Once a week in winter, there’s a fire in the fireplace at Willett Free Library!
We have a little treasure in our neighborhood, sitting atop the hill. It’s the smallest library in the smallest state, Willett Free Library.
I so enjoyed our librarian Kathy Fitzgerald’s letter that I’m sharing it here with Kathy’s permission. I hope it inspires you as much as it did me!
From Willett’s “Ferry Whistle” :
Autumn is our unacknowledged season of preparation. Thoreau conveys the spirit when he writes about his time at Walden Pond, “In October . . . I collected a small store of wild apples for coddling . . . When chestnuts were ripe I laid up half a bushel for winter.”
‘In the fall of the year, we find it natural to prepare for the rugged season to come. On quiet fall days, the world around us feels as though it were in suspension, but even then small changes are apparent. Tiny clusters of leaves turn red, a storm comes up unexpectedly, the winds change and the Bay suddenly becomes a deep pewter color. Many of us share Thoreau’s experience of red squirrels waking us at dawn, “coursing over the roof, and up and down the sides of the house,” as they too prepare for the cold days ahead.
‘Fall preparations are tinged with melancholy because they remind us of the changes to come. Change is a challenge. And fall in New England, stunning symphony of natural forces though it is, calls our attention to the changes that are the fabric of our lives as well as the foundation of our natural world. Can we welcome the changes in ourselves in the same way we celebrate the change that is autumn? Thoreau embraces Nature’s transmutations, reveling in “the indescribable innocence and beneficence of Nature.” His sympathy with the natural world leads him to ask, “Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself?”
‘The loveliness of a New England autumn, an annual masterpiece created from change and dedicated to change, if grasped in Thoreauvian wholeheartedness, can afford us plenty of cheer. But fall also brings winds and rain, chilly weather and darkness arriving earlier each day. As the season changes, we might ask with Thoreau, “What is the pill which will keep us well, serene, contented?” For him, the undiluted morning air is the answer. For us, the air of our magnificent coast and countryside, as we step out into it at any time of day, will certainly do.
Halloween at Willett is a spooky time!
“Books like Walden form our national culture, a landscape of thought as fundamental to our happiness as are our natural surroundings. Such books are signposts to guide our way. And that’s where our library comes in. It is a vessel of our shared culture, a meetingplace for thoughtful interaction and a refuge for silent thinking. It’s a place for good laughing as well as deep reflection, for all that excellent books and movies and sincere conversation can bring to our lives. Winter approaches. But we are prepared, because our library, a place for all seasons, is here.”
– Kathy Fitzgerald
When I think of my library…
Willett Free Library truly was a refuge for me when I first moved to Saunderstown as a new mother. I worked my way through Harry Potter while nursing in the middle of my sleep-deprived nights. I chatted with then-librarian Peg Squibb. And, over time, I met good friends, neighbors, my friend Diana, whose son became best friends with my oldest son when they were two.
I’ve taken poetry classes, watched movies, introduced authors to speak, read to young children, made crafts with them, eaten old fashioned recipes from the first American cookbook right out of Kathy’s book (with her husband, Keith Stavely), United Tastes: The Making of the First American Cookbook, viewed slides of my neighbor Whit’s adventure in Tibet, enjoyed homemade baked goods at our monthly Kaffee Klatsch and caught up on the lives of my wonderful neighbors, many of whom happen to be amazing bakers (I’m thinking of you, Barbara, master of scone baking!).
I’ve lounged in the overstuffed chairs, writing with my friend Tracy, in front of a warm fire and drinking peppermint tea. And toasted marshmallows in the fireplace when my kids were small.
And I’ve discovered new worlds in so many books, and sparked a love of reading in my children that we are both grateful for.
All in this special community. I can’t imagine our neighborhood without this beautiful, warm library that brings us together. Where the librarians know my children’s tastes in books and offer suggestions.
Do you have any special memories of your favorite libraries?
What role do libraries play in your modern life? What do they mean to you? Share your thoughts as a comment below–thanks!
When You Commit To Writing a Book, Other Projects Will Call: How Will You Answer?
You commit to writing a book. You feel jazzed. You’re inspired. The birds seem to sing a little sweeter. There’s a lift in your step. And then…
Soon, you’re tested.
