Looking for like-minded authors to join marketing forces

Hi All, as an independent author of children’s novels, I am
finding it hard to get my stuff into the bigger retail outlets. Ebooks are all
very well but, as yet, younger children are not receptive to this process.


I am looking to team up with a couple of other children’s
authors, possibly of non conflicting age groups, so we can pool possibly 25-30
books, and approach the bigger stores with a saleable product.


I have 7 children’s books published (9-12) on Lulu from UK.


Please contact me if you are interested.

Hi Andy,

There are several authors here who are finding it difficult to reach an audience. Parents buy books for young children. If you gave away one of your ebooks for free, it might stimulate an interest in the other books. Untl your books are widely read, print sales in substantial numbers are unlikely.

Thanks Shelagh.
I wasnt complaining about not selling enough books, I am more looking for a few sales partners, so we can offer a larger product to market. eg a range of books.

I agree, giving away a few free ebooks does help, I have done that with one of my adult books. Not quite sure it would necessarily help sales of children's ebooks though?

I have two children's books available on Amazon and I published Alice's book, Living by the Swamp (also on Amazon). The sales of my books do not have an effect on Alice's book and vice versa. Tell me more about why you think that partners would increase sales.

I just think that a small co-operative of 3-4 writers offereing a full range of children's books (eg 5-12 years), would have more clout to stand up and be heard.
With the right contacts, a full range of stories may be able to get to the likes of Waterstones in the same way that a publishing house can?

I don't think it works that way. Have you searched through Google to find any similar successful partnerships? I've been running forums and networks for close to seven years and I haven't heard of any such successful ventures.

Back in 2005, one of the UK authors at PublishAmerica decided to put together a book of 200 authors as a catalogue that could be used to interest book vendors. It only produced sales to a few of the authors included in the book; it did not generate any interest or sales of the authors' books.

Possibly you are right, but don't you think the publishing industry has evolved since 2005? 6 years? Back then, high profile, high budget was the only way to go!

I am working on the understanding that a self-published author is perhaps no longer a leper in the world of books sales.
Maybe larger (hard copy) book sellers are now prepared to sell copies of books that are not pushed to them by the bigger guns, or at least to take notice of a consortium of respeced authors doing their own thing?

There is no evidence to suggest that indie authors have shown any increase in sales of print books. Indie authors do best with ebooks. There is no "coffee table" feel to an ebook. Lots of readers want book shelves lined with books by recognisable authors to impress other people. That hasn't changed. Throw away paperbacks have not been replaced/matched by POD books. In fact, lots of buyers of POD books don't know what to do with them. They have no value on their shelves as proof of having read the "best" authors and they are too good to throw away. It's the main reason that indie ebooks are so popular: small investment, completely private, don't clutter up the place.

Shelagh, although I appreciate your view, I have to say that this is absolute nonsense.
People only buy books to impress their friends by seeing them on the bookshelf? come one?!
Are you saying that all indie author books are rubbish, and that readers are embarrased to own them. Perhaps we should all publish in blank covers to save their humiliation?

I understand that indie authors are making more sales in ebook, for a lot of reasons, particularly price risk.
But, as I started out with this thread, ebooks are not big sellers to children, despite their parents buying them for them. Hence kids books in hard copy are the norm. And that is why I am looking to contact book buyers in bigger stores and tempt them with a list of good new children's books. Maybe I am being too ambitious, but I am not sure that ever hurt anyone.

Incidentally, I sell far more books in hard copy than ebook.

I checked out one of your books on Kindle, The Right Colour. It says among the comments from Facebook, which you added as a review, that the book is for all ages. The book has not made a single sale, but it claims to be a UK bestseller (presumably in print -- the print edition has the same review).

I would recommend that you upload the file to Smashwords, follow the formatting guidelines, make it free. When it appears on B&N, tell Amazon about the free book and they will price match. This should at least generate some reviews for the book and might improve sales of the other five books.

By the way, I've been talking nonsense all my life; most of my nonsense has a way of coming true. It's a nonsense world; at least I can't make any sense of it.

Shelagh! I had you down as a no nonsense sort of Girl? My dreams are shattered.

