Questions first-time writers ask

L & R Hartley, Publishers - Questions First-time Writers Ask

Question: How many copies of my book should I order to start with?

Answer: Unlike many publishers, we are not interested in milking your budget. It is our earnest desire to assist you in every practical way to be a successful writer and promoter of your book. For this reason we do not urge you to buy more copies than you are likely to sell or want to keep for yourself or use as gifts. We also want you to consider the other costs of promotion (we will have already supplied you with a copy of our leaflet "Promote your New Book the Easy Way"). We make no recommendations in regard to the number of copies you should order — this is entirely up to you.

However, as a guide, established writers will order quantities based on their own previous experience, and first-time writers will usually want to order a few copies for themselves and limited quantities according to their method of promotion. For example, if you put copies in your local bookstores 'on commission' you will need 6 to 10 copies (plus promotional material) per bookstore. (Unless these coincide with a book launch or other promotion, unsold copies can be rotated between stores over a period of time to save you the initial outlay). At a book launch or book signing you will possibly need 20 to 30 copies depending on how well you advertise and whether or not you send out personal invitations. If you plan on promoting your new book at a market, book fair or 'expo' you may need 30 to 50 copies initially. Remember, you can always just have a few on display and then 'take orders'. We can supply you with pads of special stationery for this. Most first-time writers will order between 20 and 50 copies initially, being confident that they can easily order more as required, remembering that orders from us over $200 value (books and/or promotional material) are freight-free. We also encourage you to canvass your friends to see if they would be interested in buying your book.

Question: How much should I charge for my book?

Answer: This is entirely up to you. We do suggest that initially you try not to reap too much profit at the expense of quantity sales (considering the marginal difference in promotion costs, it is better to sell 50 books with a $2.00 per book profit ($100.00) than 30 books at a $3.00 profit ($90.00). Naturally you will want to re-coup your costs - the cost of the book including freight (if any), and some of the costs associated with promotion. Initially you are not just selling your book, you are selling yourself as a writer. This may cost a little now, but it pays in the long term. First-time writers rarely make a profit on their initial orders, however as you become known as a published author, you will be able to sell more books and you may be willing to accept speaking engagements, book readings and interviews which are all excellent opportunities to promote and/or sell your book.

There are five different prices that you need to factor for your book. These are:

1.) The trade price (which we set) - This is what it costs us to manufacture, prepare for market and warehouse the book ready for distribution. It also includes a 2% levy to help us re-coup of the cost of initial publishing and on-going promotion and author support.

2.) The base-cost price (the trade price, plus freight costs [overseas customers may be required to include an import tax payable in their country when the books arrive]),

3.) A wholesale price (maybe +5% of base-cost price) - this is the price you sell copies to bookstores and friends to re-sell, and

4.) The retail price (maybe +10% of base-cost price) this is the price you sell copies at book fairs, expos, story reading parties, etc.

If you are selling copies in the same geographical neighbourhood as a bookstore that is selling your book, it is unwise to under-cut their retail price. You may need to adjust yours so as not to affect their sales.

If you have a book signing at a bookstore, allow the bookstore to sell their copies of your book.

5.) The barter price - this is when you give away free copies in exchange for promotion or reviews.

Question: How can I offer bookstores a discount for buying bulk copies of my book?

Answer: Unless you live close enough to us to collect your books personally or you order more than $200 worth at a time, you will be incurring a fee for freight. You will naturally include this in the resale price of your books to recover your costs. As this is based on the value of your order, the more you buy, the less it costs you. You can then pass this saving on to your customers. If you order very large quantities, we may be able to offer special discounts as it is cheaper for us to print your book in bulk and we are happy to pass these savings on to you.

Question: Do bookstores have to order books directly from the publisher?

Answer: No. If a bookstore finds out about your book through your promotion, they should be ordering through you. This way you too can profit financially by the sales. This is what we would prefer for you. It also helps the bookstore owners/operators get to know you, which will make them more likely to recommend your book.

We occasionally mail out book lists to bookstores and libraries nationally and internationally and may include your book on our internet catalogues. If a bookstore responds to our personal advertising, they will usually order directly from us, which helps re-coup the cost of our advertising.

Can I have a list of selling ideas for my book?

Yes, this comprehensive list is part of our Marketing Assistance Scheme and is provided to all our authors upon request. As you can appreciate, we also benefit from the sale of your book, so we make available almost 40 years experience in the book trade in our package of extensive resources to assist you in getting your book on the market. We can also supply a Book Launch Kit to help you launch your book. This kit contains the book "Right First Time – Making your Book Launch a Success", plus posters, order forms, invitations, table place cards, nametags, etc - everything you need to get your launch underway, all packaged in a handy plastic travel case. (Click HERE to download a fact sheet [pdf 120k])