Continuing with Our August Theme of Focusing on Book Sales to Finish the Year Strong
Dear Author Friends,
I hope you had a relaxing July (a.k.a. the slowest month of the publishing year) and are taking a sales focus for August seriously. August is your quick-acceleartion on-ramp to the rest of the book-world year. It's important to find your mettle, set your sights on goals realistic and ambitious, make your plans, and get to work.
As I mentioned in the previous newsletter, use August to counter complacency and set the stage for finishiing the year strong:
- Double down on working sales methods.
- Brainstorm and keep a running list of more ideas than you can possibly pursue so that you always have go-to options.
- Reach out daily to create new book marketing and bookselling opportunities. (Do 5 Things a Day.)
- Be brave about trying new things.
In our private Profitable Author Life You Love Facebook, we are making a community effort to work on sales every day in August. Sales methods. Sales ideas. Sales partnerships. Sales outreach. Sales scripts. Sales planning. Learning sales. Dipping our toe in sales. Doing sales whether or not we feel like it. Doing sales even if it makes us a bit nervous or turns our stomachs more than a tad. If you're not yet part of the group, please join us now for the additional support, inspiration, and camaraderie.
This issue we will focus on the abundance of sales opportunities for your books at non-bookstore venues. Below, find a list of 167 places where real authors and publishers I know have sold books, often in larger quantities than at bookshops.
Where all will you sell books next?
Adapted from my Medium article from May 19, 2023.
It can be SO hard to sell books. Until it isn’t. When you start seeing readers and opportunities everywhere. When you start recognizing where to find and how to find your customers and fans.
Because it’s so easy to fall into thinking that no one reads anymore. Except that 331 million ebooks alone were checked out of U.S. libraries last year.
Or fall into thinking that no one buys books anymore. Until you face the fact that almost 789 million books were purchased in the U.S. last year. The U.S. book industry is big, about $30-billion-a-year-big.
Some times we just need a new perspective. How about this one? People in the U.S. are reading tons of books and buying tons of books. Now factor in that there are almost four times as many humans who know English outside of the U.S. — well over 1 BILLION humans — as in the U.S.
There are readers and there are book buyers all around us, ok?
Below are 167 places and ways to sell books that aren’t bookstores. That aren’t Amazon.
These aren’t possible or theoretical places you might try to sell books. These are actual places I as an indie book publisher for over 25 years — and other authors and publishers I know — HAVE ACTUALLY SOLD BOOKS. Often in large quantities and with less hassle than at bookstores.
Skim this list to just get a sense of it, then come back when you have some time and begin brainstorming the possibilities for your own book/s.
Then go out there and sell some books. Try it out and make it so.
- Academic forums, newsletters
- Acting schools, actor workshops
- Adult ed programs
- After church-service events
- After speaking events
- Airport stores
- Alumni organizations
- Amusement parks
- Antique stores, malls
- Art galleries
- Art shows, art fairs
- Apple orchards, pick-your-own farms
- Architectural sites
- Author events
- Backyards
- Ballparks, minor league
- Bars, pubs, taverns
- Big box stores
- Bike shops
- Blog posts
- Boat stores
- Book clubs
- Book fairs
- Boutiques
- Breweries
- Burlesque shows
- Canoe rental locations
- Children’s clothing stores
- Churches
- Christmas tree lots
- Cigar shops
- Classes, online (Udemy et al.) and in person
- Clubs
- Cocktail parties, happy hours
- Coffee shops
- Collector’s shows
- Comic shops
- Concert venues
- Consignment shops
- Convenience stores
- Convention swag bags
- Conventions, trade shows
- Corner stores
- Corporate executive events, HR events
- Corporate gifts
- Corporate libraries
- Corporate lobbies, office tower lobbies
- Corporate lunchrooms
- Corporate newsletters
- Cosplay events
- County fairs
- Course adoptions
- Delis
- Dental practices
- Department stores
- Drugstores
- Ebay
- Email newsletters
- Engineering firms
- Ethnic festivals
- Ethnic stores
- Etsy
- Facebook ads, groups, posts
- Festivals, street fests
- Flea markets, rummage sales
- Fraternal organizations
- Food trucks, food truck courts
- Front porches
- Fundraisers
- Gala dinners
- Garage sales, yard sales
- Garden centers, plant stores, nurseries
- Genealogy centers, conferences, newsletters, societies
- Gift basket companies
- Gift shops
- Grocery stores
- Guest blog posts
- Gumroad
- Gyms, health clubs
- Hair salons
- Haunted houses
- Historic re-enactments
- Historic sites
- Historical societies
- Hobby shops
- Holiday bazaars
- Holiday card letters
- Hospital gift shops
- Hotel lobby shops, hotel events
- Ice cream parlors
- Instagram
- Institutes
- Kickstarter
- Knife sharpeners
- Landmarks
- Law firms
- Libraries
- LinkedIn posts, LinkedIn groups
- Liquor stores
- Living rooms
- Mall kiosks
- Media appearances
- Meetup events
- Men’s groups
- Museum shops
- Music fests
- Music stores
- National parks, state parks
- Nature centers
- Neon sign makers
- New age stores
- Newsstands
- Nonprofit events, fundraisers, newsletters
- Occult stores
- Open mics
- Other people’s websites
- Outlet stores
- Own website
- Pet shops
- Pinterest
- Podcasts (your own, other people’s)
- Police and firefighter gift shops
- Pop-up shops
- Private clubs
- Private events
- Professional societies
- PTOs
- Public appearances
- Pumpkin patches
- Quaint towns
- Racetracks
- Realtor gifts
- Religious gifts, religious goods stores
- Renaissance fairs
- Restaurants
- Schools
- Scouting events
- Small business gifts
- Soap store
- Spas
- Special exhibits
- Special libraries (e.g., architecture, engineering, genealogy, LGBTQ archives)
- Spice shops
- Sports team shops, stadiums
- Stan store
- Summer camps
- Theaters
- Tik Tok
- Tourist shops
- Tourist traps
- Tours, tour boats, tour companies
- Toy stores
- Travel stores
- Trophy stores
- Tweets, Twitter threads
- Underground dining events
- University bookstores, gift shops, classes, departments, events
- Vacation towns
- Webinars
- Wine stores, clubs, meetings, events
- Women’s clothing stores
- Women’s private clubs
- Women’s groups, societies
- Workshops
- YouTube (interviews, book trailers, your own channel, other people’s channels)
- Zoo gift shops
- Zoom calls, video calls (including during work meetings!)
More on Store Sales
For more context on selling to stores, read about Author Income Type 8 of 15: Store Sales.
August schedule
Here's what's coming up in the final August newsletter:
August 24: Volume sales and partnerships
This week we'll look at some useful perspectives for making sales easier and a more comfortable, ingrained practice.
Join Our Call!
Drop me a line telling me what this list inspired for you. What are the first 5-10 types of places you'll be pursuing for your books? Still not sure? Head to our FB group and post your questions there. Let the community help out your brainstorming.
Sharon
