And how they got on the shelves?
Check out Books and Such Literary Agency’s blog for a low-down on how it all works and how this motivated agency is making inroads in the marketing world.
Some writers I know have shied away from the library market, pooh-poohing it as an unnecessary avenue in which to sell their books. After all, library books are free, no?
Well yes, to the public. But not really.
Every book in a library has been purchased with real money. With over 2,500 on the Library Locator–the nifty thing Books and Such is part of–this “free” market could help an author sell-through and earn back an advance.
Not to mention, if a library is connected to the public education system like ours is, certain types of books can quickly make their way onto purchase orders–in multiple copies.
So, is the library market an untapped avenue for you as a writer, or does this free service seem a bit too trifling to pursue? Which shelves would you like to see you work on and why?
Personally, the library is my target. It’s the quickest way for my books to find themselves in the hands of my intended audience. Books are expensive and many households don’t have/use expendable cash for literature. Yet every week, kids file down the hallway and make their way into the vastness of the library where they are encouraged to check out something–anything–just to get them to read.
And that, my friends, is where I want to be. I want my unlucky pirate family to be waiting on the shelf, beautifully illustrated and just waiting to stow-away in the back pack of some elementary student.
Not to say that the end cap at any bookstore would make me pout, but I do have fond childhood memories of libraries and virtually no bookstore moments beyond shaking hands with Louis L’Amour.
hugs~
Words from the Woods 