All I Needed Was a Barcode!
by Sherry Brantley
(Arizona)
Choices--The Power Is Within You
One can only imagine the thrill of actually seeing your book in print. As writers, we 'envision' the finished product, while longing to just 'be there already-finished book in hand, proudly watching as the masses demand more be printed as we receive our fat royalty checks and envision which top actor will play the leading role in the major motion picture adaptation.'
But self-publishing is definitely a horse of a different color! Writing my book, 'Choices-The Power is Within You,' was 'easy' compared to the actual marketing of it. In the beginning, I did my homework via the internet: Learning how to write a synopsis and cover letter, sending one to two-page query letters and sending off countless manuscripts to the 'big agencies.' The plethora of rejection letters didn't deter me. I simply reminded myself that Dr. Suess's books were rejected many times before he was able to receive his break, and so were the classics 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' and 'Gone With The Wind.'
Reminding myself publishers were rejecting the book and not me personally helped, but after toiling in that field in vain, I tried the 'getting an agent' route. We're all smart enough to know that if their fees are such that you're asked to fund college tuition at Duke, Harvard or Yale, perhaps they may not be ideal for you to be working with, and yet, we sometimes think to ourselves: 'Well, if it sells a million books-it's worth it-right?' Only after having paid a Kings' Ransom and not being any closer to marketing our books in the major stores or selling any more copies of our book than we did alone, do we realize that perhaps there is yet, another way.
Therefore after arming myself with some knowledge via the internet, my public library and with the will and determination to see my name in print-as a successful published author, I took a serious look at the 'vanity presses' and the Print-On-Demand avenues available to me. Research time again! I checked out various sites to determine its cost, what those costs included, if there were personal, live people to support me in my efforts, or if that feature was only included with an additional cost. Other things had to be taken into consideration as well. Cover design, page layout, printing cost, turn-around time for making corrections, shipping orders, etc. It didn't take long for me to see this task would be a bit more daunting than I'd realized, but I told myself: For the love of writing, being able to express myself through the written word, and bringing a smile to someone's face, or to hear laughter spill from inside as they read my witty pieces, would be worth all the lessons of self-education in the world of publishing that I'd undertaken.
Going to the printers to actually receive my finished product was-in a word-paradise for me. I overlooked the fact that my family and friends exclaimed: "Oh! It's a 'real' book!" I can only guess they'd imagined some spiral bound notebook held crudely together by colorful string-or something akin to that.
I began contacting bookstores in an effort to make connections with owners directly, build rapport and set book signing appointments. I was successful in that endeavor mainly because I truly am a 'people-person' and I loved connecting with my readers directly in such an exciting way.
After completing a few successful book-signings, I was soon confident enough to approach the 'Big Boys.' The chain stores like: Barnes-N-Nobles, Schuler's and Borders. These proved to be a more difficult nut to crack. Each site would ask me the same question: "Who else is carrying your book?" Naming the smaller bookstores didn't seem to register so much as a small blip on the Richter scale, but to be polite, they each gave me the address and contact name for the person at 'headquarters,' whom I was told to contact by sending a query letter and a copy of my book.
Excited about my progress again, I sent my information to Barnes & Noble first. "It's a great book," I thought. "They wouldn't want to reject it." Imagine my disappointment when I received a letter stating they would not be able to market my book 'as is.' What the heck did that mean?! It had been professionally edited, the cover design went great for the topic of the book, and I'd received compliments from the readers of it.
I was despondent for about a month. I wasn't sure how to respond to that news and I was sure the other stores would come back with the same verdict. Finally, while conducting a seminar-on "You Can Achieve Your Life Goals," (of all topics for me to do) I shared my experience with my audience. After the session, a woman came up to me and said: "So, what did Barnes-N-Noble tell you was needed, when you called them?" I stated: "Called them?" She looked stunned. "Are you telling me," she continued, "you never even called to find out why you were rejected? I mean...you already have nothing to lose-they already aren't carrying your book!"
That was one of my 'ah-ha' moments in life. Man was she right! Why not call them? Perhaps their advice would assist me on this path. With trembling hands the very next day, I called the Barnes & Noble contact person assigned to my book. Without being angry, upset, frustrated or fearful, I simply explained I'd received their letter and asked what I needed to do to make the book acceptable for their chain of stores. "Your book is great," the contact replied, "All we need is for you to get a bar-code for it. That way, we can order it and market it at various sites." She even supplied me with information on how to go about doing just that!
No need to tell you I almost dropped the phone in a loud thud on my table. I stammered out a polite and excited 'thank you,' and got busy with more 'self-education' to have a bar-code placed on my book. I had experienced weeks of worrying, feeling the pangs of rejection, not knowing what to do next, and all that was needed was that I face my situation head-on, address the issue squarely and go about rectifying what was needed.
Since then, I've had successful book signings at the major chain stores in my area. I'd learned a lot about self-publishing and with my 2nd book, 'Best of Friends,' since I'd already jumped the hurdles in succeeding in self-publishing, that book was a pleasure to write as well as to market.
Some advice for the self-publishers that are 'newbies.' Remember the reason you're writing-for me it's simply the pure joy of creating characters that are life-like, that people can connect to, and want to know more about. It's connecting with my readers and hearing the positive feed-back that I've received. It's having full-control of the creative process from start to finish. And soon, it will be the joy of having my books simultaneously on the New York Times Bestsellers list, hundreds of readers at a time!
In the infamous words of another writer..."Publish-or Perish!!"
Visit Sweet Potato Pie for the Heart, Sherry's site.