Suddenly, new and exciting opportunities come knocking at your door.
And you may want to answer, but don’t jump in too quickly. Remind yourself that you committed to writing your book. Ask yourself, “If I say yes to this, what does it mean for my book?” And then decide. Perhaps there’s a way to put the new opportunity off for a few months, or to take something else off your plate (not your book, though)!
These opportunities can be anything from a new client, a new project to an invitation to a party Friday night. Whatever it is, before saying yes, always ask how a yes will affect your book and your commitment to writing a book.
If you are sure you want to accept the invitation and the invitation conflicts with writing time, perhaps you can immediately reschedule your writing time. Or perhaps you want to make the next few months a bit of a writing retreat and be more of a hermit—saying no to any and all distractions! Deeply re-commit to writing a book.
You get to choose. Choose wisely. Either can work, as long as you continue to prioritize your book overall.
6 Strategies to Commit to Writing a Book—and Stick With It
Commit to writing a book–and stick with it!
Here 6 strategies to commit to writing a book and keeping it a top priority:
When someone asks you to do anything (volunteer, help them out, take on a new project), stall with, “I’ll need to think about that. Can I tell you tomorrow/later today/in a few days?” Then ask the question above. “If I say yes to this, how will it affect my book?”
Check your inner GPS: Imagine yourself doing that activity or taking on that project. How does it feel to say yes? How will it impact your book? What does it feel like as you imagine the impact on your book? Now try it the other way. How does it feel to say no? To make your book writing your number one priority?
Schedule your writing sessions in your calendar for specific dates and times. If something comes up, think about whether it’s worth going off schedule. If it is, reschedule for another time immediately and put that in your calendar.
Find a person or group to be accountable to. Check in daily, weekly or at scheduled times. We do this in my writing programs, along with 5 simple questions to stay on track. It works like magic.
Give yourself rewards after you’ve completed your writing commitment for the day—a walk outdoors, a chat with a friend, a show on Netflix.
Join a book writing class! One thing I love about a class is the sense of community. You’re not going it alone. In fact, everyone benefits from the sense of momentum we build up as a group. And I just happen to have a class coming up. How about that?! In fact, it’s not to early to be thinking about my premiere book writing program. While classes begin in February, you can get started on the pre-work any time (including a private book concept consultation with me). Feel free to email me to explore.
I’ve seen people make that commitment and complete their book, in first draft form, in months, or even weeks. And I’ve seen aspiring authors make that commitment and then get side-tracked my bright and shiny objects. Those two outcomes feel very different inside!
Even new opportunities that look like answered prayer should be evaluated carefully. You don’t have to rush into a “no” either. Take your time to decide and prioritize.
What do you do to keep your commitment to writing? Any suggestions for fellow readers of this blog?
Alice McDowell with her award-wiinning book, Hidden Treasure
When Alice McDowell wrote to tell me that her book, Hidden Treasure: How to Break Free of 5 Patterns that Hide Your True Self had won a fifth award, I wrote back to suggest I interview her about how to win book awards. Perhaps Alice’s insights (and resources) will help you write an award winning book!
Micaela Karlsen, Bring Your Book to Life® Program graduate and author of A Plant Based Life, first introducted me to Alice McDowell to help her with the book she was writing, a book that distilled almost four decades of work in the realms of personal growth and spirituality. One of the things I loved about working with Alice is that I tried many of the exercises in her book, Hidden Treasure:
How to Find Out About Book Awards
Lisa: How did you find out about the awards/contests?
Alice: My publisher, She Writes Press (SWP), stressed how important it was to have a publicist. I chose Stephanie Barko because she had a similar philosophy to mine and specializes in both non-fiction and fiction. She and SWP suggested I apply for awards and gave me a list of possibilities. I looked at the awarding categories for each organization to see where there would be a good fit. I didn’t apply for any category that was too general such as non-fiction or ones that included books from the major publishing houses. Stephanie suggested that I pick categories I thought would have the fewest entries.
Lisa: Did any require more than just sending the book (such as writing about why it should win a book award) or was the process just to send your book in?
