Book Marketing Maven

Should Your Book Be In Libraries?

Some authors and publishers worry that having their books offered for free check out in libraries will hurt consumer sales. This is probably more of an issue with fiction than with nonfiction. But many people who check out fiction in libraries are voracious readers who get most of their reading material from libraries and don't purchase many books.

Library usage can actually boost sales of nonfiction books. Library patrons often purchase a nonfiction book they have checked out from the library, because they want their own copy for future reference or to make notes in.

Having your book in libraries is also good publicity. Anyone who sees or reads your book can potentially recommend it to others.

Nearly $1.8 billion worth of books were purchased by libraries in 2005, according to the Book Industry Study Group. Don't miss out on this potentially lucrative market.

Excerpted from The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Selling Your Book to Libraries.

Interview on Selling Books to Libraries

Author and former librarian Amber Polo recently interviewed me to discuss selling books to libraries. Check out the story on her blog.

Be sure to return to Amber's blog on June 8, as Deborah Schneider, Romance Writers Association 2009 Librarian of the Year, shares her tips for  approaching your local library to pitch a program.

Discover Which Libraries Have Your Book

Do you know how many of your books are available in libraries? Because libraries tend to order through distributors and wholesalers, it can be difficult to know how many library sales you have made and which libraries have your books.

WorldCat lists the collections of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide, and it's useful for estimating how many libraries have purchased your book and finding out which libraries have the book. Enter your book title in the search field at WorldCat to get a list of participating libraries that have the book.

The WorldCat results page is arranged by physical location, sorting the results by the libraries nearest to you. If you have a lot of listings, you may need to enter several different states in the "enter location information" field in order to see all of your listings.

Because not all libraries participate in the WorldCat database, the information on your library book sales will not be complete. Approximately 75 percent of U.S. public libraries catalog their books on WorldCat, and it varies by state, with all libraries in some states participating.

WorldCat also offers some social features. Users can create lists of books, write book reviews, and assign keyword tags to books. You can add keyword tags to your book, to make it easier for others to find. Reader reviews from Amazon.com appear on the review page, but you can enter other reviews on that page, or invite someone else to write a review there.

Selling to Libraries

The 123,000 libraries in the United States purchase nearly $2 billion dollars worth of books each year, but many independent publishers overlook this huge market. To learn more about the library market, listen to my free podcast on selling to libraries.

MaAnna Stephenson, author of the Just the FAQs series of ebooks, has just posted a detailed review of my book, The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Selling Your Book to Libraries, on her blog.

How to Sell Your Book to Libraries

America's 123,000 libraries purchase nearly $2 billion worth of books annually, according to statistics from the American Library Association and the Book Industry Study Group. Here are some ways to capture your share of this lucrative market:

• Get your book reviewed in a library journal.

• Solicit testimonials from librarians.

• Make sure your book is available through major library wholesalers.

• Apply to work with a library distributor such as Quality Books or Unique Books, if you have a nonfiction book.

Where to Submit Your Book for Review

Book reviews in newspapers are getting harder to come by, but many special interest magazines and newsletters do book reviews or mention books. Publishing guru Dan Poynter offers a comprehensive list of special interest publications.

Online reviews can also be a great book marketing tool. For tips on getting reviews on Amazon.com and other websites, read Annette Fix's article about online book reviews at the WOW! Women on Writing website.

Bookstore buyers and librarians base many of their ordering decisions on reviews in the major book review journals. Eligibility and submission instructions vary by publication, so be sure to read the requirements carefully.