an event use social networking to tap into the local market. Myspace, Tagged, Linkedin, etc.

2) Prior to going to an event create video and send it out to people using your social network platform

3) Hire a publicists or pr firm in the local market you're going to in an effort to get press. Ideally this should be done 6 to 9 months for print media. Obviously online media needs less time.

4) Do your on publicity or pr work informing the local market of your arrival and where you'll be signing books.

5) KNOW THIS: Branding, marketing, promotions, advertising and publicity is a 24/7 activity. If you're on the road traveling leave flyers in the gas station & restaurant in route. You never know who may see your material. I often leave flyers vividly displayed right at the gas pump. It works!

6) If you're on the plane give out flyers and business cards, etc. while waiting to board and while on board the plane. Every situation is an opportunity to sell many books.

7) Click the image below to find out how you can dramatically increase your myspace friends and improve your marketing campaign.


Download How to Self-Publish for Profit by JaWar and get more tips, steps and resources to improve your book sells.

JaWar -Motivational Speaker/Author/Business Consultant regularly speaks and consults on how to make money online, self-publishing your own book/ebook, personal achievement and the music business. Schedule JaWar as a featured speaker for your next event or to get consulting by calling 678-887-4656.

[jawar]

Thank you Lesley.

[Theresa E. Grant]

Members may not like what I have to say, but I think the big reason is because a lot of blacks don't read books. I talked to one of the guest at the Black Author showcase At the Howard University Continuing Education building, and he stated that if he bought the book for his wife, she would'nt read it. She'd rather look at television than read a book. He said that he has tried to get her to read, but she just shoos him away. And I have found this to be true with some others that I have talked to. Another reason is because some can't afford to buy a book.