Learn How to Reach the Library Book Market

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

You spot a new book that looks interesting. Where do you turn to get that book? Some of you are thinking Amazon—and yes Amazon would have some information about the book. Yet on Amazon to actually get the book in your hands, you have to buy that book and spend money.  Often the first place I look is not to buy the book but to explore my local library. Can I get the book there? Can I get the audiobook through my library? Can I get the book through interlibrary loan? Often the answer is yes.

I have a branch of my local public library about three blocks from my house. As I've learned to use their online catalog, I can often reserve books from home, then get an email they are ready for me to pick up and go get these books. If I don't find the book in their catalog, then I can use interlibrary loan to locate the book and get it. Or sometimes I will make a book purchase suggestion. For example, last week in my email I saw a book where the title caught my interest. I searched for the audiobook version on Overdrive but did not find it.  I returned to my local library and filled out a form to make a suggestion on a book. Later that day, I got an email from the library they were ordering the audiobook version through Overdrive and it should be available later that day. A few hours later, I searched for this audiobook, found it, checked it out and downloaded it to my phone—all without leaving my home.

Hopefully through these stories you are seeing the value and diversity for book lovers to be using your local library. Last week I did a 45-minute online class about libraries with Amy Collins. Here's some facts Amy pointed out:

* Over 57% of Millenials have been in a library or on their library website in the last month

* 71% of Americans have used a library in the last year

* The American Library annual budget for materials and books is just over 2.8 BILLION Dollars.

If you don't know Amy,  she is the most trusted and experienced teacher in our industry and teaches hundreds of classes each year on how to get your books INTO libraries. There is no special trick to getting your book approved and purchased by libraries. But there ARE things you have to know and do to make this amazing side of the book business work for you. Amy Collins is the founder of Bestseller  Builders and president of New Shelves Books. Collins is a recommended sales consultant for some of the largest book and library retailers and wholesalers in the publishing industry. She is a USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL bestselling author and in the last 20 years, Amy and her team have sold over 40 Million books into the bookstore, library, and Chain store market for small and mid-sized publishers. She is a columnist for and a board member of several publishing organizations and a trusted teacher in the world of independent publishers.

With over 10,000 libraries in North America alone, this wonderful opportunity to learn exactly HOW to sell into thousands of libraries is a wonderful opportunity. Amy recorded her workshop and includes a handout and valuable information. You can access it right away at:

https://www.newshelves.com/Whalin

Do you use your local library? Are you selling your books into libraries? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:


Are you reaching the library market with your books? Get insights and a free workshop from a respected expert. (ClickToTweet)

Answer The Question

Over the last week, I've had limited opportunity to add new entries about The Writing Life. I was traveling to the Florida Writers Conference in Orlando. For me, I was with a new group of writers and always brings some interesting interaction and dynamics. Each writers conference has it's own rhythm and personality. Throughout the past year, I've been to almost a conference each month. During June, I spoke three weekends in a row--which was a bit intense especially zigzagging around the country from home to Amarillo, Texas to home to Roanoke, Virginia to home to Charlotte, North Carolina to home.

At the Florida conference there wasn't a faculty meeting or occasion to meet the various leaders of the local group so I had to pick up this information throughout the conference. Some conferences begin with a faculty meeting which provides this type of information. I taught two workshops and as the weekend progressed, I learned my volunteer room monitor was the Vice President of the Florida Writers Association, Chrissy Jackson. To get feedback about the individual workshops, each participant was given a simple evaluation slip when they came into the room. After the workshop, they filled out the slip and returned it to the registration desk. Why? Because when they turned in their feedback, they were given a numbered raffle ticket. At various points throughout the conference, these numbers were drawn and the winners received some nice prizes. This system gave the participants plenty of incentive to fill out the feedback forms and gather as many raffle tickets as they could collect.

At the end of the conference, Chrissy promised to send me my feedback from the registration forms, then she said, "I've seen your evaluations. It was very positive."

The way she said that statement made me think it was unusual and I said, "Isn't it supposed to be that way?"

Chrissy said, "Your workshop was different because when someone asked a question, you answered it for them in a way they could understand and apply."

As someone who has been attending writers conferences for many years, I was a bit confused. It didn't seem to me like I was doing anything unusual in answering the questions of the participants. "What's so different about that? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do if you teach a workshop?" I inquired.

"You'd be surprised at some of the other workshop leaders, Terry," Chrissy said. "Yes, they give an answer but it doesn't connect to the question nor does it answer their question?" I was a bit surprised at the reaction and grateful that my teaching was well received.

Tomorrow I will continue to write about my experiences from this workshop. I met some fascinating people at this conference and formed some new and valuable friendships. It's another one of the benefits of going to different conferences--something I recommend.

Add Value With Repurposed Content

Recently I wrote about the value of repurposed content. As writers and editors, we have a lot of this material which is "hanging around." Are you using it?

In the next few weeks, I will be releasing a new product into the marketplace. It is premature to write about the specifics but I can tell you about the process and hopefully help some of you readers to think creatively about some of your material and how it can be repurposed.

