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.

[William Butler]

I believe the problem is more one of the current culture than one that can be attached to a particular ethnic group. There are many factors involved. Television "is" a prime culprit, as is the addiction to video games. However, again, the problem is one that is not relegated to a particular ethnic group. The desire to read is a decision to do some work for one's entertainment and enjoyment. Too often, in the current society, vegetating is preferable. I work in the school district and have observed that anything that remotely resembles putting forth effort is shunned by students. And it remains true across racial and ethnic boundries.

Our county is governed by four commissioners and a county judge. Of the four commissioner, two have gone out of their way to try and close the county library because they don't feel it serves a purpose worth tax payer dollars. As a memeber of both the library's advisory board and the Friends of the Library, I was astounded to hear any person could have such an opinion of a public library. This is in spite of monthly patronage reports provided to the commissioners illustrating the large numbers of citizens who patronize the library. How can a person see the numbers and still deny the truth of the library's importance? Additionally, until the most recent election, those who disapproved of the concept of a public library out numbered those who were in favor. During that time we were in constant fear the facility would be closed. I, of course would add, none of the commissioners are black.

I say all of that to make this point: We will always be faced with those who wish to sit and do as little as possible. Such people will never pick up a book and read for enjoyment. Surprisingly, even more will never read to keep themselves informed. There argument; why should they--there's always television. It's the dumming down of America and I fear it will only get worse as time goes on.

On a personal note, on of my first sales was to a black woman. I encounted her later that same day in a local store. She was so excited to have read nearly half of the book that she couldn't wait to get home, prepare dinner and get the kids out of the way so she could finish. Desire and excitement are personal, individual things. So long as the stories we write are well written and entertaining, we need only worry about getting the word out and creating the proper atmosphere in which to sell our work. Buzz...

Be well,
William

[William Butler]

Tamara:

Your points are excellent and highly accurate. I hope my previous post didn't seem to imply I believed there are not droves of people who read. As well, ever-so-often something or someone comes along that stimulates people who would normally not pick up a book, to grab one and read with vigor. In spite of much of the nay saying about the Harry Potter series, it served that very purpose. People (whole groups of them, young, old, and everything in between) devoured the books and the impact on children and teens was like nothing we've seen before.

I've watched 4th and 5th grade kids pick up Harry Potter books of 500 pages and more, consume then and go back for more. Compare that to titles like "Hank the Cow Dog" with it fifty-or-so pages full of illustrations and just a spattering of text, and I'm convinced that content and a well written tale make all the difference. Don't get me wrong, "Hank the Cow Dog" has its place and I'd rather see a child read that than nothing at all. But it remains that (hmm) kids are people too. And too many adults seem to forget that fact. Some may say the hype surrounding the Harry Potter books is what pushed sales. But I'm here to tell you, hype doesn't make a fidgety ten or twelve year old kid sit and read a 50,000 word novel. The Intermediate and Middle schools couldn't keep them on the shelves and there were waiting lists as long as my arm.

I had the opportunity to speak to several classes at the high school about writing, in general. I brought several copies of a short story that was still in the first-draft stages. The classes read the story aloud, with each student reading a page and then moving on to another student. The story was interesting and unusual and by the time each class finished reading it, they were chomping at the bits for more.

So, long story short (or at least not quite as long), I agree with you. We as writers have the task of writing viable work, with interesting characters, themes, and situation. Package them approprately and market them well, and the rest is up to the buying public.

William

[Theresa E. Grant]

Hi Tamara,

I'm not saying that I am throwing in the towel. I'm saying that I have to reach a diverse audience and not just one ethnic group. I have to go where the readers are.
I am selling my books to Hispanics, whites and blacks. I've sold a 100 books to these groups.

[Yasmin Coleman]

Thanks for the APOOO shoutout sis and the author in question...I've never heard from her...QQ. Folks don't discount black bookclubs...80% of all booksales are because of WORD OF MOUTH! APOOO has over 5K subscribers who follow us...a BookClub of 35 women...a Book Review Team of 20 members and we are not your average reviewers...lots of thought and time go into our reviews before we post them on amazon.com and several of our reviewers have or currently review for larger mainstream groups...so our reviews are taken SERIOUSLY BY MANY...so much so if we say we liked your book and a reader didn't...they will ask why did we rate a book so high that they thought sucked...and vice-a-versa...LOL...and APOOO also promotes books by and about AfAm. For those who don't know about APOOO...we've been around for 8 years and are still going strong. Last year we reviewed over 500 books and plan to continue the course this year. And we can be found online at www.apooo.org
Check us out and if we haven't reviewed your book...you might want to allow us to HELP YOU get the work out...afterall our reviews are still FREE...but please no e-books...yet! In time folks...in time.
Oh and I agree a good book is a good book no matter who writes it...but right now my allegiance is to AfAm authors because many of them need the most help in promoting their books.

