Awesome and thanks. Enjoy Rocket. It is great to finally see the numbers 🙂

Np Dave, your site has a lot of great information. I use it as a reference all the time. Ultimately its helped me further my career as an author. You kindle rocket program is my next investment when my paperback is released next month, my money is tight as Im pouring what extra i have into my books and my company but it seems like a good ROI, keep up the great work its very appreciated 😁

Thanks – I still get nervous doing that podcast, so that means a lot to hear.

haha..awesome!

Numbers fail to make any sense whatsoever, and what would an international bestselling author be doing pushing a few copies of his book at a local shop? Why not do a TV gig and sell
thousands through Amazon or the other big name stores?

You spin a nice tale, and you might get some to believe it, but a grain or two of salt and a little common sense pull us out of the Twilight Zone fantasy. Reality check, statistics show the
average sales of a book, getting national distribution – even by reputable large
publishers – is about 200 copies.
NOTE that is an average. Big names sell more, unknowns sell less.
This is what kept and keeps the publishing industry going.
Unknowns riding the coattails of real bestsellers, some eventually achieve
bestseller status themselves but most fade into obscurity.

The Consignment Agreement is normal, and bookstore generally don’t buy
unreturnable, not if they want to stay in business. Again, it is a lovely fantasy, and it can be
fun doing a signing, but don’t ever expect to make money on the deal – not till
you have a name and a reputation to support it.

I hate being a wet blanket, but I can’t abide BS being perpetuated by wishful thinking.

Smokemare,

Permafree books are a good way to get people on your email list to sell them on your future books.

Although, I would definitely recommend targeting indie bookstores. Authors who forgo this strategy are decreasing their earning potential.

Please remember physical bookstores are in business because they want to sell books. You are not the only author who is offering their book for free online. I have offered mine for free on several occasions.

People come to bookstores because they want to buy a physical book. Otherwise, they would not come there. Also, if they just wanted to hang out and binge read books, they would go to Barnes & Noble to do that.

I agree Ingram Spark (formerly Lightning Source) is a bit more expensive to publish a book. Although, I would not worry about that too much as there are ways to minimize your costs.

Why don’t you use Ingram Spark & CreateSpace together?

Do your first print run of 2,500 copies with CreateSpace. If you are able to sell that many copies within the first year, then switch over to Ingram Spark for physical indie bookstores only and continue to make your book available to CreateSpace online.

“I expect I’ll only succeed in getting [my books] in bookstores when I’ve had [been] picked up by a traditional pub.”

This is a half truth. If you really want to get in Barnes & Noble (the last national bookstore chain left), then yes you will need a traditional publisher. Although, as stated in the article, many authors (including myself) do not sell a lot of books there. They will shelf your book for two to three weeks before it gets replaced by another new author’s book. At that point, your book will still be available for purchase on their website and can be placed on special order at your local B&N bookstore.

You can succeed in getting your books in indie bookstores. They will be your strongest allies. Just remember that it requires a tag team effort. If you want to just get your books on their shelves with the belief that the books will sell themselves, then you will be in for a BIG SURPRISE.

If you are not doing interviews with TV, radio, and/or print media, why should the indie bookstore owner go out of their way to promote you over another indie author?

Traditional book publishers will not set up these media opportunities for you unless you are a household name like J.K. Rowling, Jack Canfield, Stephen King, or Robert Kiyosaki.

To them, those household names are a good bet to invest a lot of time and money to maximize their profit. Unfortunately, the rest of authors must prove their worth to book publishers.

These insights are far from comforting, I know! Although, if this is what you really want to do as a career, you have to keep your spirits up! You need to wholeheartedly believe that you can do this!!

My advice -> reread this article

And then lastly read this one: http://reachingthefinishline.com/blog/8/11/2016/the-inevitable-death-of-traditional-book-publishers

I hope this was helpful!

🙂

SB,

The numbers were off. It was my mistake. I corrected it and appreciate you for mentioning it.

All indie bookstores are different. I do not blame you for offering limited support to those indie authors, especially if their intent is nothing more than getting their books on your shelves.

If the author is not doing interviews with TV, radio, and/or print media, why should the indie bookstore owner go out of their way to promote one indie author over another?

Thank you for your comment.

Thank you for your comment.