Published: October 19, 2015
You’ve written your book. It reads well. But will it sell in physical stores?
Anyone can put a book up for sale on amazon. But will your book get on the shelves of bookstores across Canada and the U.S.?
That depends on whether bookstore buyers think they can sell your book to customers. To help convince buyers, we write a sell sheet that tells them, among other things, who your target market is and why people in that target market will want to buy your book. It’s even better if that target market is underserved by existing books. A good example of this is The Ultimate Cookbook for Hockey Families, by Erin Phillips and Korey Kealey, which was published by Barlow Books in 2014 and sold over 8,000 books. The authors found a group of people who needed help &#mdash; parents who were rushing home from work to feed the kids and drive them to hockey practice. They had a problem: How do you cook something quickly that the kids will eat? The authors offered the solution: Nutritious recipes with tips from famous hockey stars. Best of all, there was no other cookbook on the market like it.
Does your book have a market? We can work with you to identify the size of your potential market. Our experts will assess the market potential of your book using proprietary information on sales at bookstores, and devise a strategy for your book. It starts with answers to the following questions: Who is your target market? Where do they hang out? How will you let them know about your book? How will you get them to buy your book, or refer it to friends?
We can also assemble a team of PR experts, in traditional and social media, to promote your book. We’ll even use our personal network to get you into top media markets. We will do everything we can to help sell your book, but ultimately the decision to stock your book on the shelves of stores (and how many copies) rests with Canadian book buyers themselves.
If you choose to sell your book in stores, we will work with you to get the most appropriate distribution for your book. That may mean it will be sold at stores in Canada or at the back of the room during business events, or on your website or Amazon (or all of the above). Your route will depend on your ambitions, and on the book buyers in the business.