I'm still in the preparation stage to release this new product. I have purchased a website address and I'm in the process of building a landing page. If you don't know this term, landing page, it is a one-page website with persuasive words where someone can purchase the new product. If you want to learn more in depth about this process, I'd encourage you to pick up a copy of Bob Bly's four audio CD set called The Internet Marketing Retirement Plan. While many people try to make the Internet marketing process into something complex (and charge an expensive price to teach it to you), Bob and Fred Gleeck reduce it into three simple steps. This set of CDs is packed with information. I've listened to all of it twice and learn something new each time. I'm sure I would benefit from a third session with it.

While there are several key factors to building a good landing page, one portion of the process is adding some bonus items to the purchase which have value for the customer. Some times I will purchase a product not because of that particular product but because of the attractive bonus which comes with that product. I suspect my buying habits are fairly typical in this area.

As I was considering the possibilities for the bonus items, I turned to something which has been sitting around in my desk drawer for several years. I’ve been traveling around the United States and Canada teaching at various writers' conferences. Usually, my workshops are recorded and I receive a copy of the CD presentation. Normally I pick it up at the conference (if available), tuck it into my carry-on luggage and bring it home. When I unpack, I put the workshop into my desk drawer where it is not replayed and does absolute zero good for anyone (including me).

Over the last few months, I've been listening to the CDs from Mega Book Marketing University 2006 and Mega Book Marketing University 2007. Each of these presentations begins and ends with the same jazzy little tune. From the instant you turn on the program, the music begins and it mentally prepares you for the next speaker. In simplistic terms, it's called branding and each of these CDs are branded or connected through the music. I've learned this music is called "needle music" and if you search for it online, you can find many different vendors for royalty-free music.

Let's turn back to my need for some bonus items for my forthcoming product. I turned to these workshops which have been taught before live audiences and is my material in a readily available format. In a relatively short amount of time, I extracted the workshop from the CD, selected a short piece of needle music, then branded the workshops so they contain identical music at the beginning and the end of the workshop. I know almost nothing about how to edit audio tapes. I used a program called Sound Forge which is menu-driven and simple to use. Just like you can use Microsoft Word to edit a text file, you can use Sound Forge to edit an audio program. If you are wondering about the illustration for this entry, it is the Sound Forge editing program from my computer. The little blue lines are audio music which I was editing.

The editing process wasn't a chore but actually fun. I snipped out some silence at the beginning of my workshop and added a few seconds of the music introduction. Then I moved to the end of the workshop and again cut out some silence so it ended with some applause from the audience. Then I added a few more seconds of the same music. Now my workshops are a package and I've repurposed my content. These audio workshops will become a valuable addition to my product.

Here's my question with this entry about The Writing Life: what are you doing with your material to repurpose it and add value to your products? Explore the possibilities and the results may surprise you.

The Weekend Traveler

For the next few weeks, I'm turning into a weekend traveler. I'm out on ether Thursday or Friday and back on Sunday. It's one of those schedules that looked good on paper but as the dates approach, I'm wondering what compelled me to agree months ago and some times well over a year ago. I'm committed to helping new writers and training other professionals.

Tomorrow I'm headed to Amarillo, Texas and the Frontiers in Writing Conference. I met some great folks there several years ago and look forward to seeing them again and making new friends. If you check the link you will see that I’m teaching a couple of workshops. I could have pulled out my old notes and handouts and used them with the group. It's tempting since it is in a different part of the country from where I've taught the information in the past. I've attended such workshops where it feels like the speaker has pulled out their shop-worn notes to try on a new audience. As an audience member, I don't like it so I'm not going to do that to others. Instead, I've put some extra effort into reworking my materials and bringing new information. It takes more effort but I believe it will pay off in the long run.

On a completely different topic, from time to time I read the Church of the Customer blog and enjoy their information. I found this post fascinating about how a blogger took a customer service matter and turned it into a PR nightmare for CompUSA.

If these entries about the writing life are some times sparse during June, just remember that I'm a weekend traveler this month--and on the road the next three weekends in a row.

Truth Telling at Conferences

Over the years, I've attended many conferences. Each conference has a different personal value in my life and distinction. I've learned to value the little conversations at these conferences and the short bursts of information--either that I am giving to others or they are giving to me. I learn a great deal from the exchanges.

Some elements of a conference are recorded such as most of the workshops. At Mount Hermon, I gave two workshops. Originally I was scheduled for one then at the last minute several members of the faculty couldn't come so I substituted for one of them and taught an additional hour. For my additional hour, I taught Straight Talk From The Editor (or Agent), 18 Keys To A Rejection-Proof Submission. If it sounds familiar to you, much of the content is from my Amazon Short with the same title. I updated many of the examples in it and told some different stories yet the overall outline was the same. I brought some examples of submissions from my "strange but true" file which I keep just for these occasions (naturally not including the name of the writer or any way to identify this person). I had a packed room full of listeners and I thought it was well-received.

