[This is Part 1 of a two-part post on the library book market. This first part discusses how to start your book promotion to libraries.]
Would you believe that there are approximately 123,000 libraries, including school, public and special libraries, in the United States - and their purchasing power is close to $2 billion. Yes, libraries can offer great potential to self-publishers. Besides the shear volume, there are other factors that make libraries a great potential market?
- Most book marketers recommend that library book sales be at full retail price, unless larger quantities are purchased.
- Unlike bookstores, libraries involve no return hassles.
- Some public library systems order for their branch libraries, and orders can be sizeable.
To begin your library marketing campaign, start local and contact the proper person in your local library system. Call the main branch and ask who is in charge of acquisitions of your type of book (genre). Send or leave a complimentary copy of your book, along with plenty of promotional material, to be circulated. Potential library books are displayed for branch librarians to examine and order. Consequently, it may be a couple of months before you actually receive a purchase order. Finally, be sure to cover all of your local bases, as there may be several library systems in your area.
Now that you have tapped the local library sources, the whole country could be your next target. Librarians are very review driven - they put a lot of stock in the primary review media. For that reason, you would be wise not to approach them until you can obtain a favorable review in one of the following: Library Journal, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and if your book is directly toward children or young adults, School Library Journal. These publications carry great weight with librarians.
And don't overlook Internet reviews. Librarians are known to be "information junkies."
Fortunately, libraries are interested in books other than just bestsellers. They seek titles of good quality that fill a well-defined patron need. For instance, if your book deals with African American studies or a topic of interest to Hispanics, you'd be wise to contact libraries in areas with these high ethnic populations.
Librarians aren't moved by hyperbole. They want to see significant reviews, a table of contents, and a typical entry for a directory or reference book. They also need all the book's vital statististics such as ISBN, LCCN, year of publication, binding info, and grade levels for children's books. And they'll appreciate a listing of distributors and wholesalers that carry your title.
In part 2 of this post to be published next week, we'll discuss ordering tendencies by libraries and how to capture their attention.
[The above post was create, with permission, from excerpts taken form The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, 5th Edition, co-authored by Marilyn Ross and Sue Collier.]
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