Authors Sell Your Book to Libraries

Authors sell your book to libraries, says book marketing guru Steve Harrison. It can be very profitable for both parties. The libraries get the content they need and you can actually boost your Amazon sales through selling your book to libraries….especially Ebooks!

These eight questions & answers re selling your book – in print and / or (especially!!) that Ebook – to libraries has inspired me to go that route. The information is very helpful and I loved that webinar on selling to libraries with Amy Collins as your guest speaker. steveharrison.com and yourquantumleap.com for this incredibly informative and useful bit of good news for authors who self-publish!

Question #1 – “I haven’t published my book yet, why would I need this program now?”

For two reasons: first, you can sell ebooks, print on demand books and audio books to libraries. So you don’t need a physical book. Second, if you haven’t even finished your book or are still in the writing stage, you can use the strategies you learn to make your book “library-genic” so it increases the chances librarians buy it when it does get published.

Question #2 – “Are libraries buying my type of book?”

Probably yes. The top types of books libraries buy include Fiction, Memoirs, Business, Self Help, and Children’s books. The one type of book libraries don’t buy are coloring books and other books that people would naturally want to write in, like journals.

Question #3 – “On the webinar you said libraries pay up to 8 times more for a book than what it sells for on Amazon. How is that?”

Simple, libraries pay annual licensing fees for ebooks. And these licensing fees are often 8 times the price of what your ebook sells for on Amazon. These licensing fees are renewable every year, so you can get paid over and over again just from one ebook.

Plus, when your book starts getting rented at one library, other libraries will likely take notice and start buying additional licenses. That’s how you can all of a sudden sell/license thousands of copies of your book so fast. The librarians do the selling for you.

Question #4 – “Does this work only in the United States?”

In addition to libraries in the United States, you can sell your books to the library system of Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, France and Spain.

Question #5 – “How much time will I have to spend getting my book into libraries?”

In all seriousness, you can do it in as little as 20 minutes a day. You can do it during your lunch break right from your computer. The key is to be consistent. But in the Library Profit System, Amy shows you how you can hire a cheap intern to do most of the legwork for you.

Question #6 – “Will I have to make a bunch of phone calls? I hate calling people on the phone.

No. If you choose, you can use the email templates you get with the program to simply email your way into libraries. There are advantages of getting on the phone and talking with librarians but, if you absolutely hate talking on the phone, you can just use email. While Amy encourages you to talk to librarians from time to time, you can still get your book into libraries primarily through email.

Question #7 – “Are there any other benefits of getting into the library system?”

YES! Libraries love having authors speak. So if you’ve been trying to get speaking engagements, libraries are a great place to start. And libraries will gladly let you sell copies of your book after your speech. But you don’t even have to appear at the library. Nowadays, libraries also offer speakers opportunities to Skype in. So you can give talks and workshops in libraries all across the nation from the comfort of your home. And when you give one successful presentation at a library, word gets around and you’ll have an easier time getting your book into other libraries.

Question #8 – “Is this market saturated?”

Not even close. In fact, Amy contacted one library and the librarian she spoke with said that only four independent authors had contacted her in the past year about getting their books in the library.