While the conference recorded the sessions, the audio people at this conference don't duplicate the talks on the spot and sell them to the participants. Instead, they take orders and mail the product later. I brought my Edirol R-9 digital recorder to the conference and recorded my own sessions. Admittedly it looked a bit strange to have two microphones yet it allowed me to record my own session. Before the end of the day, I had transferred the recorded file to my laptop. Why take that step? Because the Amazon Short contract is an exclusive arrangement for the first six months. I will cross the threshold of this date soon and be positioned to launch another product from my recorded session. It's a much more proactive step than I've taken in the past. Normally I pick up the recording, throw it into a drawer and do nothing with it. I'm learning to use these resources in other formats.

Back to my theme of conversations and truth telling. I asked one popular acquisitions editor at the conference from a large publisher about his work. He told me, "I love to acquire books but it takes such a high threshold to acquire a book. I can rarely find anything here." I followed up asking what sort of threshold he was talking about. In all honesty, he said, "I need a guaranteed sale of at least 60,000 books through the trade channel (bookstores and chain stores)." Yeah, that's a pretty high threshold and it would be rare for someone at the writer's conference to have that sort of idea. Not impossible but rare.

During another conversation, a seasoned author explained her frustration with one of her writing projects. From her experience she knew the book would meet a need, yet she also knew it would be a difficult sell to the traditional publishers. With this author, I encouraged her to try and different course of action. Can she and her co-author tap the Internet market and create a buzz with an Ebook that may or may not become a traditional book product? She felt encouraged about the possibilities and to try it after our conversation.

Several times writers approached me with devotional book projects where they had poured their heart and soul into the proposal and the writing. The writing was built on the anvil of difficult personal experiences. From my view, I told them that it would be challenging to place such a project with a traditional publisher. Why? Because it's rare for a publisher to take this type of book as a single book product. Instead the publishers are turning more to book packagers for these efforts. I encouraged them to look into approaching the packagers or working with the packagers and their idea. These authors were published in magazines but not books. Their book idea had merit but not in the way they were expecting. I hope they will learn from my hard-earned experience in this area. Yet I know each individual has to decide what they will do with the information and how they will apply it to their writing life.

With the millions of ideas and manuscripts in circulation, there are no easy answers for any of us. The key is to keep working on the storytelling and searching for the right place at the right time.

Apply The Lessons

Each of us have some things we do very well and others--well, we simply don't do them at all. Maybe that's OK not to do them but maybe you simply aren't applying the lessons that you've been taught. It's always good from my view to continue to grow, change and learn. It's the mode that I'm in these days--and I'm determined to stay in this mode.

I've come to the understanding that I've not been as effective with my teaching for writers as I could be in the future. For many years, I've traveled the United States and Canada teaching at various writers' conferences. It's a rich experience for me and the opportunity to give back as well as learn from other writers. If you look at my schedule, you will see I'm continuing to travel and teach. In fact, I need to get over to the schedule page and add another conference from the last couple of weeks.

Many of these conferences are set up to record the sessions and sell workshop CDs (and it used to be cassette tapes). It's a normal practice for the speakers to sign a release then receive a complementary copy of their workshop if they pick it up on the spot after the session. After my workshop, I'll drop by and get my CD and carry it home. Then I stick it in a drawer and don't think about it again--until I return from another conference. I haven't been irresponsible with this material. I have not been proactive and sharing this wealth of information with others. I'm changing and applying some of what I've been learning.

At the Mega Book Marketing University in Los Angeles, I acquired some equipment to make some changes. I picked up an Edirol R-09 MP3 recorder, a telephone bridge and Sound Forge Audio Studio. I learned about this material from Mike Stewart, who is known as the Internet Audio Guy. You can follow his link to learn more about creating audio products and watch his demonstration videos.

I've been learning how to use the Edirol R-09--which is a complex professional digital recorder with loads of features. In the last couple of days, I managed to record a new introduction to one of my workshops about book proposal creation. Yesterday I used Sound Forge for the first time to make some simple edits to the workshop, then pasted in the new introduction. To my surprise, editing sound was like Mike Stewart had told me--very similar to editing a text file with the same sort of cut and paste functions. With a bit of a learning curve, it worked like the instructions and I managed to edit the audio of my workshop and send it into production. In the coming days, I'll be telling you (and others) more about Editor Reveals Book Proposal Secrets.

One of the challenges with this project was getting the audio files sent to the production company. They told me about a site called Yousendit.com. This site was easy to use and accomplished the task to get the large file sent to someone else. It's a good resource to know about if you need it. I learned the bulk of the techniques to produce audio product from Bob Bly's Internet Marketing Retirement Plan. This four CD package is loaded with insight. I like the simplicity of the program. Bob out sources the majority of his production. I'm learning to apply the lessons from this material.

Each of us are on this journey to learn more information and apply it to our writing life. If you don't have an online e-newsletter, I'd suggest you subscribe to my free newsletter and read the free ebook about it. Also read these articles about producing a newsletter. There are many articles to teach you about different aspects of writing through Right-Writing.com and these entries about the Writing Life. If you are looking for information about a particular publishing topic, use the search engine in the right-hand column of these entries. Then apply the lessons to your own writing life. It's the course I'm taking and you can do the same.