by test
Could your books be of special interest to different types of museums with shops? if so, telephone the curator to ask if he would be interested in your book; follow up by sending him a free copy plus an advertising circular with a covering letter.
Check reference books in your local reference library for information about museums and libraries. You can find out what type of museums there are, whether there is a shop and the name of the curator. Tell the curator that you will despatch orders very quickly. In return you should find that museum shops will pay you very quickly and will expect only a modest discount.
Bookshops Outside the Local Area
The addresses of these can be obtained from telephone directories (Yellow Pages) or from a directory published by the Booksellers Association. It would be worthwhile letting these shops have an advertising circular and telling them that they can have first delivery by telephone ordering if necessary. You will find that there are a large number of bookshops in your area.
As a result of your publicity you could have orders from bookshops all over the country, with a great variety of paperwork.
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BREAKEVEN PUBLISHING
June 199X
Curator
World War II Museum
Largetown
Dear Sir/Madam
I enclose a copy of a book entitle 'Bright Memories' which I have written and published, in the hope that it will be of interest of to you.
I know that there is a shop attached to the museum, and I wonder if you would be interested in stocking copies of my book in the shop. I feel that the book should be of interest to visitors to your museum.
If you feel able to proceed, perhaps you could let me know your terms.
Yours sincerely
Harry Bright
Fig. 35.
Approaching a museum curator.
Specialist Booksellers
Your book could cover a specialist subject. To find out possible customers scour the reference books in your local reference library.
Direct Mail Bookselling
This is the most profitable method of selling. One advantage of publishing your own book is that you can offer very quick delivery compared to larger organisations whose delivery time is usually about four weeks. Hopefully orders will arrive on the printed order form you have sent out, and all you
Page 98
Fig. 36.
The standard form returns request note used by many booksellers.
Page 99
W.J. SMART
From Don Page
Book Stock Manager
Extension 221
W.J. Smart
Largetown
Date: 25th August 199X
To: Sales Manager
Hopeless Books
Anytown
Dear Sir
We have recently reviewed all titles stocked at Largetown and I have agreed the titles on this returns request with ALAN STRICT, BOOK MERCHANDISE CONTROLLER and his buyers.
The titles listed below are surplus to ur requirements and we wish to return this stock immediately.
951181602
20 copies E
Arthur Bloggs Railways Locomotives
£11.99
If you do not want the stock back, please let us know if you are prepared to tissue a credit note to cover the cost of reducing the price of the stock for putting into a future sale.
Yours sincerely
Don Page
Fig. 37.
Return of books: another example.
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will need is a supply of good padded envelopes and postage stamps to send the orders off. The advantages of direct mail order are twofold:
1. No discount will be deducted.
2. You should receive cash with the order.
Copies Returned by Customers
Some books sold by direct mail order will almost certainly be damaged in the post. It is most discouraging when a carefully-packed batch of new books is sent back by the customer because the spines or corners have been damaged in transit. You may feel that the customer is being unnecessarily fussy if the damage is slight. You should note the following:
Replace any rejected copies cheerfully and without question or quibble as a matter of policy. Slightly damaged copies can always be used as review copies or for free publicity handouts.
Improve your packaging. Find out exactly what went wrong.
Consider alternatives to the Post Office. Commercial delivery firms will collect from your home or office, saving you queuing time in the Post Office. They will guarantee overnight delivery and their charges may be similar to those of the Royal Mail. The Royal Mail operates a Special Delivery service which costs approximately £3 per package. This service guarantees next day delivery. The package is computer-tracked, which means that if it goes astray, it can be easily traced by contacting a central telephone number. In the author's experience, this service is highly efficient.
Selling to Library Suppliers
Libraries buy most of their books from library suppliers. These are large and active businesses which advertise their wares on a regular basis to libraries, and provide a range of technical back-up services. If your book is on loan in public libraries then you can receive payment from the Public Lending Right Scheme (see below). Payment is made by checking how often your book has been borrowed by public library readers.
So you can have two sources of sales income if a library supplier purchases from you. It will be very worthwhile for you to send a free
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BREAKEVEN PUBLISHING
June 199X
Purchasing Manager
Anytown Library Suppliers
Dear Sir/Madam
I enclose a copy of my new book 'Bright Memories', of which I am also the publisher. A descriptive circular is also enclosed.
Could you let me know whether you would be prepared to handle this title, and if so, the terms upon which you would be prepared to do so?
Yours sincerely
Harry Bright
Fig. 38.
Contacting a library supplier.
copy of your book, plus the advertising circular and a covering letter, to the head buyers at the library suppliers, with a request for guidance on how to work with them. It is worth following up your enquiries if the response from them is slow in coming.
These are some of the best known library suppliers:
James Askew and Son Limited
218-222North Road
Preston PR1 1SY
Tel: (01772) 555947
B.H. Blackwell Ltd (Booksellers)
Hythe Bridge St
Oxford 0X1 2ET
Tel: (01865) 792792
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T.C. Farries & Co Ltd
Irongray Road
Lochside
Dumfries
Scotland DG2 0LH
Tel: (01387) 720755
The Holt Jackson Book Company Limited
Library Booksellers
Preston Road
Lytham
Lancashire FY8 5AX
Tel: (01253) 737464
The Morley Book Company
Elmfield Road
Morley
Leeds LS27 0NN
Tel: (0113) 201 2900
Selling to Book Clubs
These exist to supply their members with cut-price books, usually on the basis that a minimum number of titles is ordered within a set period such as 12 months. The clubs buy large numbers of books from publishers since they have relatively safe and predictable numbers of sales.
