{"id":10603,"date":"2015-10-20T08:25:38","date_gmt":"2015-10-19T21:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/?p=10603"},"modified":"2021-08-30T16:40:03","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T06:40:03","slug":"how-to-sell-books-in-7-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/how-to-sell-books-in-7-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Sell Books in 7 Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_10632\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Book-Expo-Australia.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10632\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10632\" src=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Book-Expo-Australia-300x189.png\" alt=\"10,000 tickets were sold for this year's Book Expo Australia!\" width=\"300\" height=\"189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Book-Expo-Australia-300x189.png 300w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Book-Expo-Australia-1024x646.png 1024w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Book-Expo-Australia.png 1214w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10632\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">10,000 tickets were sold for this year&#8217;s Book Expo Australia!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This weekend was a bookish one for me&#8230; On Saturday I taught creative writing at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mec.nsw.edu.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Mosman College<\/a>. Then on Sunday I attended <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bookexpoaustralia.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Book Expo Australia<\/a>, where <a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/nbwg-about\/\">my Northern Beaches Writers&#8217; Group<\/a> and I had a stall to sell our books&#8230; I was also &#8216;booked&#8217; (he he!) in to talk at the Expo about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8216;Reading to Children&#8217;, and<\/li>\n<li>&#8216;The Power Words Have to Endure, Bring Success &amp; Contentment, and Even Fight Cancer&#8217; \u2013 a bit of a mouthful for a title, but a very interesting talk about the creation of new literacies, technology and publishing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Selling books was a major theme on both days.<\/p>\n<p>During my creative writing class, my students and I discussed which books we were currently reading and naturally recommended books to each other. Word of mouth has to be one of the best and oldest ways to sell a book! Since I am as yet unable to sell any of my own books (hurry up, universe \u2013 <a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/novels\/\">my novels<\/a> are awesome!), I ended up recommending books by author buddies here in Australia. We have so much amazing talent in Australia!<\/p>\n<p>Book Expo was, naturally, full of books \u2013 so <a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/nbwg-about\/\">my Northern Beaches Writers&#8217; Group<\/a> and I had to compete with the many other wonderful authors and booksellers trying to sell. It was a fantastically bookish day, and I had lots of fun selling books and raising money for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thekidscancerproject.org.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kids&#8217; Cancer Project<\/a>. I also learnt the following things about selling books (much of which could also be said about things other than books):<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10605\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10605\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10605\" src=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"What a shiny stall! So much to see and do!\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-1.jpg 1417w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10605\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">What a shiny stall! So much to see and do!<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>1. Shiny Things Matter<\/h3>\n<p>The bigger and brighter your stall, or book, or personality \u2013 the more attention you attract. People don&#8217;t like to miss out and, if it looks like fun, it most probably is fun. Be fun! Be shiny! Even if yours is a serious book, the book-buying process is supposed to be fun. Keep it fun for readers!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10606\" style=\"width: 243px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10606\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10606\" src=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-2-233x300.jpg\" alt=\"One of the winners of our lolly-jar guessing competition. Congratulations, Liana!\" width=\"233\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-2-233x300.jpg 233w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-2-794x1024.jpg 794w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-2.jpg 1417w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 233px) 100vw, 233px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10606\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of the winners of our lolly-jar guessing competition. Congratulations, Liana!<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>2. People Like Free Stuff!<\/h3>\n<p>We had a free lolly-jar guessing game, free postcards, free chocolates for anyone who answered a bookish question, and free smiles. Other stalls had free badges, free bookmarks, and M&amp;Ms. &#8216;Free&#8217; is a good reason to walk over. &#8216;Free&#8217; tells people that they&#8217;re getting value for money \u2013 without even buying anything, they&#8217;ve already received a benefit!<\/p>\n<h3>3. Be Curious<\/h3>\n<p>Readers love to talk about books. If you ask them about their likes and dislikes, you&#8217;ll be better able to recommend one of your books, and there&#8217;s a greater chance it&#8217;ll be suited to their tastes. If none of your books appeal, you&#8217;re at least being nice, which helps your author-brand \u2013 they may like your next book!<\/p>\n<h3>4. Be Unique<\/h3>\n<p>Every successful book has an interesting hook. Being succinct with your pitch to passers-by saves everyone time. They will either like the idea of <a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/nbwg-books\/\">a race against time to save an advanced-technology mechanical dolphin with a hidden secret<\/a> or they won&#8217;t \u2013 same with the <a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/nbwg-books\/\">adventure that sees an outback flash flood become a gateway to another world<\/a>. Focus on what makes your book different to others, and you will stand out.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Apply the Art of Storytelling to Selling<\/h3>\n<p>There&#8217;s a story behind every book \u2013 why it was written, how and where. For the books written by my <a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/nbwg-books\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Northern Beaches Writers&#8217; Group<\/a>, it was to raise money for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thekidscancerproject.org.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kids&#8217; Cancer Project<\/a>. Knowing the story behind a book gives readers an appreciation for process and purpose, and endears them to your book. Those readers will then hopefully have a story to share with friends and family when they recommend your books through that all-important word of mouth.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10607\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10607\" class=\"wp-image-10607 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-3-300x270.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-3-300x270.jpg 300w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-3-1024x921.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-3-480x430.jpg 480w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Zena-Shapter-Kids-Cancer-Project-Book-Expo-3.jpg 1417w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10607\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Talk about variety \u2013\u00a0look what I found for myself in among all the books: a Dr Who Tardis necklace! Great idea <a href=\"http:\/\/www.peggybrightbooks.com\/new\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Peggy Bright Books<\/a>!<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>6. Offer Variety<\/h3>\n<p>It can be intimidating for readers to approach a book stall hosted by a single author. What if they don&#8217;t like that author&#8217;s books? They will feel bad about turning the author down, face-to-face. So despite the impulse to keep competition at a safe distance, it can actually be better to have a stall offering a variety of books (or bookish paraphernalia \u2013 see Tardis necklace!) for sale, giving more choice to readers. They&#8217;re bound to find something they like!<\/p>\n<h3>7. Good Products Sell<\/h3>\n<p>More important than all the above is to have a good product. Unless it&#8217;s good, it won&#8217;t sell. If it&#8217;s good, it will. Period.<\/p>\n<p>So, with that in mind, I should go and do some writing now \u2013 and ensure it&#8217;s the best it can be!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This weekend was a bookish one for me&#8230; On Saturday I taught creative writing at the Mosman College. Then on Sunday I attended Book Expo Australia, where my Northern Beaches Writers&#8217; Group and I had a stall to sell our books&#8230; I was also &#8216;booked&#8217; (he he!) in to talk\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"continue-reading-button\"> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/how-to-sell-books-in-7-steps\/\">Continue reading<i class=\"crycon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[940,1371,1365,433,455,1372,1004],"class_list":["post-10603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookish-inspection","category-writer-advice","tag-a-dolphin-for-naia","tag-book-expo-australia","tag-kids-cancer-project","tag-mosman-community-college","tag-northern-beaches-writers-group","tag-peggy-bright-books","tag-scribbles-in-the-dark"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10603"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14258,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10603\/revisions\/14258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}