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Think Like A Publisher #10…. The Returns System
I can’t even believe I’m writing this post in this series. A number of people suggested it and I just looked at them like they were nuts. No indie publisher should ever allow returns or even think about them. Duh. Then a top indie writer, a very smart person, and someone I have followed for some time said in response to a question, “I don’t want to put my books into bookstores because I don’t want to deal with the returns system.” I almost snorted my iced-tea all over my keyboard when I read that statement. Why would a very smart indie publisher say something that silly? At that moment,…
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Think Like A Publisher #9…. Selling to Independent Bookstores
There is no way that some of this chapter will make sense unless you have read the previous chapters, and most importantly the chapters about sales. Chapter #7… A Sales Plan and Chapter #8…Price, Discounts, and Sales. Finished refreshing your memory? Good. Now one quick warning: What I am about to talk about applies to indie publishers who have a large number of books. If you only have one or two or three books, read this, but you won’t be able to try it except on a small level. Why? Number one: You won’t have enough feedback loops between books to get readers finding your other books even if you…
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Think Like a Publisher #7… A Sales Plan
At times I tend to forget that I sat in the publisher’s chair for seven years, growing a publishing house from nothing to the 5th largest producer of science fiction and fantasy and horror in the nation. And now, sixteen years after Kristine Kathryn Rusch and I shut that company down for good, we are helping in starting up another publishing company. And I’m trying to help indie publishers as well with these chapters. And so is Kris on her site, explaining some of these same things in different ways. So follow her as well. But, honestly, I sometimes forget that most writers just don’t know what I learned the…