[William Butler]

Theresa:

I think I better understand the gist of your previous post. It is much like the understanding that, in this country (I limit my statement simply because I'm not familiar with the figures globally) women buy and read more books than men. As such, an author seeking to reach the largest base might gear his or her writing and marketing toward female readers. I have to admit, I've considered that aspect myself. I abandoned the idea because I felt it would be too much like patronizing. The bulk of my work tends to be more appealing to female readers but not because I've determined to target that segment. It is just the manner in which I write. My central characters tend to be women and the stories tend to be told from that perspective.

I think most "black" or "African-American" fiction is not so much written with the specific purpose of targeting black readers. It is just that authors tend to "write what they know." For the most part black authors know black culture, heritage, and lifestyles. It stands to reason their writing efforts would lean in that direction. The result is their work will therefore and normally be geared to black readers.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we write what we write because it appeals to us. Once we have the finished product in our hands, then it becomes necessary to determine the best way to market that product to the widest audience we can. We are fortunate enough to live in a time where black authors can write stories about black characters and people of all races will actually read that work. It has, sadly, not always been so. And the situation, while better than in years (and generations) passed, still has room for improvement.

Marketing is a slippery slope and as such, it can be a difficult one to climb. Given that, we need to keep our eyes, ears, and options open. Never let us fail because we didn't recognize the opportunities before us.

William

[George Wilder Jr.]

I agree to somethings you have stated here, I know many people who have purchased my books, who don't read much or anytime at all. But the fact is that they bought the book, regardless of their reading habits. Many people are looking to buy books cheap, including myself. I'm also an avid reader. Some will have no problem buying a brand new book, if it's what they are looking for. Readers do read, I see it all the time. Readers are browsing the libraries, myself included. However, as an author, I'm not ready to throw in the towel.

[F. A. Goodwin]

I agree with you Tamara, during the month of December I decided to sell my books in downtown Philadelphia on the sidewalk and the people that I encountered either read or they didn't and that's the bottom line. As a lover of reading it is disheartening when people tell me that they don't read but it is what it is.

However, I was able to sell 250 copies in that time span and I only went out 2-3 days per week for a few hours at a time.

As far as race goes I will say this... SUPPORT is what's lacking in our community. I had women who would not even reply to my HELLO's, women who turned their heads and looked the other way when I approached them and the worst were those who looked at me as if I should have been somewhere working to make money for somebody else. A lot of US have no concept of the self-hustle but I beg to differ because I have the blisters on my hand to prove how hard I had to WORK to sell my books and I am going to continue to do so.

BUT every day that I went out there someone took the time to encourage my efforts and I'm grateful for those who without question purchased my book just because... they are the one's who made my day and helped me through the a lot of the ignorance that I had encountered.

The feedback is starting to pour in and the response has been overwhelmingly positive...

<<>>

[jawar]

There are something like 101 or 111 historically and/or predominately Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU's). Each college or university requires that each student successfully complete four years of high school English to enter into higher education. Each college or university requires that each student successfully complete four years of undergraduate English in order to get their degree. The HBCU's have existed at least since the 1950's. There have been a few generations that have gone through the HBCU System.

There are many Whites, Asians, Lations and so forth that do not read. Likewise there are many Blacks that do in fact read. Perhaps the books that are not selling, simply are not written, marketed, promoted or otherwise advertised correctly and don't speak to their intended audience. Perhaps readers have gotten a bit bored with the genre of book and now seek for something of the time, something that will give them information, contacts, resources to help them make money online, start a business, complement a feeling or otherwise tell them the truth about things.

In economics we are taught about the law of supply and demand. As I walk through a Barnes & Noble, Borders and Independent Book Stores I notice a great deal of books on romantic fiction. However, there are very few books if any on how to become a model, blog to the bank or use alternative fuel sources.

If it were me and it is I would create some audio books to complement my paperback and ebooks not so much for readers that can't read mind you, but for many of us on the go. However, it seems that I would have opened myself to do groups of readers by creating an audio book. I've personally bought audio books not because I can't read, but because time simply didn't permit.

In terms of not being able to afford books that boils down to value. We all pay for what we value. I value eating what I consider to be good healthy food, therefore I invest more money in food than I do fancy clothes. It has been my experience that with the right motivation readers will buy books. The other thing is it seems that the creative imagination has not been stretched.