Hidden Treasure was a National Indie Excellence Awards winner in the Personal Growth category (and finalist in the Self-Help category).
Alice: In most cases I had to send in two to four books for each category along with an application sheet placed in each book. Thankfully, I did not have to write anything about why the book should win.
Lisa: How many book award contests did you apply to, in order to win book awards?
Alice: I applied to 7 contests and got awards from 3 of them (5 awards, in total).
Lisa: Wow. That’s an impressive result! What particular websites would you recommend for research?
Alice: Here are the websites that Stephanie recommended, along with a few I found:
[Note to readers, Alice sifted through these and chose 7 of the 10; depending on your budget you may want to do the same.]
[bctt tweet=”How to Win Book Awards—and Write an Award-Winning Book ” username=”LisaTener”]
Hidden Treasure was a Reader’s Favorite Bronze Winner in the motivational category.
Lisa: What are some of the things you think have helped make Hidden Treasure a multi-award winner?
Alice: It’s important to have a great writing coach and you are one of them. I also think a good layout is important. It helps the cursory reader get a quick grasp of the book’s contents. My book contains original cartoon-like drawings that catch the reader’s eye. It also includes a questionnaire on the personality patterns, which encourages the reader to engage with the material. After all, most of us like to discover more about ourselves!
Lisa: I loved the questionnaire and I also found aspects of myself in the different character (and, subsequently, body) types you discuss in the book. It’s not necessarily the kind of thing where you read one chapter because that’s your type. It seemed to me that while one type may dominated our personality (and body), we may experience aspects of all the other character types. So it was helpful to be exposed to all of it. In addition, of course, reading about the other types can help us understand other people in our lives, and support healthier relationships. What else makes Hidden Treasure a treasure, award-worthy, from the feedback you’ve been getting?
The Power of Strong Stories
Alice: People remember good stories more easily than theoretical concepts. I include true stories my students wrote about how these concepts apply to their lives. You suggested I contact Kelly Malone to help make each story come alive by adding those specific details that make each story real for my readers.
Lisa: Yes, learning to tell a good story is a process and can be challenging at first. I knew working with Kelly on the details could help you learn the skill more quickly. I think it really paid off. The book was enlightening from the beginning but the case studies really draw us in as readers. Any other things that readers point out about the book’s power?
Alice: Readers like the take-home dimension.
Lisa: That they come away with something they can use right away?
Alice: Yes. Towards the end of each chapter, I suggested exercises for individuals and groups to help heal or soften unwanted behaviors stemming from the personality patterns.
Lisa: Yes, I found the exercises very empowering and derived immediate benefit from doing them. Anything else you want to add about what contributed to making Hidden Treasure an award-winning book?
Alice: Content is the most important—provided it is well written—because the award reviewers carefully read the entire book. My book was a product of twenty years teaching the personality patterns and eighteen more teaching religious studies. I had extensive references which I believe established my credibility.
Lisa: I agree. Hidden Treasure is not one of those, “I need to write a book; let me crank something out” type of books. As you say, it is the distillation of almost four decades of teaching. And that wisdom gained, and real-life stories to illustrate it, make it a powerful and empowering read. What advice do you have for authors in the process of writing their books?
Alice: I have four bits of advice:
Don’t give up! Have some kind of writing schedule that works in your life and keep to it. Eventually the book will get written.
Have a good writing coach.
Get knowledgeable people to read and comment on your drafts.
Employ several proofreaders. Mistakes are a turn-off and even the best proofreaders can miss a few.
The Rewards of Writing a Powerful Personal Development Book
Lisa: What have you heard back from readers who have read the book (perhaps share one especially inspiring story).
Alice: Readers uniformly tell me how much they like and are helped by the book. One stranger came up to me in the grocery parking lot of all places, gushing about how she loved the book and was so thankful I had written it. It’s great fun to suddenly be surprised by a comment about the book.
I love how readers are giving the book to friends or family members. A woman living on the east coast told me she was having weekly conversations about the book with her sister on the west coast. Some are forming study groups to delve into the book more deeply. It’s wonderful to see how the book is bringing families and friends together in an authentic sharing.
Lisa: What else has come out of writing Hidden Treasure?
