Selling books door to door?

mario_c · Jul 5, 2009

Here's an author who don't need no stinkin' agent! From BNET, a great website for business and sales knowledge.

Rosalind isn’t using the internet. She wasn’t tweeting news of her book, publishing it “online only” or waiting around for a big publisher. She didn’t even have a copy of the book to give me: she’ll get the presses running when she has enough pre-orders to pay for it. And she certainly isn’t sitting around surfing the web to find work.
Instead, she’s walking door-to-door round South London, explaining herself in a confident and articulate manner. Her book isn’t expensive - she suggests £4.50, but will accept less if you don’t think it’s worth that much.

This may be extreme, but it's showing a personal approach to marketing.
What do you think?

Shadow_Ferret · Jul 5, 2009

She's a nut job as surely as the guy holding the sign "Will emote for food."

mario_c · Jul 5, 2009

They see a lot of that around Hollywood, methinks.

Claudia Gray · Jul 5, 2009

Who has the <i>time</i>?

Lyra Jean · Jul 5, 2009

Perhaps someone will pick up her book based on just her weird marketing strategy.

CatSlave · Jul 5, 2009

Good grief.

Encyclopedia salesmen, evangelists, vacuum cleaner pushers and household product pyramid scheme members.
Now self-published books.

Door-to-door peddling has been around a long time.
Wonder how long it will take the PublishAmerica enthusiasts to latch on to this story.

And BTW, I suspect the sales figure of 6,000 for her first book is a bit of an exaggeration.

Matera the Mad · Jul 5, 2009

Who has the time?

Anyone who hasn't got a job.
Been there, done that.

Gillhoughly · Jul 5, 2009

The Brits are a remarkably polite people in general.

I wouldn't try that in MY neighborhood. I doubt many here know how to read!

And I'd rather spend my time WRITING books than selling them like that!

blacbird · Jul 5, 2009

I don't buy, or even accept for free, anything anybody presents unannounced at my door. Period. I'm polite about it for roughly fifteen seconds. After that, it gets ugly. If you're tempted to try this, and come to my house, let me assure you that persistence is not an admirable quality.

caw

Cyia · Jul 5, 2009

blacbird said:
I don't buy, or even accept for free, anything anybody presents unannounced at my door. Period. I'm polite about it for roughly fifteen seconds. After that, it gets ugly. If you're tempted to try this, and come to my house, let me assure you that persistence is not an admirable quality.

caw

I don't know anyone around here who would even open the door, much less listen to a pitch. The only way a door-to-door gets to speak to anyone here is if they catch them in the yard.

This person sounds motivated, but naive. Unless she's walking the whole city, she's going to have to drive herself, and that means gasoline costs. The whole "pay less if you don't like it" idea doesn't mesh with her "Not printing until I sell enough to pay for it" idea. Once they're printed, she's also going to have to handle delivery - more walking or more driving.

She's severely limited in her sphere of influence, as well. At most she's got the one city. Unless she branches out to others - which means definite driving costs like gas - she's not going to have much of a reader base. If she has the skill to perfect a face-to-face pitch that's effective enough to approach strangers cold and result in sales, then there's no reason she can't use the same pitch to query an agent who can get her book a real publisher with proper distribution.

BenPanced · Jul 6, 2009

~~There's no way I'd buy it if I can't read a sample of it first. Call me crazy...~~

ETA:

But to produce a sample copy of the novel with her picture on the back was a great way of confirming she wasn’t on the make. And what fraudster would bother hand-writing a receipt for the sake of four quid?

dgiharris · Jul 6, 2009

Cyia said:
...This person sounds motivated, but naive....
If she has the skill to perfect a face-to-face pitch that's effective enough to approach strangers cold and result in sales, then there's no reason she can't use the same pitch to query an agent who can get her book a real publisher with proper distribution.

Actually, if she has the ability to cold sell a book from an unknown writer, then she shouldn't be a writer.

She should be a salesman.

Granted, I've never met this woman but I know the type. I believe at one point we were all this type.

I remember my first story and the rejections that followed. My first thought was that they were wrong. I mean, didn't they know genius when they saw it? My first thought was to publish myself. But i'm a bit stubborn and wanted to 'break through' the old fashion way.