11/30/2011


Hello Andy..

I have a children's book titled: " Dusty," it's a book
here it is on Amazon books.
http://www.amazon.com/Dusty-Joseph-Frank-Baraba/dp/1424120187/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322668564&sr=1-3

Plus I have it on Smash Words as an E Book, I gave it away
as "FREE," for a few days it had 161 hits....You can check it out there.

Cheers...Joe.....

Hi Shelagh

thanks for the advice, I have 10 books on smashwords, a couple of which are free with couple of hundred downloads.

The Right Colour has sold 700 copies in print (in one year), but only recently made it to Amazon (via Lulu.com). It is not a childrens book but is in quite a few books stores and other resale outlets. Not a million bestseller, I agree, so maybe thats a little long on the truth.

It was my children's books that I am looking to promote in print (7 of them, on my website www.andyfrazier.co.uk) . Do you think children will download free books from Smashwords?

No, but I don't think they will buy them, either. Nor do I think that they will walk into a bookstore to buy books. Parents and adult relatives buy books for children.

Seven hundred books sold is quite an achievement and I congratulate you on those sales. At the moment, your internet presence needs working on. Your books need to be reviewed and you should set up an author's page on Author Central:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shelagh-Watkins/e/B002BM8U5C/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Scroll down to "Are you an author?" and click on the link to set up your own page. You will have to do the same again on Amazon.com.

dmondeo wrote:

Shelagh! I had you down as a no nonsense sort of Girl? My dreams are shattered.

Nonsense.

Just remember that when you make a ebook free on Amazon, via the Smashwords route, that it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to add a price back to it. I made Fire Fell From Heaven free a few months ago, and it's had several thousand downloads, but now I can't get them to change it from free back to a paid for work. BTW, it seems to have helped the selling of my other ebooks, as I've seen my downloads increase quite a bit since the story has been free.

Shelagh, if you have any ideas on doing this, please let me know.

E Don, do you still have it listed as free on Smashwords?

Ann

No, Ann. That was the first thing I did. I changed it back to a paid for story at Smashwords, and then posted it again to Amazon that it now cost .99, but they still haven't changed it.

I did post three more stories on Smashwords as free, told Amazon about those, and they never made them free. Trying to use the method that the guy talked about who sold so many books on Kindle, but it won't work unless Amazon cooperates, and I'm not sure how to get them to do that, other than trying the way I've been trying.

That was the only thing I could think of. It sounds like it's pretty much up to Amazon, then.

Ann

Yeah, I'm thinking it is. The story is still getting a lot of downloads, but I'd like to make it paid again and make one of the others free. It does seem to be working somewhat, as it's driving more downloads.

My best selling Kindle story is the one called The Harpes Last Rampage, The True Story of America's First Serial Killers. I do get quite a lot of downloads on it, and it sells for $1.49. I think the "Serial Killers" in the title attracts buyers, and they probably find it with a google search. I'm pretty sure Amazon isn't doing any advertising on it, just as they don't advertise any of the independent authors work. I'm still out there pushing them all every where I can and every chance I get, but even with that all I earn is about enough to buy Helen and I a decent dinner every month. Beats nothing, and I have some hopes for the next book, due to it being about country music.

Country music? I will look forward to it. I enjoyed reading Fire Fell from Heaven. It ought to sell if you could get it priced.

Ann

From what other authors have said, you just need to send a number of emails to Amazon customer support and eventually they will cave in.

Oddly, it is very easy to get a price lowered on Amazon. I told them my book was lower on Barnes and Noble and zoom--down came their price.

Shelagh, thanks for the advice about authorcentral, I was unaware of it. As I said, I am new to Amazon marketing.
I am also interested to hear the comments about comunication between Smashwords and Amazon.
Don, would it no just be easier to add the book to Amazon-kindle directly and make it free there? Changing prices of a kindle book is simple and it takes 24 hours. Or am I missing a trick here?

You cannot set prices for Kindle ebooks at less than 99c on Amazon. Also, Amazon will not match Smashwords prices. The books have to be distributed to B&N or the iBookstore (Apple ipad).

When you set the price back on Smashwords, that price has to be passed on to the distributed bookstores.