Hidden Treasure was a Mind, Body Spirit Awards finalist in two categories: self-help and spiritual psychology.
Alice: I feel more confident in myself as a writer. I’m using it as a text in the 3-year Hidden Treasure program at Light on the Hill Retreat Center. Other Institutes are also using the book in their courses or have put it on their reading list. Barbara Brennan School of Healing; Inner Source Healing, and Full Spectrum Center are examples.
I really enjoy presenting my book in various cities. I love meeting new, enthusiastic people and it helps spreads the word.
Lisa: It must be exciting to see other institutions sharing the book and helping your work reach and help more people. And, I think, one of the greatest gifts of being a writer in the personal development field is to hear from people about how the book has helped them. Congratulations. I am thrilled for you! Do you have any offerings coming up that people may want to explore?
Alice McDowell, Ph.D. is a workshop leader, spiritual counselor, and retreat guide. Alice is founder of the Hidden Treasure Program, Co-founder and Spiritual Director of Light on the Hill Retreat Center. She dedicates herself to helping others to awaken to their true selves, and discover divinity within. She has trained with healers, humanist and transpersonal psychologists, Sufi and Buddhist teachers, and Christian contemplatives. Her book Hidden Treasure, is winner of 5 book awards from three different organizations.
Read more about Alice’s book writing and publishing journey in this author interview on How to Write a Book.
7 Benefits to Growing Author Platform Before You Write Your Book
I am a book proposal nerd. I just love sitting out on my deck and digging in, occasionally looking up to see a monarch butterfly or two glide along the wind currents, or a hawk circle above.
I love reading about book ideas, feeling the author’s passion for her or his subject and especially adding new creative ideas to help them make the book even more resonant for their readers and more attractive to publishers.
The biggest flaw I see in most proposals is that the author’s platform isn’t quite there yet. Often, I can suggest a few ideas specific to their book to help in growing author platform now.
Sometimes aspiring authors find the advice about growing author platform frustrating:
“I’m writing the book to grow my platform. Why do I need a publisher once I already have a platform?”
“I want to reach people now with my book. I don’t want to wait another year or two for growing author platform.”
“I don’t know how to grow my platform.”
“I tried and didn’t get anywhere.”
“Who’s going to want to endorse my book and write a foreword, or help promote my book when I don’t even have a book written?”
These are all great questions. Chicken? Egg? Where to start?
The truth is, though, that whether you self publish or traditionally publish, your platform as an author is how you’ll reach readers. You NEED a platform to reach them (unless you have a very niche publisher who already reaches your exact target market, a quite unusual situation).
7 Benefits to Growing Author Platform Now!
Instead of bumming out. Rejoice in the benefits to growing author platform ahead of time. You’ll be able to:
1. Write a Better Book: By engaging with your audience ahead of time, you’ll get to test out your ideas and improve upon them. Not only that, but working on your author platform can give you lots of extra practice writing. Says Christopher Littlefield, “After Lisa’s book proposal class, I took a break to focus on growing my author platform. I finally started my newsletter—just emailed my 20th issue!—and wrote several articles for other websites, like Thrive Global and LinkedIn. All that practice is improving my writing of the proposal and the book. And now people find me online, not just by knowing my website.
2. Get to Know What Your Readers Truly Want: You may think you know what you want, but whether you are speaking, blogging, teaching, podcasting, consulting or writing articles to grow your platform, you’ll learn from their comments and questions what most interests them. Dr. Craig Malkin was writing a relationship book, but it’s his post about Narcissism that went viral and resulted in the book that garnered a 6-figure book deal with HarperCollins—Rethinking Narcissism.
3. Make Money Now: I always encourage writers to have a business plan for how your platform building and book promotion will create income for you. Rather than pouring money into it, you want your platform building and book writing to be a self-sustaining project—one that creates abundance. Beth Suereth of Caregiving Pathways started working with me on her proposal, then shifted her primary focus to platform buliding early on in the process. After parlaying her platform building into multiple income streams, Beth quit her job to focus full time on the work she’s passionate about.
