Top Twenty-Six Places Where Your Book Should Be

I’ve always been a cheerleader for investing in copies of your own book for various reasons. This always becomes part of the great debate of how much money an author should invest in their book to make it successful.  Remember, if you are a self-published author, you wear many hats: writer, editor, publisher, and marketer.  Before considering self-publishing, you should consider how much money you are willing to spend on marketing your project.

True, some people can probably invest very little money in their book and get just as much exposure.  The internet provides us with limitless possibilities when it comes to free marketing. But we shouldn’t depend upon the world wide web solely for those opportunities.  Take advantage of them?  Absolutely!  But you should still invest in physical copies of you own book (That is, if you are publishing it at all in hard copy…the reason for my post) so that you can be armed with the best marketing material there is: a copy of your book.

It’s odd to consider these days that an author can publish completely online and have their book only available as a download and make money.  Chances are, if you are like me or at least half of the POD community, you’ll make more money from E-sales than physical copies.  But if you are like me, you also still like to hold a physical book in your hand.  You like the crisp smell of its pages.  You like the feel of it, of words on paper. Nothing beats a physical book in my hands!  I still buy them.  I still read them.  And I still prefer to review them that way.

I see author blogs or Facebook posts all the time with random pics of your books stacked on your desk or shelved neatly on your book shelf.  Looks good, doesn’t it?  Feels good too.  I have a stack of my own like that.  They are signs of our hard work and we should be proud of them. They make good conversation pieces when company comes over.  Visitors always stop and wonder why you have so many copies of one book on your shelf.  So, good for you for having more than one copy!  But now it’s time to put a few of those copies to work for you.  Chances are not every copy will have a return as far as the investment goes, but in no random order, here’s a list of ways to put those copies to good use when it comes to marketing your book:

1. Donate one copy to your local library.
2. Did you write a children’s or teen interest book?  Donate a copy to a local school library or to the school you went to.
3. Send a copy to your local newspaper along with a press release.  Be sure to send it to the attention of the arts and variety editor or local interest section.
4. Send a copy to at least one national newspaper along with a press release.  Again, to the attention of the review editor.
5. Send a copy to a literary magazine or journal.
6. Send a copy to a review site or book review blog (www.llbookreview.com is a good one).
7. Send a copy to a local book club.
8. Send a copy to your local independent bookstore as part of a marketing kit or press release.  Bookstores love to receive advanced free copies and often give them  to their employees to read and suggest to customers.
9. Send a copy to your local chain bookstore.  Most of the time they won’t invest in stock of your book if it is sold non-returnable, but it doesn’t hurt to try.
10. Find a top reviewer of books in your genre on Amazon.com and contact them, asking if they’d like a copy of your book.  I’ve had several authors contact me through Amazon this way because of my previous reviews.
11. Sell copies of your book on Amazon.com or on sites like abebooks.com. Advertise them as “signed by the author.”  This is an excellent way to get a fast return financially!
12. Offer free copies on your blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter as a raffle.  Create fun contests for your readers!
13. Give away free copies on bookmooch.com.  I’m currently doing this, asking readers to only mooch my book if they are willing to review it for me on Amazon.com.  I’m trying to gain more reviews of my book there, and so far I’ve had two people request my book.
14. Give advanced copies away on goodreads.com.  GoodReads will keep track of the entries and let you set your own deadline.  They will also draw random winners for you at the end of the raffle and let you know who they are.  All you have to do is ship the book.  GoodReads also encourages readers to post a review of the book on their site.  Include a nice thank you card with the book and ask them to review it on Amazon for you too.
15. In your car, book bag, or purse.  You never know who you are going to run into and strike up a conversation with.  It could be an excellent bragging opportunity and you could let your book be your business card.
16. In a waiting room.  If you find books in your doctor’s office, dentist office, at the hospital, or any other waiting room you’ve frequented, why not conveniently leave one of your own books there in the mix?  You never know who will pick it up.  This is an excellent opportunity for anyone who wrote a book specific to the field:  nursing biographies, doctor advice, dental, self-help, etc.
17. Hospital Giftshops.  Most hospital gift shops have a small selection of eclectic books.  This is a great chance to get your book front and center.
18. At a literary festival. Check your state for any local book festivals that might be taking place.  Sign up to attend or join a group that might be attending.  Or just go to the festival as a visitor and pass out copies of your book to people you strike up a conversation with.  Our own LK Gardner-Griffie has connected with many readers at festivals in her area.
19. Story-Time!  There’s always a book being read to kids on a Saturday at a bookstore, at a preschool or in a kindergarten class, or at your local library.  If you wrote a kid’s book, why not talk to the director about being a special guest and featuring your book.
20. College Campuses!  Don’t forget your campus bookstore, campus library, campus clubs, writing groups, historical societies, etc.
21. Places frequented by your target audience.  This place plays off #16 a bit, but think about it.  The people who you want to read your book, who you wrote the book for, might not frequent bookstores.  Did you write a story about a coupon clipping queen?  Sell your book on a card table outside the grocery store (Move over girl scouts!) or talk to your grocery manager about an event.  Did you write the next Friday Night Lights?  Peddle your book at the high school concession stand. Are you penning your biography about being a Karate teacher?  Go talk to karate schools and classes one night!  A how-to book on growing rare vegetables?  Stop by the local farmer’s market. The point is go find your audience! Don’t wait for them to find you.
22. Community Centers.  Find out if your local center has a free lending library.  This is also a nice way to connect with grown-ups who loiter around while the kids are in the pool, and a nice way to let your neighbors kindly know there’s an author living next door.
23. Internet Cafes and Coffee Shops.  Again, most have a lending library.  Or stop by on Open Mic night and get up and read from your book.  I once bought a local cookbook that was being promoted next to the cash register in a coffee shop.  The point is most people who frequent these places appreciate local work and artists.
24. Flea markets, rummage sales, and garage sales.  Most people are looking for cheap books here, but if you signed your book and talked them up as “signed limited first editions,” you’re sure to draw some interest.
25. Airports, bus stations, and train stations.  Most of these have a literature kiosk or reading rack.
26. Visitor centers or tourist attractions.  Add a “local author” sticker to the front of your book and display it next to the other local interest books.

So there you have it!  Twenty-six places where you could market your book and put that overstock on your coffee table to some good use.  Take into account that if you are mailing copies of your book to various places there’s postage and packing materials to consider.  Always pack them sufficiently so the book arrives in perfect condition.  Also, don’t approach these places with a chip on your shoulder and don’t lie.  You’re not a bestselling author (yet).  Your a local author whose looking for readers. Don’t expect payment up front either.  You should be willing to donate copies of your book to most local places or work out a deal to sell on consignment. Or if you are dealing with a bookstore or coffee shop, take down their billing information and send them an invoice.

Do you have other odd places where you successfully sold your book?  If so, we want to hear about it.  Post them here as a comment or shoot us an email and we’ll include them in a future post.

Happy marketing!