Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hello authors.
[00:00:01] Speaker B: I'm Joanne Morrell, children's and young adult fiction writer and author of short nonfiction for Authors. Thanks for joining me for the Hybrid Author Podcast, sharing interviews from industry professionals to help you forge a career as a hybrid author both independently and traditionally publishing your books. You can get the show notes for each episode and sign up for your free Author pass over at the Hybrid Author website to discover your writing process, get tips on how to publish productively, and get comfortable promoting your books at www.
Let's crack on with the episode.
[00:00:42] Speaker A: Hello authors.
I hope you're all keeping well in whatever part of the world you reside and listen to the podcast in today's interview is a Loner sold with me and I'm chatting how to get your indie or hybrid book into bookstores Understanding Bookstore Priorities, Consignment versus Wholesale, Creating a Bookstore Ready Sell Sheet, Follow up Etiquette and building Relationships, why Local Connection matters, and much more so in my author adventure this week, I was extremely saddened and shocked to hear of the passing of beloved Western Australian children's author and illustrator Josh Langley. Josh came on the podcast November 10, 2021. He was episode 12 chatting about creating online kids courses. And I went back and listened to that episode actually this morning and yeah, it was just, it was character. He was just such a jovial character. He did a lot in his life. He was doing what he loved in the end and you know, bit of a connection with both of our creative careers. It was really a good episode to revisit and listen to Josh. It was way back in the beginning of the podcast obviously number 12. And I never did any of Author Adventure Update or I didn't speak at all. It was just like right into the interviews, probably just too shy to even say anything. But I knew Josh before I interviewed him and had seen him around at some author events and connected online and had also bought his I've got all of his children's books, but I had bought his Find you'd create creative Mojo book directly from him, which was something that I could connect with because it was about fear, procrastination, self doubt, imposter syndrome, all things that Josh had felt and all things that I felt in the beginning of my career as well. And my kids absolutely love his books, as do most children.
And we talk about that on the episode as well. But yeah, what his book in particular Being you is enough. You know, they're bright colors, his illustrations are very childlike, so there's an instant connection between him and the children and the messages that they hold in the pages. That's exactly what he's saying. All his work was inspiring. It was inspiring and uplifting for children and great messages with the heart of you are loved at the end of most of his books. But yeah, we talk about on the episode about book week and how a lot of kids just want to take his book. And even my daughter, my eldest daughter, when she was younger, she did the same thing. She just took that book. She just went and dressed in her own clothes and took that book in, which is called being you is enough.
So rather than having like the usual book week dress up gear for different characters in books, the children just go themselves with Joshua's book, which suits. That's what we're talking about. It suits the parents that don't want to do book week costumes. And there was just a lot of laughs on the episode and I think that shows Joss character. He was also part of the Squibi committee as the faraway coordinator, the regional coordinator as well. At the same time I was and just an all round real nice guy. And it's really, really sad that he has gone. I saw a post on social media and I had thought about him actually a while back because he was very active on social media and I thought, you know, I haven't seen a post from him for a while. And then his husband had wrote on his page that he had a brain. I think it was a brain cancer specific one.
And yeah, that wasn't.
That wasn't that long. And then he'd put this up saying that I'd pass. So thoughts are out there for Andy, Josh's husband and family and the children's and the kid lit community. I know that everybody's feeling saddened by his passing and just remember you just have to review his content. He also, because he was in radio as well for many years and we talk about this in the episode, he had a show as well, which was on YouTube called Josh Gets to Know. So he's left his mark and I think that his message and his and everything will continue on. His legacy will continue on. So over the weekend I managed to get to the local library to attend my first Romance Writers of Australia writing so shout out the lovely ladies that were there. And it was really nice to connect with people writing in the same genre as me. Women of the same age, I would say really feeling like I'm finding my place on where I want to be.
And yeah, it would have been a very good and productive meeting because they were no frills it was a quick conversation but it was down to work immediately. And that was sort of from 9:30 till would have been 12 o'. Clock. So you get a good chunk in of working, which is great because some of these groups that you can end up in, they just talk and it's quite difficult. And I've found over the past that I've had space to write, so I've really just wanted to find a.
Connect with people for a coffee, catch up to socialise and talk. But this time, because now I'm starting a new work. My romance book set in the vineyard that I've been talking about. If you've been listening to the last episodes, I really need a space to write because I am. I've been bogged down with business stuff, which again, you'll have heard me touch upon. But I had. It finally happened to me. I had bought an updated version of software on my computer, thinking I was doing the right thing by, you know, obviously getting security and cleaning up my. Because my computers are really overloaded and it needs a good cleanup and a good clean.