Beth says, “Platform building felt overwhelming at first, but it has paid off already. I learned how to network with my primary audience on Twitter, and I tweet about their efforts in addition to my own work. As a result, a well-known nonprofit organization connected with me — via Twitter — to offer me a consulting opportunity. I also now teach part of a course I took for the credential and networking it offers. I tweet about the course and the presentations I’ll be giving at the director’s conference, and she retweets many of my posts to her 30,000 followers! In addition, just yesterday I discovered my name on a blog post from earlier this year titled 50 Aging Influencers You May Not Have Heard Of.” In the background, Beth’s been working on her proposal here and there and just sent me a rough draft today.
And Christopher Littlefield, mentioned earlier, said that by finally creating a newsletter, as part of his platform building plan, four people have read the newsletter and reached out to him with business opportunities.
4. Give Yourself the Gift of Time: The sooner you start, the more time you have to build momentum. This means more potential readers (and book buyers) as well as less pressure to try to build all at once—which is more stressful and harder to pull off. I’ve seen several authors wait to start growing their platform until their proposal was done; they were disappointed about how long it took to grow their platform afterwards. Others who work on platform ahead of time and while writing the proposal often find themselves ready to pitch once they’ve written the proposal—a more satisfying position to be in.
After our initial work together, Dr. Stephen Snyder took my advice and spent several years working on his author platform before completing and submitting his book proposal. His diligence resulted in a 6-figure offer with St. Martin’s Press!
5. Enjoy the Exponential Effects of a Supportive Network. As you help others along the way, they’ll help you. New York City sex and relationship therapist Stephen Snyder MD, author of the acclaimed new book Love Worth Making: How to Have Ridiculously Great Sex in a Long-Lasting Relationship shares how supporting a colleague of his led to even more substantial support from her down the road. While you don’t want to do all your good deeds expecting something in return, you will find that the good turns you do others will come back to you manyfold. In Dr. Snyder’s case, he attended a book talk given be one of his medical colleagues, Catherine Birndorf, who’d just co-written The Nine Rooms of Happiness. Since Dr. Snyder liked the book, he wrote an article about it on his website, and a few months later the author gave his name to a producer on the Today Show who invited him to do a segment. While in this case, his book was already out, I’ve seen similar situations with aspiring authors who were still working on their books.
6. Meet Your Idols, Paper Mentors and Other Cool People: As you work on platform building, you may finally meet a bestselling author you have admired from the distance or be introduced to new people who inspire you greatly. While teaching a workshop for the International Coach Federation, I met my coach, Tama Kieves, a great advocate for trusting my muse and honoring my creative instincts. In the spirit of platform building for my next book, I made it a goal to be interviewed on some podcasts. On one podcast, I met Laura Berman Fortgang, whose books I had read joyously when I first decided to become a writing coach. Unbeknownst to me, Laura was guest co-hosting the show and I got to tell her how much her books had meant to me!
Dr. James Zender and other participants at Harvard Medical School’s Publishing Course. He will return this time as a speaker in 2019
7. Reach (and Help) More People Even Before Your Book Comes Out: I encouraged Dr. James Zender to pitch a blog to Psychology Today online and to apply for speaking opportunities as part of his platform building. He wrote me this week to share that over 300 people have signed up for his lecture on chronic pain from the mind body perspective, which takes place Friday at the Michigan Brain Injury Association fall conference. He has also been invited to speak at Harvard Medical School’s CME publishing course in 2019 and other venues. And his Psychology Today blog, The New Normal, reaches hundreds of thousands.
Just Added: “What if I Don’t Want to Write More?”
I just received a detailed email from a reader of this blog who said she wants to write her book, but not much more writing. I decided to add to the post so that everyone can benefit from my answer:
Question 1: She asked about using Facebook Groups or Pages. My answer: Be careful with Facebook. The rules change all the time. You could put tons of energy and time into your group or page, only to find that no one will see it without advertising. And with a book, that investment in ads may not make sense financially. So, I would not make Facebook my primary media for reaching people — Ideally, you should lead people back to your website. In my recent interview with Rusty Shelton, he suggests quizzes. One of the great things about a quiz is that it is automatic. So, you can provide value to your participants without putting much time in once the quiz is developed.
