Recently Don and I took a trip along the Outer Banks of N. Carolina to promote Gordy and the Ghost Crab to book stores and gift shops.
A fellow author asked me for details, so I thought I’d share what I did on my blog.
Let me first say that selling doesn’t come easily to me. The fear of rejection is real. In fact, I was reeling after the response from the very first independent book store I went in to cold. Luckily, after that initial snub, things went smoother, and now Gordy and the Ghost Crab is being carried at several stores in North Carolina.
My initial approach
I made a list of about ten bookstores and shops that might be a good fit for the book. From prior trips down south, my biggest hope was to get into two OBX indie bookstores, Buxton Village Books and Books to be Red. As Don and I drove south on Highway 12 to Ocracoke Island, we planned to stop anywhere else that looked like a good fit.
I called or emailed as many bookstores as possible a week before our trip and introduced myself as a children’s book author with a picture book that I thought would be of interest to their customers, that the story involved a boy’s first encounter with a ghost crab, it included science facts, and it’s the only book about ghost crabs besides Suzanne Tate’s Speedy Ghost Crab (which is short on factual info). I told the store owners I’d be in the area and could offer them signed copies at a wholesale price as well as wrapped playsets. Both Buxton Village and Books to be Red asked me to email them a sell sheet.
Buxton Village responded to my email on the same day, and ordered12 books and 6 playsets. The owner of Ocracoke’s Books to be Red didn’t respond to my email, but I figured I’d see her in person when we arrived on the island.
I wasn’t able to reach everyone on my list, which meant I’d have to go in cold to some shops.
Initial snub
I bought a pack of gold “Autographed by Author” stickers. I got my playsets ready. I designed a sell sheet with ordering and contact information, details about the book, and author quotes. Then we hit the road with a box full of books, the playsets, and a positive mindset.
My first stop on my travel route was an indie bookstore in Historic Winchester, VA. That owner refused to look at or even touch my book. When I leafed through it to show her, she still wouldn’t look at it. She said, “I appreciate that you have a book. As an independent book store owner, I have people coming in all the time with books. I simply can’t take books from just anyone who walks in off the street.” She whisked the flyer I handed her off the counter and tossed it underneath as if I were peddling drugs. I said thank you and left.
I was hurt and angry for about a day but now I laugh about it. I imagine indie bookstores get lots of people selling their books, and they have to adhere to strict policies. However, why she had to be rude still escapes me.
Success
In Kitty Hawk, NC, I visited Gray’s Outer Banks Clothing, Kitty Hawk Kites, and two other gift shops and bookstores. I showed the book to the store associates, talked it up, and gave them a sell sheet. Gray’s marketing department emailed me a few days later to request signed copies at wholesale price. They have four stores in Kitty Hawk and Corolla, have been in business since 1948, so I was doing a happy dance. We dropped off a box of books for them on our drive home.
I made an appointment to talk to the owner at Books to be Red on Ocracoke. The owner bought four books and four playsets. She orders books from Ingram on a weekly basis, so, fingers crossed she’ll order more books when those sell. I feel confident that they will!
Once we settled into our rented condo on Ocracoke, I posted on Facebook and Instagram how happy Gordy was to be in Books to be Red and Buxton Village Books, and tagged the posts with #Ocracoke, #OcracokeIsland, #Hatteras, etc. This move paid off when I went into the Ocracoke Preservation Society museum gift shop. The person behind the desk had seen the Instagram posts and was excited that I could offer her signed copies for their gift shop.
More fun
As I took pictures of the book and playset at the beach, I thought “why not take Gordy on a tour of Ocracoke?” I cut his image from a book cover and fashioned a backing from a foam core backing I made for stores who might want one. Since Don is the kind of person who always brings a kit with batteries, string, scissors, glue etc., I was able to glue Gordy to the backing. Now I had my own “flat Stanley” to take everywhere with me!
I took enough pictures to post on Facebook and Instagram to hopefully generate interest in the book throughout the entire summer, Here are a few:
Find your book’s market
Now that we’re home, I can follow up with phone calls to a few stores where I left flyers. I also should start visiting indie book stores in Michigan. I guess we’ll have to plan a few more trips.
Promoting yourself and your work is not always easy, but no one can promote your work better than you. And the good news is the more you do, the easier it gets. Try offering your books wholesale as opposed to consignment, especially when you’re dealing with stores that are out of state. Finally, don’t limit yourself to bookstores, either. Gift shops sell books, too. All you need to do is find the right fit.
To Order Gordy and the Ghost Crab:
Thank you for visiting.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist:
Multi-finalist award winning novel In the Context of Love
Picture book Gordy and the Ghost Crab
Latest poetry chapbook: Sleepwalker
Connect with Linda: LinkTree