And so I did a file cleanup and when I was waiting on the ladies for the write in, there was a list of files and I just clicked delete thinking, you know, that security wouldn't delete anything. Like, usually to me it's when there's doubled up files and stuff like that. But it had actually deleted everything I had on my laptop in Scrivener. So my new book that I've been working on was fully plotted out, but I had only started writing two chapters, so thank goodness it wasn't like a full, polished work. But I've lost my young adult novel, if anyone's heard me talk about that. The second in my series, the Women's Fiction. Now I've got notes everywhere for the plots and that's how I have been working with these things. And I've got it obviously all in my head. It wasn't. I wasn't at the end of anything, it was really just notes and stuff. So I feel quite numb to it because in my mind when I was looking for it, I just typing in the title and I thought there's nothing there. So I had to call. I pretty much spent that writing online with the software and they were helping me to try and get the software back and unfortunately it's gone. So I'm a very optimistic person. So I wasn't panicking or I wasn't like having a meltdown. I. I was a little bit, you know, I think it was the coffee, had a few coffees. I was a little bit hyped, but it wasn't a waste of time, me going to the writing. It was lovely to meet the ladies. And I just think that lesson learned, lessons I've learned. I keep thinking, what is my lesson learned here? Somebody wanted me to learn something here. And it's either check everything before you delete it or always have backup cloud, which mine is full at the moment. That's why Minds has not gone to cloud. And I also need to sync my computers. Like it's something so small that will save me a lot of time and energy. I know that. And it's just. I don't know about anybody else. I have lots of little pages on my notes app and on my phone that have running to do lists and things. And that's how I work. I'm also writing daily priorities. I've also got like a schedule of different things to achieve, but each day in the business, different things. But I just don't know if that is right for me, to be honest. But yeah, anyways, lesson learned. So I'm gonna be starting from scratch, actually. I've got the plot, so I've just gotta plot that out. I've just gotta, like, rewrite that up in Scrivener and just get started again. So it's not too bad. Or maybe the lesson is that all of it was crap in the first place and so, you know, start again, who knows? But I have to say, I haven't cried, so that's good. I've laughed about it. People have been very nice. I put a post up on social media because you get a lot of support, I think when you share these things. And I'm not alone, I know other people have been the same. So that was. Yeah, that was fun.
I also, in that day, left behind my laptop case and folder that's got my romance, like the book from the library that I was reading inside it. So clearly I just was a bit like too much going on that morning and just a bit all over the place. So maybe that was the lesson learned. Just chill out, slow down, relax. This week has been a good week of podcast interviews and ducking up to the post office to post books purchased through my website. In between, I just need to throw book writing back into the mix and I'll have my perfect working day.
And I just, you know, it's amazing when you have days like that. I had just positivity things coming through that indicate that you're on the right path. You're doing really well because in the past, especially with this business and my personal situation, you grapple with a lot of feelings around this business because it is the unknown. It's not stable, there's lots of things that go against it, but it's also hustle and challenge and when it's right, it's right. And I get so much for it when it's right and when it's not, then I feel that too.
But I'm also currently in the contact stage for an article I plan on pitching to magazines. This is around my new sellers gig working with wine. Although it's a humanised piece, more on stories showcased by a particular wine brand.
So more to come on that when I get the green light to write it from the magazines that I've got in mind at the moment, I'm just sort of fact checking some stuff.
So yeah, yeah, I'm excited to do some freelance writing again.
I think it's good. It's good to do some short form stuff as well as the novels and the full length. So if you follow me on social media, you might have seen my colourful advert circulating created by my wonderful VAs announcing the hybrid Author Podcast is currently open for guests, so if you're an author or an industry professional in the writing publishing world, reach out and pitch me joannebredauthor.com make sure you're familiar with the podcast content episodes are topic based and proactive in encouraging writers to have a hybrid author career which is all inclusive, not just one way of doing things.
I look forward to hearing from you soon and sharing further information about how the podcast works if you are successful.
I've had some exciting sponsorship queries for the podcast this week, which I'm really looking forward to sharing soon if the deal goes ahead. But for now, here's our long lasting sponsor Thorne Creative.
[00:11:54] Speaker B: Thorn Creative, where beautiful websites for authors are brought to life.
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[00:13:22] Speaker A: How to get your indie or hybrid book into bookstores hello and welcome to the Hybrid Author Podcast. I'm your host, Joanne Zara Illamorell, author, podcaster, hybrid publishing advocate and believer in real talk about real author careers.
In today's episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on exactly how I got my latest women's fiction book, the Writer, the Hairdresser and the Nurse into indie bookstores. You're going to hear my step by step process, what I did, what worked, and what I would tweak next time.
And this episode is especially for those of you who are hybrid, self published or independently managing your author career. Because getting stocked in a bookstore is possible without a traditional deal. If you are traditionally published, this is something that they usually handle. So that's one good thing.
