November 21, 2008

From the “It coulda been pulped” file

by

A year after New Zealand author Wendy Nissen published a memoir called Bitch and Famous (“I was told it sold well”), she heard from her publisher. As she recounts in a column for the New Zealand Herald, he “said he had some copies left in the warehouse and would I like them at a very good price? It seemed like a good idea at the time.” Then, a delivery man showed up and said he had a shipment weighing 1.2 tons. She recounts, “‘I’m sorry,’ I replied hesitantly. ‘Nothing weighs 1.2 tonnes.’ ‘Two pallets of books,’ he answered.” Mulling over what to do with so many books, she decided “what was happening is a new trend in publishing I like to call ‘shift your own’. It involves authors refusing to put the sales of their books entirely in the hands of retailers.”

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.

  • http://www.jonathandozierezell.com Jonathan Dozier-Ezell

    How would that system work in the US? Is there really any room for an author to sell that many books without B&N and Amazon?

    I’m also wondering where this position ranks the book with regards to self publishing. For instance, would a book that had a publisher but didn’t sell its run be a better buy for independent bookstores than a title that was self-published?

  • http://www.jonathandozierezell.com Jonathan Dozier-Ezell

    How would that system work in the US? Is there really any room for an author to sell that many books without B&N and Amazon?

    I’m also wondering where this position ranks the book with regards to self publishing. For instance, would a book that had a publisher but didn’t sell its run be a better buy for independent bookstores than a title that was self-published?

  • http://www.obiejoe.com Obie Joe

    Taking on a “shift your own” project does involve heavy lifting; an author would be wise to adopt methods familiar to a self-publisher. We’ve had several authors take the remaining copies, but all of them were nonfiction titles, which seemed to have longer shelf lives among several markets. Also, deliveries of no more than 2,000 copies seems manageable.

    My suggestion would be to include:
    • Establish a web site with excellent marketing, good PayPal functions
    • Sign up with other web sites popular with small runs: http://www.authorsbookshop.com is an excellent resource.
    • Send out a library mailing.
    • Go on another tour, this time of college classes. Negotiate with the professor to have each student buy a copy of the book.
    • Construct a seminar type of presentation around themes in your book. Depending on applicability, offer to talk before historical societies, MeetUp subject groups, and places attracted to your topic.
    • And always have copies in your trunk. You never know when a sale presents itself.

  • http://www.obiejoe.com Obie Joe

    Taking on a “shift your own” project does involve heavy lifting; an author would be wise to adopt methods familiar to a self-publisher. We’ve had several authors take the remaining copies, but all of them were nonfiction titles, which seemed to have longer shelf lives among several markets. Also, deliveries of no more than 2,000 copies seems manageable.

    My suggestion would be to include:
    • Establish a web site with excellent marketing, good PayPal functions
    • Sign up with other web sites popular with small runs: http://www.authorsbookshop.com is an excellent resource.
    • Send out a library mailing.
    • Go on another tour, this time of college classes. Negotiate with the professor to have each student buy a copy of the book.
    • Construct a seminar type of presentation around themes in your book. Depending on applicability, offer to talk before historical societies, MeetUp subject groups, and places attracted to your topic.
    • And always have copies in your trunk. You never know when a sale presents itself.

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