Time passes, I keep writing, and then I happened upon that first story that I wrote years and years ago. And see how tragically awful that story was.

Wow, to think there was a time when I thought it was brilliant.

Unfortunately, there are many writers who have never evolved or progressed. They stop at that first work and spend the rest of their time and energy trying to convince the world that it is gold.

Mel...

Marian Perera · Jul 6, 2009

There are too many good books, published and reviewed the usual way, available in stores rather than from a door-to-door salesperson, for me to buy a book in the manner this lady is selling it.

waylander · Jul 6, 2009

I used to live in Tooting where this girl is taking her book around door-to-door, and I sure as hell wouldn't do it.

Old Hack · Jul 6, 2009

Tooting? She's doing this in TOOTING?

I wouldn't attempt it either. The best of luck to her but it's not how I'd go about selling a book of mine.

Lyra Jean · Jul 6, 2009

I agree with dgi. She probably sent her story out to a few agents and got it rejected. Instead of seeing why her book was rejected she decided to self pub. I wouldn't buy her book. I have a hard enough time dealing with the kids who sell magazines in order to win a vacation.

scarletpeaches · Jul 6, 2009

Smells like a reject who won't take criticism to me.

CACTUSWENDY · Jul 6, 2009

Disclaimer: I would not do this.

I have to hand it to this lady. Stop and think about it. I think it takes guts to do this. I can not imagine doing this, but you have to at least give her an A for effort. It might be interesting to see how far this gets her.

(I remember a story about a couple of long haired geeks that thought it would be neat to build a computer for the average Joe to own and have in his own home. Folks thought they were nuts too.)

Again, I would not do this.

ChristineR · Jul 6, 2009

I'd like to know what her effective hourly wage is, after she subtracts all her costs, including books, petrol, and people cleaning bills after people throw their trash at her.

I'd also like to know what percentage of people that try this kind of thing end up getting picked up by a publisher. This is sort of PublishAmerica-ish, what with bugging everyone you meet to buy your book.

NeuroFizz · Jul 6, 2009

I don't have enough relatives, and they are distributed all across the country. Besides, they all want free copies...

Marian Perera · Jul 6, 2009

Old Hack said:
Tooting? She's doing this in TOOTING?

I take it this is an unsafe place?

Phaeal · Jul 6, 2009

The sheer audacity of her hope would compel me to give her a glass of iced tea and a sitdown on the porch while I read a sample of the book. I mean, I do as much for Jehovah's Witnesses (poor things, they're always dressed in suits in the hottest weather). Why wouldn't I do it for a fellow writer?

And what if her book was good? Then I'd get a good book out of it. Could happen. It certainly happens that crappy books get published. I read a fantastic short story yesterday, one of the best I've read in years, and it's been making the rounds unsold. But I took a chance, and I got to read it.

At the very least, I would have had a chat with an unusual person. It's all grist for the mill, y'know.

waylander · Jul 6, 2009

Queen of Swords said:
I take it this is an unsafe place?

Somewhat; also a place where a lot of residents can't read or don't speak English as their first language

dgiharris · Jul 6, 2009

She gets an A for effort, but I can't see how she's making money this way.

My understanding is that self publishing works out to around $15 per book correct?

Even for the sake of argument, lets say it is $7 per book. It sounds like she's selling the books for around $7 per book (converting from pounds to dollars in my head) so she is at best breaking even, at worst, going in the whole.

And the time spent going door to door is time spent not writing.

Mel...

KTC · Jul 6, 2009

this is so f***ing ridiculous.

Selling books door to door?

Your thoughts are not real...

Court Jester

Your thoughts are not real...

Two years old now.

Mah tale iz draggin.

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

Grumpy writer and editor

Rewriting My Destiny

THE BLUEBERRY QUEEN OF HADES (he/him)

Disgruntled Scientist

starting over

Who's going for a beer?

Such a nasty woman

Two years old now.

An old, sappy, and happy one.

What happened?

The grad students did it

starting over

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

Who's going for a beer?

Disgruntled Scientist

Stand in the Place Where You Live