If you're dreaming of seeing your book on a shelf or better yet, in the hands of a browsing reader, this episode's for you.
The decision to go Indie and still go Big Lets rewind a little. When I decided to publish the Writer, the Hairdresser and the Nurse independently under my pen name Zara Ellen, I knew one thing I didn't want it to just live online.
This book about three strong women navigating love, loss and second chances, was written to connect. It felt personal, local and warm. So I made a decision early on that this book needed to be in physical bookstores or where readers who love women's fiction might stumble across it, flip the first page and be pulled in. Even as an indie author, I believed and I know this to be possible and true as there's many of us out there doing it.
But I and many bookstores who also love to support local and they don't really care where the book comes from or how it's made. They can see a product and know how it's being received, read the story and the words and see if it suits them.
But I also realized that booksellers are probably very busy and showing up with a box of books and a big smile is going to need a little bit more of a plan behind it and a respect for how bookstores operate.
And more like that. I needed to act like a publishing house even though I'm A one woman show. My imprint is Sanguine Press.
So in the beginning I've got two short non fiction books published through IngramSpark and these books are what they say, they're short nonfiction. And so with those books I've never one's 7,000 words and it's quite small. One's 15,000 words and a little bit thicker. But I never ever considered contacting bookstores regarding those books because I know that they would be lost on a shelf, no one would see them, a spine face out.
And so there's a different plan for those books I have whenever I finish the series of reaching out to bookstores about whether they want that content for their book. And because it's a series and I had about another two or three ideas in that series, I've just gone off in different paths such as children's fiction and women's fiction and things like that.
But in my mind, because it's short nonfiction, once all of those books are together and it's a series of five, I will compile them into one big thick book and then see if it's of interest to bookstores because that will be a big thick book and that will be seen on the shelf. You've got to think about looks and things, but we'll get into that as well. So Researching the Right Bookstores Before I reached out to anyone, I did my homework. I created a spreadsheet and started researching local independent bookstores, focusing on stores that stocked fiction and women's fiction shops that highlighted local or Australian authors, places with community minded values or who held author events. Stores I personally love as a reader and could authentically support.
For each store, I logged the name and contact details, their buyer manager, if applicable, their website and social media presence, and whether they listed consignment options for indie authors.
I also made a note of how they displayed books, what genres they favored and whether they had upcoming local events I might connect to.
This was really important to me. It helped me avoid wasting my time on mismatched pitches or bookstores that are not going to be interested.
My next step Step two was creating a bookstore pitch package. A professional, polite and tailored offer to each store and this included a short author letter introducing myself in the book. A one page info sheet, also called a sell sheet, featuring book title and Blurb, cover image, ISBN and pricing including RRP and wholesale consignment price.
RRP is the retail price, distribution details IngramSpark and or where I printed from with the women's fiction that was by Optima Press returnability and discount terms Contact details A brief list of marketing efforts I was doing so highlighting this podcast, any local media or reviews, school author events I've got going on, social media campaigns and a single sample copy of the book is where I delivered where possible.
So everything was well designed, clean, readable, branded. This wasn't a rambly email or an emotional appeal. It was a professional pitch that said I value your time and understand your business.
Reaching out to stores strategically is step three. I then began reaching out in waves for local stores in Perth, wa. I delivered packages in person, respectfully using midweek during quieter store hours and always checking at the counter first before speaking to a manager for store interstate or out of reach. I sent a digital version via email only after checking their submission process online.
My approach was simple, clear, friendly and tailored. I highlighted that I was a local WA author, that the book might appeal to fans of women's fiction with strong female characters, and that I'd be happy to supply on consignment or with a wholesale discount.
And then I followed up gently. I always respected the response time and workload, but if I didn't hear anything in a couple of weeks, I'd send one friendly nudge.
Segment 5 Step 5 what worked and what I'd do differently so you don't want to badger people, but obviously you know, initial touch base, initial visit.
And you need to think about how bookstores operate because yeah, like I said, you don't want to just arrive with a box full of books. They're super busy, they're not interested, they don't have time and you've got to think about how many times they get pitched and everything like that. But you know, this is, we're talking about this in a career sense, a business sense, wanting to earn money sense. So you have to treat it as I've said, politely, respectfully.
So initial, you could do initial contact, find the contact person for that library, that bookstore, then follow up with an in store visit and then, then follow up if you haven't heard from them.
Here's some of what worked for me. And everybody's different and everybody's book is different. So there might be different things that work for you in book selling. These are just some points that I wanted to share and for your consideration before approaching bookstores, you can offer consignment for stores unsure about upfront ordering. So consignment is where you leave copies of your book to see if anybody buys them and then the bookstore sells them.
