Happy Valentine’s Day. I hope that all of your sweetest wishes come true. I came into my office this morning to find a card with one of my favorite cats on the front—a shaded silver Persian all dressed up in a ruby and diamond necklace. She was guarding a box of chocolates AND a new baby mouse for my laptop. I am loved.
Love spilled over me last night when I attended an intimate writers’ group meeting at the home of a client. What a delightful group of serious writers—each writing poignant stories. The doggie guest greeters added perfectly to the ambiance.
I learned something new today—the visually-impaired are buying ebooks. As long as they are in PDF format and without a Signature, “assistive technology†can access the document and the visually impaired person can hear the text. I understand that the MS word format is also conducive to a program for people who need assistance reading the typed word. I’ve been lukewarm about ebooks, but am beginning to see that they have value beyond my world. We should all be thinking about offering our books in formats and in venues that suit each of our customers.
Isn’t that what our job is—to facilitate our customers? We can’t help, educate or entertain anyone through our books if they sit in a corner of our office while we write more books. Our books do no good for anyone when we don’t make them available through the right channels. Those who only purchase books through Amazon won’t buy your book at the corner gift shop. Those who read only large-print books won’t benefit from your book in 10-point type. Those who buy books on a whim while shopping downtown, won’t find your book if it is only online.
As authors, we attempt to write for the widest possible audience. It’s up to us as booksellers to also make our books available to the widest possible audience. So let’s all make a vow to add at least one new dimension to our books this week. Here are some ideas:
• Include something in the book you’re writing that will appeal to another segment of people—another ethnic group, young people, men or women, those who are suffering a loss, those with a specific problem, etc.
• Offer your book in another form—ebook, large print, audio, for example.
• Offer your book in a new venue—libraries, independent bookstores, at your website (get a merchant account), through Amazon and other online bookstores, kitchen stores nationwide, garden, pet, auto parts or health food stores, perhaps.
• Try a new way of reaching people:
o go out and speak
o write an article for publication
o go door-to-door with a wagonload of books
o send promotional bookmarks in all of the no-postage-needed envelopes that arrive in your junk mail
o reserve space at a book festival
o do a reading at your library
If your book is stagnating—sales are down—don’t despair. Do something to reverse the situation. Seriously seek and try to accommodate customers and you will find them.