Sadly, I think that writing and then selling one's work are connected. I will say that, though it would be nice, I do not aspire, nor am I driven, to sell 100s of 1000s of books. I would like to break even, I would like people to enjoy the works. Heck, I would like to sell at least 1000 copies of anything that I produce. That being said, I am a lackluster sales person. Once a potential customer engages, I can be quite winning and convincing. But it is getting the customer to engage - being too in one's face or pushy, that I just can't do. I bet I could have sold many more copies if the Saucer would have let me hire an off duty server to hawk the book table to table. My belief is, as usual, that people just weren't aware enough of the book.
But I am getting ahead of myself, which is pretty typical. I went to Raleigh this past week, to try and sell copies of my second book, Diary of a Plate Addict. This is a niche book - written specifically for a very small segment of the population of the world - basically three groups of people, all quite limited in number - first - fans of the Flying Saucer chain of restaurants and bars - and more specifically a subsection of these people - people who are members of their beer drinking rewards program - the UFO Club. Secondly, people who are acquainted with me and would like to support me and my efforts to be a somewhat profitable (ha) author. And third, random people who like decently designed, good looking books that are really expensive. (Ok, so this last isn't a very large group - and the first isn't so huge either - the middle group probably numbers in about 60,000 people...)
I went with the thought that it would be possible to sell 300 copies in the Raleigh venue. With a downward limit of maybe 50. This was to be a sort of litmus test to see how sales would be. A test case. Jeff, the GM, agreed to put up Flyers, which he did. And the flyers were kind of eye catching. not breathtaking - but in places where they would be seen - especially at the kiosk where UFO members usually go to select their beers of an evening. He mentioned announcing it on the microphone, but that never happened. That could have helped quite a bit. I also spent too much time at my table and not enough wandering around. I got many more sales when I was wandering around. One day, Jeff let me sit near the front of the bar. We both thought more visibility would increase sales. But it didn't. I am not going to guess why sales were not as great as they could have been. Many of the usual suspoects bought copies, and for that I am very grateful. Many more said they would and didn't. What is that about? Irksome to say the least. A few who ought to have bought copies didn't - not one server bought a copy of the book and to me that is simply mind-boggling! Who wouldn't want to buy a copy of a book with one's picture in it - even if it is a small picture? Hmm? Really? Whatever.
So, the final tally was 57 copies of Diary of a Plate Addict and 13 copies of Bar Dreams sold. Not great but certainly not terrible.
Some things that might have sold more books: announcements over the microphone that I was there - maybe a better flyer - something that shows the cover, not just the logo - and maybe something that looks more like a book. More wandering through the bar - maybe I will have to make myself a Diary of a Plate Addict Shirt and wear it around. More time spent in the bar - after 7 pm. I think as people become more tipsy, they become more likely to buy a copy of the book. Most days I bailed at around 7 - and almost always there was a sale or two just before I left.
My fingers are still crossed that Stephanie (a woman who works at the HQ for the Saucer) will be able to sway Keith and Shannon to get behind the book - they ought to buy one for every Saucer member! Or at least for all of their staff members for Christmas. At the very least, they ought to buy ten copies for each store to sell in their merchandise cabinets...
Any other thoughts are of course welcome! My plan for the next week is to come up with a google ad and see if that brings in any sales. Anything is possible (most things are unlikely).
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