And if not, you can always offer returns so if the book doesn't sell, then asking, obviously getting it back, Even printing through IngramSpark, that is another option that you can print on demand. You can tick that bookstores can return your books. I personally don't tick that because I don't want books returned because sometimes you have to end up paying money and things. It all seems a bit messy, but I'd be happy to leave some books somewhere on consignment but be asking for them back because at the end of the day it is stock, it is money. And also with leaving a sample book, I would want it back. I don't want.
Unless obviously if they asked for it to keep and then they wanted to purchase or whatever, totally fine by me. But as an indie author, print books are money. I can't just drop money at each bookstore with no outcome or no whatever. You know, this is my stock. I've got limited stock at this point, so I wouldn't be, I wouldn't expect to leave samples everywhere I go, but offering to leave them on consignment and having a look or whatnot. So having a clear pricing and margin info on the pitch seat, bringing in signed copies which many stores said help sales. And I personally as a buyer of books and give as presents a signed copy and it doesn't even have to be to that person, even though that's even more special. But a signed copy of an author's book is something special. I rate it as something very special, that extra special thing that you can give to somebody. And I often ask of obviously friends, books and things like that in different stores if they've got signed copies. And so yeah, I highly agree with signed copies being helping sales for sure.
Showing up in store to build relationships. Books are human too. So you could offer in person book event. If they minded that I would say you're not going to get paid for that. It's just to go in and sell your books. And if they adhere to that, that would be great.
Connecting the book's themes to community appeal. Sisterhood, second chance well for me it's sisterhood, second chances, love and yeah, even thinking about your local area and how your book with the themes connects.
So what will I do differently next time?
Now that I've struck up some relationships with some local sellers, I'd probably build a pre order campaign tied to the stores, maybe with an incentive to pre order through me or through where I publish. Next time have more media hooks ready like local news or book clubs featuring the story.
I haven't really got that many reviews up on site and that's on me. But as I said, I'm only a one woman person and I'm doing all I can so I'm not going to batter myself over the head. I'll get better at this as I go along, as we all will.
Raising each other up. That's what we're doing.
Start reaching out about eight weeks ahead of launch instead of four. I'm always late to the party in anything usually. That's why I've stopped orchestrating my own events because I usually try and do them like two weeks in advance. And really you need to probably promote something three months in advance. It's something I'm definitely getting better at, but in the beginning been difficult for me to do that. So I've learned by launching in person the Right of the Hairdresser and the Nurse last year how powerful in person launches can be.
So again, that's tying back to even possibly launching at a bookstore. If that was what they were interested in, that could help them move stock, build local relationships.
So what's the takeaway for hybrid authors? Here's the big picture. You don't need to wait for a publishing deal to see your book in bookstores, but you do need to act like a publisher, think strategically, price correctly, and approach stores with professionalism and respect.
Hybrid authors have flexibility and freedom, but with that comes the responsibility to know both the creative and commercial side of the game. The writer, the Hairdresser and the Nurse has been stalked in stores across WA because of the grassroots author led approach. And if I can do it, so can you.
So if you're interested in reading the Right to the Hairdresser and the Nurse or learning more, you can visit hybridauthor.com books and get your copy direct from me.
I think the ebook's about $10. The print book's about 28. Or you can ask in your local library or you can go and check in your local bookstore and if they don't have it, you can ask.
I am currently stocked with Westbooks as well and I am making my way around third party distributors too. So until next time, stay brave, stay bold and keep building your hybrid author dream.
So there you have it folks. A little snippet of how to get your indie or hybrid book into bookstores. I hope you found it helpful. I'll be sharing some social media posts of my time doing this recently to coincide with this episode. Release next time on the Hybrid Author Podcast we have Moira Pirlo chatting young adult contemporary fiction. Her latest novel the Lies We Tell Ourselves.
Moira Pirlo is the author of seven titles for children and young adults and the creator of the award winning web series on youth mental health, Fragments.
Moira holds a PhD in Philosophy specialising in ethics and is a qualified art therapist and founder of the bookbench Project.
Drawing inspiration from the natural world, Moira divides her time between Canberra and Jambouru on the New South Wales south coast where her family grows walnuts, macadamias and avocados. It's a fabulously written and very important book. Moira is extremely knowledgeable in the publishing and writing space. Another fantastic episode appearing on the podcast soon. I wish you well on your author venture this next week. That's it from me. Bye for now.
[00:26:19] Speaker B: That's the end for now authors. I hope you are further forward in your author adventure after listening, and I hope you'll listen next time. Remember to head on over to the Hybrid Author website at www.hybridauthor.com to get your free author pass.
[00:26:34] Speaker A: It's bye for now.
