Tips on selling your self-published book
You’ve just finished the last bit of editing on your novel, and it’s on its way to cover design, layout, and typesetting. Once the printers are done, you’ll just have to market your book and sell it in South Africa.
Easy, right…?
No, not that easy.
Here are a few helpful tips for publishing and selling your book.
Is your book cover striking enough?
Whatever you may have heard, yes, readers do judge a book by its cover. Some readers have multiple copies of the same book. That’s because sometimes a printing company can have an agreement with the publishing company to print a different cover that has better artwork than the original.
Does the blurb give readers insight into what to expect?
Readers are most likely not going to buy a book that doesn’t tell them what the story is about. Authors tend to hold onto details of the story in the hope of surprising their audience. This sometimes leads to a loss of interest in your book because no one but you (the author) knows what it’s about.
Here is a guideline for writing a blurb:
- Introduce your antagonist or protagonist, their age, profession, and where they live.
- Tell the reader what your antagonist or protagonist’s striking qualities are or what dilemma or situation they find themselves in.
- Hint at what the plot could possibly be about to create interest.
Do you have an ISBN number and barcode?
Most bookstores, even small ones, use barcodes to keep track of their inventory on a computerised system. This also gives your book a more formal and professional look.
Have you correctly priced your book? Is it affordable?
The South African book climate for self-published authors changes yearly. Sometimes readers will pay over R250 for a book if they think it is worth it. Other times, that R250 is too much of a splurge for the middle-income reader.
First-time writer?
Be prepared to sell your story, your book, and yourself as an author to bookstores. Bookstores want to sell books they are confident will give them a good profit turnover. That means they will sometimes require a free copy of your book to see if it’s worth stocking.
Using book agents instead of bookstores?
Bookstores sometimes don’t adhere to the selling price that you, as the author, set. This is due to the additional expenses that stores have, as opposed to book agents. Book agents have a specific clientele that they sell to, who trust them enough to know they are not being scammed.
Recommended selling price vs buying price
When engaging a middleman to sell your books (bookstore or book agent), your price will have to be low enough to cover the costs of couriering your books to the seller and give them enough room to make a profit from the sale. Some bookstores want to make at least R100 profit per book, whereas agents vary between R40 to R60 per book.
This means that you will earn lower profits as opposed to selling and couriering the books yourself.
An advantage of engaging a middleman is that readers are not discouraged by the high courier fee and can pick up a copy of your book from their local bookstore or book agent.
Longer reads and hardcovers cost more than shorter paperback novels
Avoid unnecessary cosmetic costs in your book and on your book cover. Many readers don’t know how costly the self-publishing process is but still want cheap books. After taking into consideration the buying price, selling price, and book market, authors sometimes don’t make any profit from their book. So as an author, don’t look for cheap, look for trusted affordability.
Don’t want to shorten your manuscript?
Consider publishing it as a duology. Readers feel that getting two affordable books is a better deal than getting one thick, expensive book.
There is no one (no bookstore or book agent) that can sell your book as well as you (the author) can sell it
They will only market it within a space or time frame; the constant marketing is up to you.
Use social media to market your book. Sell your characters; the way they look, their professions, and even some of their dialogues. Book quotes and excerpts are a great way to draw in your audience.
Lastly, I want to remind everyone that rizq comes from Allah. The above points are simply tips that can help improve your sales but cannot guarantee it. There also isn’t only one way to do things; sometimes what works for you won’t work for the next author. The goal is to persevere, to learn from your mistakes, and to find ways to do it better.
About the author
Atiyya Dawood Karkbelkar
Atiyya Dawood Karbelkar is a self-published author and blogger. She has published two books and has contributed to a few anthologies. She is also a writer for the Muslim Woman Magazine. Atiyya is passionate about telling wholesome stories that move her readers. Her books are available at Uppercrust – Lenasia, M.I Nanabhai – Fordsburg, Darun Nashr – Lenasia, and Cii – Ormonde