Sales to book clubs are normally made by publishers. If you can persuade a club to take your book (which to be realistic is extremely unlikely) then you can expect to sell out of your entire stock.
There is more chance of selling your book, if it is in a specialist field, to a club which deals with that field. There are a number of such clubs, covering subjects ranging from militaria to railways. See Useful Addresses.
> Income From Public Lending Rights
If your book is purchased by libraries then a scheme called Public Lending Right (PLR) is currently in operation. Under this scheme, authors whose books are taken out by the public from public lending libraries are paid, by a sampling system, a small amount (currently 2.07 pence) for each time the book is borrowed. For the first year's payment your book must be registered before the month of June and payment if any is made the
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Fig. 39.
Registering with the Public Lending Right Office.
Page 104
Fig. 39.
(continued).
Page 105
following February. Further details of the scheme and an application form an be obtained from the Public Lending Right Office.
The maximum payment is £6,000.
To get your book registered apply to the Public Lending Right Office:
Bayheath House
Prince Regent Street
Stockton-on-Tees Cleveland TS18 1DF
Tel: (01642)604699
Employing Sales Representatives
Your book can be sold by employing representatives. They will contact booksellers and travel about the country supplying demand. As well as the discounts paid to the booksellers, representatives will expect a commission for each book sold, so that your income from sales will be drastically cut down compared with 'direct order' sales. Thus it may well be that you turn to representatives after Christmas when sales drop off. You will find freelance representatives advertising in publishing and book periodicals such as The Bookseller.
The Bookseller
J Whitaker & Sons Ltd
12 Dyott Street
London WC1A 1DF
Tel: (08911) 32100
Write the representatives a letter and ascertain what their services are and the fee or commission they charge.
Warehousing and Distribution
Storing Your Stock
The storage of books needs careful attention. The printer will normally deliver in boxes of about 50. These should be kept in dry but not too warm conditions. The boxes should not, ideally, be stacked, because of the risk of crushing copies. Consider in advance whether you have suitable storage space and make appropriate arrangements. If you have a good relationship with your printer, he should be able to advise you on proper storage conditions. With a significant amount of money tied up
Page 106
in stock, you should consider insuring against the loss of stock, and the consequent loss of profit you would otherwise have made. Consult your local insurance broker.
Using a Professional Book Distributor
If you are aiming to sell your book nationwide, or abroad, you may find it useful to do a deal with a combined marketing and distribution firm. They will take a substantial discount (for example 50%) for any books which they sell and distribute for you. If you add the bookseller's discount to this, let alone an author's royalty, then you could make a loss on each book you sell. In our view, this defeats the whole purpose of the publishing exercise. Many self publishers do not use distributors, for financial reasons.
'Distribution' leaving aside 'marketing' is normally taken to include:
storing the stock in clean, dry, secure conditions
picking out copies to fulfil orders
packing (including the cost of packing materials)
postage/carriage costs (Post Office, Securicor etc)
issuing despatch notes or invoices with the orders
dealing with returns for credit
dealing with enquiries from the book trade.
Checklist
1. Have you reached a decision on discounts?
2. Are visits to bookshops and museums being arranged?
3. Are you geared up for direct mail orders?
4. Have you thought about alternatives to the Post Office?
Page 107
BIGG BOOKS WAREHOUSE
HUGETOWN
Arthur Bloggs
Smalltown
Dear Arthur
Here is a formal note confirming our distribution arrangements.
1. BIGG BOOKS will act as the distributor for ARTHUR BLOGGS RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVES to UK bookshops.
2. We will also endeavour to sell to shops outside the UK.
3. We will take a discount of 50% from the retail price of £11.99.
4. We will pay HOPELESS PUBLISHING 90 days after each monthly report of sales.
5. We will give monthly sales reports, unless sales drop below 10 copies per month. In that case we will give sales reports every 90 days.
6. We accept responsibility to collect all debts, equally we reserve the right not to supply customers who fail or refuse to pay us.
7. The printer has informed us that they will deliver to us next week.
Yours sincerely
Brian Bigg
Fig. 40.
Letter setting out distribution terms.
Page 108
Fig. 41.
Letter setting out distribution terms for the USA (continued on next page).
Page 109
Fig. 41.
(continued).
Page 110
Fig. 42.
A distributor's computerised stock report.
Page 111
5. Have you been in touch with library suppliers?
6. Have letters been sent to book clubs?
7. Have you contacted the Public Lending Rights Office?
8. Have you thought about hiring sales representatives?
9. Are your storage and distribution arrangements in order?
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7
Sales Records and Follow Up
This chapter deals with the following:
keeping a sales record
filing
making a financial assessment
coping with bankruptcies
collecting debts
handling invoices.
Keeping a Sales Ledger
To run an efficient publishing operation it is essential to organise a simple record of orders and sales to customers. This will enable you to keep track of whether customers have paid, or the date the invoice was sent out; then at the end of a month, if payment has not been received, a reminder invoice needs to be sent out. Checking payments from a list of customers is very easy compared with rifling through dozens let alone hundreds of loose copy invoices. Any queries about orders can be easily identified from your customer list. Have a customer list record book ready for the moment that the first order appears.