If you are going to use Facebook, focus on groups (at least at the moment, until Facebook changes something again). With a page, you have to pay to get seen but when you post to a group, members will be notified automatically.
Another popular medium for reaching potential readers is podcasting. If you’re hesitant to write, you can try that.
Question 2: She also asked whether sending a newsletter out once a month is often enough.
My answer: Once a month is better than not at all, or every other month! So, do what you can, rather than strive for perfection.
However, if you are going to send a newsletter once a month, I recommend you use it to share a blog post, podcast or video and then just have a short introduction and link to its appearance on your website. Why? It will help you get found on search engines like Google.
If you send a newsletter, it’s “one and done,” but if you put it on your blog or website, it adds to the relevant content on your blog–something search engines like Google LOVE. So, you’ll increase the chances of people finding you when searching the internet for relevant terms.
Question 3: ‘If I start a Facebook Page, how do I protect my title?” My answer: You can’t copyright a title. If you think someone may use it, just use a different name for your Facebook Group (preferred) or Page. Perhaps use your name. That way, if you write additional books, you can continue to use the same Facebook Group.
Now, Here’s My Question for You
Readers, have you found that working on your platform changed your book, helped your business, opened doors or was just plain exciting? Share your story about growing author platform as a comment below. Thanks!
I recently read a book proposal for a client’s book that’s been a couple of years in the making. I’m so proud of him.
He had the right instinct for his overview—telling a compelling story from the get-go. Yet, it started out dry, clinical, like many proposals I read on the first pass. I knew he could do better.
[bctt tweet=”How to Write a Compelling Anecdote” username=”LisaTener”]
I waved my magic wand on a description of his son’s remarks and—ta da—a generic description became dialogue—four simple words in double quotes. Another wave of the wand and—ta da da—the dialogue floats from the end of the paragraph to the very first line.
All right. We can hear his son’s voice from the very first sentence. We’re hooked. What next?
Paint a picture with your words.
I ended the brief quotation with a name and the son’s age. Let’s picture him. I suggested a few quirky details to bring this young person to life—his posture, his walk, his unusual clothing.
Now, the author can make his point. The story isn’t much more than a paragraph but it draws us in, comes alive, has its quirkiness, feels real.
Engage your reader; doing all the work for her distances her from the action. Rather than spoon feeding readers—in this case agents and acquisitions editors—a conclusion, strong writing helps readers draw their own conclusions.
[bctt tweet=”Read Memoir and Fiction to Learn to Tell a Story” username=”LisaTener”]
Anecdotes in a how-to, self-help or business book may be short, but they need vitality to resonate and keep your readers reading.
You can certainly read successful how-to and business books to find examples of well told, yet brief stories. Yet, I also encourage you to read fiction and memoir. These master storytellers can help you go deeper with your writing and have a greater impact on your readers.
The more you read, the more your subsconscious can draw upon the great writing you’ve read.
3 Creative Processes to Inspire a Powerful Story
The following creative tools can help you tell a story in a dynamic way:
Metaphor: In one of my favorite posts of all time, When You’re Sad You Make a Rainbow and Other Writing Secrets, I share how my son’s stream-of-consciousness metaphor can teach us how to discover metaphors and symbols that heighten our writing. And, yes, I tell a story.
Creative Visualization: If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll be familiar with my “Meet Your Muse” exercise to access your creative source for answers to your book writing questions. Ask your muse for a metaphor, a story, a description, how to start with a person you know and bring them to life on the page. You can access your muse through this free creative visualization for writers.
What are your favorite tools to make your writing vibrant and real for your readers?
Special Sales: Think Creatively and Sell Your Book in Bulk!
“I think this book is a great idea—a fun idea. I can already imagine which publishers would respond to it.”
My morning began on a conference call with my client and a literary agent who has sold several of my clients’ books to publishers, a colleague from Harvard Medical School’s publishing course.
The high-powered agent shared her vision for the book and we loved her ideas. They expanded the potential audience and built upon the fun-factor. And I especially liked that she nudged my client in an area of great potential—special sales.
Special Sales, Think Creatively
Special sales gave this award winning book new life!
