But as we all know, PA authors gain hope when they DO walk into their local store and they say yes to stocking their book.
Yup. A couple books in
one store out of the thousands across the US and Canada. If you can sell a few copies, more power to you!
Those writers seem to not get that placement in
one store doesn't mean the others will magically know about it and do the same. They will spend more buying gas to drive to the store than they will collect in royalties.
They will collect NO royalties from books they supplied on their own.
Dear PA Lurkers: I have a recent release with a real publisher. It is a trade paperback much like your own product.
The difference with mine is it was professionally edited, proofed, has a professional cover (a very good one!) and its 356 pages are selling for 15.00. Last I checked PA is selling similar books for 32.00 + S&H.
In chain and indie stores across the country, 2-3 copies of that title were put out on the shelves in
each on its release day. I didn't go in to ask for space, my publisher--through their distributor--ably covered that job.
It's "in stock" on Amazon, and in the number 6 spot for its sub-genre in sales. It's been reviewed by
Publisher's Weekly and
Booklist.
Cost to me in effort: zero.
My publisher has distribution. PA doesn't.
My book will sell to the general public, even to people who've never heard of me before.
Yours won't.
The sad and bitter truth is no matter how much a PA writer promotes, his sales for the next 7 years will never match my books sales for its first day.
I don't have to do a danged thing to promote it if I don't want to; all I need do is stay home and do more writing.
Which I'm gonna do in a couple minutes!
Do your next book a favor, sell it to a publisher who has store placement. It's all too obvious that PA lacks that vital connection.
.