Because I was born with melanin does not mean that my books are exclusive to that part of the population. The Internet has allowed my to sell my books to readers in Italy, Japan, UK, Canada, Mexico and a few others countries I don't know how to spell. LOL

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[Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke]

Everyone's posts were food for thought. I think Black folks read. And I have to say they have supported my work so far. Other folks have purchased my book too. I can say that I sell more books at book readings. I think folks like the fact that they hear the author and get an autographed book. I also agree with the fact that we have to look at our work and have others critique our work and book covers. It all has to be appealing without losing the true meaning of the work.

[Yasmin Coleman]

Good points sis...if at all possible avoid vanity press and truly self publish your book. Do research before you choose a vanity press as everything that glitters is not gold.
xoxo

[Enoch Mubarak]

At the risk of sounding like a nay-sayer and doom-sayer may I remind us all that all the book clubs, book shows, book suggestions and book seminars are to no avail if African Americans are well known and well documented for our inability and desire to read books or throughly research reading material.

One of the most ardent and challenging aspects to the African American business culture is getting African Americans to read a book let alone buy a book. The majority of best selling black authors must first have their books sanctioned and promoted by white media and white readers before they become of any interest to African Americans.

I write to you from realtime experience because as a published author, and CEO of Mubarak Inter-prizes I am on the front line of the African American intellectual reality.

The African American intellectual reality is that African Americans must be compelled beyond logic and reasoning to read because reading in and of itself merely for the sake of intellectual enhancement and personal edification is wholly insufficient to motivate African Americans to pick up a book and read it.

The expectation and requirement that African Americans should read is a deterrent to pursuing any business or professional endeavor where reading is a part of the process.

The factual nature and culture of African Americans is that African Americans need to see it before they believe it. They need to see it before they buy it.

The visual promotion of the product must compel the African American to buy before they will purchase the actual product. African Americans are 95% visual. For African Americans a picture is worth a thousand words.

Mubarak Inter-prizes fully understand the dichotomy of African Americans and Mubarak Inter-prizes successfully and aggressively addresses the factual nature and culture of African Americans.

If you were to visit our company website at: www.mubarakinter-prizes.com you will immediately notice that we promote and market to African American via expanded ad panels, pictures, photographs and illustrations because the majority of African Americans can see better than they can read.

The dichotomy of African Americans
Young and middle aged African Americans become extremely irritable and frustrated with others that have expectations of them reading anything beyond the manatory requirements of work or school. Older African Americans believe reading causes unneccessary strain upon their already aging or medically impaired eyesight.

African Americans are motivated and compelled to purchase based on powerfully pursasive visual advertisement and not paragraph after paragraph of reading. The expectation, discovery or ambush of reading immediately causes African Americans to lose interest in your product or website.

African Americans will rather wait to see the movie before they will read the book that inspired the movie and maybe after seeing the movie they will then only consider reading the book. (End of part1)

[Enoch Mubarak]

(Part2)
A Harsh reality
For the few African Americans that are reading their way through business and life are learning a harsh lesson in economic race relations that go far deeper than the thin veiled surface of diversity and positive thinking.

African American business owners are discovering that there is no escape from dealing with African Americans if you have any hopes about being a success without requiring European intervention.

African American business owners are discovering the hard and harsh reality that:

.The European markets won't do business with African Americans unless we adhere to controlled supervision.

.Unless African Americans speak fluent Spanish, or clearly understand Spanish culture, no African American business can survive in the Spanish markets.

.African Americans won't do business with other African Americans to any sufficient degree that your talents, products, skills or business will sustain any real or lasting success.

.All other cultural markets are also closed to African Americans.

The Producers
The only option left open to African Americans is networking, but networking is useless without an producing infrastructure to connect our skills, talents or products to. Absent a producing infrastructure African American business owners are just drifting through space hoping to connect.

With no producing infrastructure African American networking is void of any real substance or depth. Mubarak Inter-Prizes is keenly aware of the African American dilemma.

MUBARAK INTER-PRIZES
African Americans need an infrastructure and Mubarak Inter-Prizes provides African Americans with an solid steel, high speed, high definition and rust resistant high producing infrastructure.

At Mubarak Inter-Prizes we look at what we have going for us and not what we have coming against us.

Our expanded ad panels form picture perfect advertisements that compel African Americans to not only purchase items but also to display discipline, continuity and consistency of purpose.

As an African American business owner and member of the African American team, Mubarak Inter-Prizes, through powerful, colorful and compelling ad advertisements is soliciting the courage and the commitment of African Americans to move as one unit to form a thrust powerful enough to penetrate the hardened resistance to our global inclusion in the 21st century business and marketing equation.

We are currently updating our company website as always with you in mind because no company loves the African American like Mubarak Inter-prizes.

We love you just the way you are.

Sincerely, Enoch Mubarak
President, CEO
Mubarak Inter-prizes
www.mubarakinter-prizes.com