Libraries primarily buy via Ingram (which owns LSI) or Baker and Taylor. So the best path into libraries is a review in their professional journals. I understand why your publisher is reticent. You have to send out dozens of copies of the book to review journals, and you may get exactly zero reviews. I got one, but it was a big one. The others just ignored me. ALA Booklist actually sold my review copies at an antique shop!

And yes, I also schmoozed area libraries. I’m a recovering librarian myself, so I had contacts around the state. And they did buy copies. But my advice is to send out those dozens of copies. If you get a review, you get sales all over the country and each copy lands in the hands of multiple readers. I forget where I picked up the advice, but, when I decided to publish my own book, I remember being told loudly, “You can NEVER give away too many free copies!”

I’m not clear on what you wrote about the Kindle — why are you only making 10% on your Kindle books? If your retail is $5.00, you should be making about $1.75 per copy.

Library sales are something I haven’t looked into enough. Any advice you can provide us on how to get into Library Journal (my publisher refused to submit a copy of “Brave Men Run” because of his past experience not being reviewed with other books) or into libraries, period, would be valuable for all of us.

Thanks!

As to the POV the #22 slot (riding at about the top 16% of Amazon print, based on your numbers), I have to admit I’m not nearly as aggressive at marketing as you, Tee and Mur, and certainly not as much as Sigler. I’m working to change that. My book is SF, and that’s a niche market to begin with. And THEN it’s based on an existing audio series, which I know leaves some readers feeling like they can’t just dive in.

On the other hand, my con sales and my library sales are well more than half of my total sales. So the Amazon rankings, while very important, are telling not even the majority of my story. Taken Liberty was positively reviewed by Library Journal, which I’m told is a major coup. So it’s in libraries all over the Country. We can’t begin to include library circs into our numbers, but we know they’re important. I’d be interested to know how many of the print versions listed here have been purchased by libraries. Sigler’s of course. Anyone else?

“Pilgrimage” continues apace… as well as my short story series and other stuff! I’m working on multiple projects; touching each when the muse points in that direction.

Second, there actually is a Kindle version of ‘Pocket’: http://www.amazon.com/Max-Quick-Book-One-Pendant/dp/B0015TVAD6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235028369&sr=8-3

I changed the title to “Max Quick Book One: The Pocket and the Pendant” for ’series-ification’ reasons — so the book titles are all obviously part of the same family of books — this is probably why you didn’t find it.

Thanks for the post, once again! And now that you have more time to write, i expect the sequel to BMR is getting written faster — I look forward to that as well :)
- M