One of the agent’s requests was to get commitments now from organizations to purchase books in bulk (also called special sales). I had suggested this to my client at an earlier stage but she didn’t feel comfortable asking her contacts at the time. She also felt sure the nonprofit organizations she had close connections with, and whose conferences she spoke at, were in no position to order books in bulk as part of their budget.
As my client and I debriefed after the call, I realized we needed to think creatively. “How about so-and-so?” I suggested. Maybe he’d buy books for the organization.
A former relative-by-marriage, actor and activist had fallen in love with the idea of my client’s book and offered his support. As both the actor-activist and my client are supporters and volunteers for one of the organizations, I suggested she ask him if he would buy 500 copies of the book at a discount (usually 50%) and donate them to the nonprofit. The nonprofit could then either sell the books full price, gift them to donors, or find another creative fundraiser for the books (perhaps a fundraiser focused around the book theme (which they were already planning) with the book as a gift to anyone who purchased tickets to the event.
“I think he’d like this…”
What are Special Sales?
Special sales in the book publishing world means selling books outside of the traditional retail channels (bookstores and Amazon). Essentially, readers can find the book in places where they buy related items, rather than having to go to a book store looking, specifically for a book. A pregnancy book in a maternity store or a book on running in a sports store offer examples of special sales.
Special sales go way beyond retail stores, however. Corporations can gift your book to employees, clients, potential clients or specifically employees in a training program or seminar. Non-profit organizations may sell your book for a profit or give it to donors to thank and honor their contributions. Associations, hospitals, universities, schools, gift shops, museum stores, catalogs and libraries are all potential opportunities for special sales.
Think creatively. Would flowers.com package your book with a bouquet on Mother’s Day (or offer it for moms allergic to flowers)?
Zoos or museum gift shops that sell Behavioral Veterinarian Dr. Vint Virga’s The Soul of All Living Creatures, offer an excellent example of the targeted special sale, since many of his stories in the book are about zoo animals. What a perfect way to reach his target audience–the people who come to see those animals!
Mara Zimmerman convinced the airport bookstore in San Francisco that her independently published, multi-award-winning book, How to Meditate and Why, was a perfect fit for stressed travelers and now Compass Books ( in connection with Books Inc. ) carries her book in the San Francisco airport, terminals 2 and 3.
Adam Witty and Rusty Shelton offered bonuses to those who placed early bulk orders for Authority Marketing
While speaking at a conference, Adam Witty, co-author with Rusty Shelton of Authority Marketing, told the audience that anyone who pre-ordered 500 books or more would get a free Authority Marketing workshop from himself or Rusty for their company. Three people took advantage of the offer–that’s a minimum of 1,500 books. Rusty offers that, “The key was offering it for a limited time at a conference—it brought a sense of urgency right after a speech where the crowd was fired up.”
Says Rusty, “I suggest people have a bulk sales menu where each level of order has different “freebies” associated with the size of the order.” For example, you might offer a free webinar for those who order 25 or more books, a free consultation for 100 or more books and a free workshop, in person, for 500 or 1000 books or more.
[bctt tweet=”Why Publishers Love Special Sales ” username=”LisaTener”]
Imagine you are a publisher. It’s a tough business. Bookstores return books that don’t sell and you actually lose money on those books. It can take significant resources to acquire a customer, but you only make some percentage of the $20 or so cost of the book. Plus, bookstore sales are on the downswing.
Enter special sales. Here’s why publishers love special sales:
A Bigger Market: Special sales suddenly expands your market dramatically.
More Revenue: More books sold means more money for the publisher.
Acquisition Cost is Less: Special sales offer a focused way to bring in new customers and those customers are more likely to be repeat customers for second editions or other books the publisher brings out.
Decreased Production Costs: The more books the publisher knows they can sell, the more books they can print, saving money on cost per book by economies of scale.
Lower Returns: Remember that pesky problem of bookstore returns you read about earlier? Most non retail venues don’t return books. It’s not likely in their purchase agreements, nor is it something they would likely want to do.
Print to Order: Publishers can print based on the number of books ordered and don’t have to guess about sales in a bulk situation.
Compass Books in the San Francisco Airport
And here’s why you should love special sales:
You can generally sell way more books in a few hours spent generating a special sale than you will in a multi-city visit to bookstores, a week of PR or days plugging away on social media (unless you have a crazy-big social media following).
