How to Sell Your Self-Published Book to Bookstores

Congratulations! You are now a self-published author! Many authors dream of seeing their books in bookstores across the world. So, you might be wondering, ‘how can I sell my self-published book to bookstores?’ 
 
Before answering this, it is important to keep in mind that every bookstore has a limited amount of space and a set budget to spend per month. Each store will have their own decision process for buying books. Many bookstores are helped to make this decision by representatives of publishers. These representatives will brief book buyers on new books and provide a marketing plan. This plan will include why they believe it will sell on the shelves and the promotion the publishers are willing to put behind the book itself.  
 
Here at Rowanvale we can help you to transform your manuscript into a physical book. Publishing a book in paperback or hardback means you have a physical product to market and hopefully see on the shelves of bookstores! One of the online retail outlets for your book will be Rowanvale’s online Book Store, as well as big names such as Waterstones, Amazon and more. Do you want help distributing your book to Waterstones? If so, our PR services can help you every step of the way.  
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Since the creation of eBooks and Amazon, self-published authors have increased their revenue and have become more widespread in reaching readers around the world. However, it is important to remember that bookstores won’t sell your book for you. It’s also increasingly difficult to compete with bestsellers, especially those that are supported by the bigger publishers like Penguin and RandomHouse.  
 
To avoid this here are seven things you can do to ensure that you will sell your self-published book to bookstores and sell your book within the bookstore!  
 

• Creating a proposal:
  

A proposal will make it easier for booksellers to gather the overall essence of your writing. Spend time on your proposal. Make it compelling and snappy. A few things to consider including within your proposal are: 

• Your cover 
  
• A synopsis 
  
• Sample pages 
  

• How much your book retails for  
  
• How much you are selling it to bookshops for 
  
• What is the format? (Paperback or hardcover) 
  
• Who are your competitors or comparable authors? 
  
• Does your book include anything about the local area? 
  

 

• How to contact booksellers:
  

Emailing is always the best route of communication when approaching booksellers/bookstores. Contacting them via email gives bookstores the time to think about your proposal thoroughly and affords you time to introduce yourself as an author. If you choose to attend in person, ensure you email or phone the bookstore beforehand. This will allow the staff time to book you in for an appointment. Showing up unannounced and on a busy day might not be the greatest idea. You want to allow yourself time to show off your brilliant book!   
 

• Time of year you approach booksellers:
  

The beginning of the year is the perfect time to try to sell your book, around February or March. The Christmas period is a crucial time in sales and marketing for your new novel and 
is a great period for gift giving books. However, being a new author means it may be a tricky time to sell your new book due to the volume of generic authors that booksellers push towards consumers buying books as gifts for family members. Marketing your book at Christmas might seem overwhelming. To help we have created a guide to see your through the busy Christmas period!  
 

• Think about your production quality:
  

Your production quality is important. Although there is an age old saying of not judging a book by its cover, it is an important part of the visual aesthetic. Keep note of current design trends, fonts, and styles. We can all admit that we have picked a book up from a stores shelf due to its gorgeous cover!  
 

• Social media campaigning:
  

To ensure your book creates revenue when in the bookstore you need to promote your book! Currently trending on Tiktok is a community called Booktok. This is a highly successful way of promoting your new self-published novel! Likewise, Instagram and Twitter are also highly effective in getting the word out. Use this to your advantage. You must make sure you are generating a buzz. We’ve helped lots of authors with their social media campaigns and book marketing strategies. Book reviews and book promotion sites are also highly effective in generating conversations about your books. Beta readers can be crucial in giving you feedback and detailed responses to help the progression of your book.   
 

• Your targeted bookstores:
  

It is a good idea to promote your book to local bookstores, many local shops will have an allocated section within their store dedicated to local authors. Do you have any local publicity lined up? Interviews or extracts with the local news to generate publicity?  
 

• And finally…Your sales pitch:
  

This is the most important part of how you will achieve your goal of getting your book on those shelves! Make it snappy! As a self-published author you must think ahead, you are your sales team. Here at Rowanvale we have an incredible marketing team at the ready to assist you in any way you require.  
 
To find out more about our self-publishing services, you can get in touch with a Publishing Advisor through clicking here. Alternatively, to contact us directly, e-mail at [email protected] or give us a call on 029 2128 0200 where we’ll be happy to answer any of your queries.