Don’t Let Special Sales Intimidate You
People get intimidated when I suggest they line up bulk sales ahead of time. It’s uncomfortable asking people or organizations to commit to something that doesn’t yet exist. However, to publishers, it’s a huge vote of confidence that the book will earn back its advance and contribute to the publisher’s bottom line.
And special sales could be the issue that tips the scales in your favor and leads to a book deal–or even a larger advance from the publisher.
The story of my client shows that even if an organization doesn’t seem to have the resources to buy your book, you can find creative ways to make it happen through a third party devoted to your book’s mission and the mission of the organization in question.
One challenge I run into is that writers aren’t particularly comfortable asking for a commitment before it’s complete. Yet, agents and publishers want to see those commitments before making an offer.
In the case of my client this morning, I suggested she make it clear up front that the person has an easy out. “I have a request and want you to feel free to say, no.” This is a tip I learned in fundraising, back when I was executive director of Hospitality Homes. You need to feel completely comfortable with a no.
If you feel comfortable with “no” the person you ask will feel that level of comfort and the interaction should not be awkward. If you feel worried about asking, if you worry that they’ll say no, they will pick up on that fear and discomfort. One way to let go of the fear, particularly the first couple of times you ask, is just to give them permission to say no. It gives you permission for them to say no and for you to be okay with their no. Sigh of relief.
Once you ask a few times, you’ll find it much easier. Another trick? Blame your book coach. “Normally, I’d ask you this once the book is published, but I discovered that’s not how publishing works. We’re ready to send my book proposal off to agents and my book coach informed me that agents want to see bulk sales commitments in the proposal. Would you be open to looking at the proposal and considering a commitment up front?”
If you speak regularly to organizations or companies; volunteer on their behalf; play golf with the CEO; consult regularly to museums, hospitals or schools, this is a natural fit and a professionally wise request. If your book’s mission aligns with theirs, promoting, selling or gifting your book could be a big win for them. Is your brother racking his brain for the best birthday gift ever, or is your sister-in-law owe you one looking to pay back a favor? Present this opportunity to support you.
I know it can feel scary to make the ask, but I also know another adage from fundraising. If you don’t ask, you don’t get the gift.
You Can’t Fake Bulk Sales
Years ago, sometimes publishers got burned when an author claimed a commitment for special sales that never came through. That doesn’t happen now. If you claim a commitment to special sales, be prepared to have that written into your publishing contract (book deal). If the organization doesn’t come through and pony up, you’re responsible for the purchase of those books.
It’s okay. Take a deep breath. Just be honest in your proposal and up front with your potential bulk buyers. Ask for a commitment in writing if you’re not sure they truly are committed.
“Pre-submission special sales commitments can enhance the value of a project, but they can also be hard to obtain, so focus on those places where you have real connections versus trying to build new relationships, especially with large, branded corporations like PetSmart or Home Depot. The major publishers have special sales departments that aggressively pursue such sales with the big chains or online retailers.
“Smaller presses don’t generally have the staff to pursue special sales, so any bulk orders you can bring to those houses will be welcome.
“If you have a strong personal connection to a small chain of local stores, or to a lesser-known trade organization or nonprofit, and can get a specific commitment to purchase a quantity of books in advance, go for it!”
Read more tips on how to write a book proposal. And here are 17 Steps to Get a Book Deal. Ask your questions as a comment below or share your experience with special sales. As always, I’m grateful for your comments and social shares!
You commit to writing a book. You feel jazzed. You’re inspired. The birds seem to sing a little sweeter. There’s a lift in your step. And then…
Lisa: I agree. Hidden Treasure is not one of those, “I need to write a book; let me crank something out” type of books. As you say, it is the distillation of almost four decades of teaching. And that wisdom gained, and real-life stories to illustrate it, make it a powerful and empowering read. What advice do you have for authors in the process of writing their books?
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Get to Know What Your Readers Truly Want: You may think you know what you want, but whether you are speaking, blogging, teaching, podcasting, consulting or writing articles to grow your platform, you’ll learn from their comments and questions what most interests them. 
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