And so! Day 2 and also my last day at BEA. I forgot to mention that I've been wearing a t-shirt promoting my book. On the front of the shirt is a provocative image of a hand wielding a knife along with “Veil of Lies; A Medieval Noir—a New Novel by Jeri Westerson” and on the back are the words “A New Detective is Getting Medieval on Murder” along with the St. Martin’s logo. You can see the basics here. So I’ve been a walking billboard, which is a little less annoying to people than hanging around and passing out cards and promos that people don’t seem to want. Interesting thing, I’ve never had so many people looking at my chest before. It’s very empowering. In a...um...sexist sort of way, I suppose. Ahem. But it’s paid off (not that way!). Mostly through people sitting behind me at the panels wanting to know who this “new detective” is. When I whip around and let them read the front of the shirt, I hand them a promo. I must have hand sold about twenty over the weekend this way. Small potatoes but every bit counts.
I arrived late for the first panel which was “How Libraries Buy: Librarians Reveal Their Methods for Collection Development.” And it was packed! Wall to wall and on the floor. I ended up on the floor in the back, so not only couldn’t I see the panelists I had no idea who they were. I apologize ahead of time for not being able to attribute quotes. However, the last panel I attended in the afternoon, “What Librarians Wish Publishers Knew” was simply a continuation of the dialogue started that morning. Therefore, I’ve decided to combine the information in both very packed panels and try to make some semblance of what was presented.
Some bare facts to begin.
• Apparently, no publishers make sales calls on libraries. Libraries use the same vendors as bookstores: Ingrams, Baker & Taylor, etc.
• 10% of all book sales go to libraries
• Less than 5% of bestseller book sales go to library collections
• 60% of midlist book sales go to libraries
• 40-60% genre sales (including mysteries) go to libraries
What does this say? It says that libraries are pretty darned good customers and we need to market to them or at least encourage our publishers to do so. But here’s the hard part about that. Librarians generally buy books early, before they are reviewed. They claim that less than 8% of published books are reviewed. 80% of what they purchase is NEVER reviewed (but take into account all the nonfiction, textbooks, and children’s books). They don’t have time to peruse catalogues. They want their marketing electronically: e-newsletters from publishers with a quick smattering of facts. Here’s what they want: A book cover, a short synopsis, print run, marketing (will the author have a tour, interviews, etc.), what formats is it available in, pub dates, ISBNs without dashes so they can copy and paste right into the order forms for their vendors. Simple, huh?
What do they want from authors? A good book, of course, but they usually don’t want you to market to them because it is too time-consuming to seek out the info on each individual author. However, they do want to hear from you to give talks, especially in areas that don’t usually get a lot of authors (New York, San Francisco, Seattle are full of authors. Try some Midwest locations or mid state like central California where the big authors don’t go. Circulation is huge. There is no dearth in readers coming to the library. In fact, they all report that circulation is up!) This will translate to sales and sales to libraries as well, especially if you are with a larger publisher.
Budgets range throughout the country from 5 to 10 million dollars. A library system can order 300 of the same book (usually a bestseller) to distribute throughout their branches. That means for midlist and genre, they might have 1-2 copies per branch. And not only the book. When they order a book, they order across the board: the hardcover, the paperback, the audio book, the large print and the translation to other languages. Can they order this all in one place? You’d think so, but no. This is one of their biggest complaints to publishers. Believe it or not, they have to go to several sources to get the audio, e, and paperback.
And by the way, they LOVE paperbacks. It’s a myth that librarians don’t like them. They are very in tune with what their patrons want (even ordering what patrons ask for. In fact, they are very digital-savvy when it comes to this. They really love online platforms and style their websites after bookstore sites, even putting up staff picks. Be aware, authors, that you must get yourselves on the net and understand it well.
Many library systems have what they call “floating collections.” In other words, when a book is requested from one branch and sent to another, it stays at the second branch until someone from yet another branch requests it. This makes a whole lot of sense from my perspective, being a person who usually has to request those specialized books for my research. But with some non-fiction titles—particularly very topical ones—interest falls off after three years and it is taken from the collection and sold in their bookstore.
They count on vendors to know more about the publishing world than they do (and I admit, the reverse is true for me. For much of it, they were speaking Librarianese, using terms I’ve never heard of. Well, I can only learn so much. I must preserve the gray matter I’ve got left for research for my novel. Must...save...brain...) Librarians go to BEA to find small presses and other things that they’d never ordinarily hear about.
Reviews are their safety net but even so, they have to have books on order before many are reviewed. They rely, instead, on the reputation of the publisher. Which is why you won’t find many self-pubbed books in libraries, if at all.
Libraries really like to promote books! (How about that.) And authors should not fear that they are losing royalties from library circulation. It has a ripple effect. If readers like your book from checking it out of the library, they will often buy a copy for themselves, a copy as a gift, and future copies of your next book. Best word of mouth. Librarians pay attention to Library Journal’s picks and they are educating their staff on hand-selling. Rising budgets (yes, they are getting rising budgets!) meet growing creativity with online tools.
They are not looking at “books in print” anymore. They are more concerned with what is in stock. Here’s the mantra: In stock is more interesting than in print!
What’s hot and what’s not? Children’s nonfiction is diminishing; they are tired of memoirs and readers don’t trust them anymore; and they are oversaturated with political nonfiction.
Whew! After the morning panel, I headed for the floor again to check out the St. Martin’s booth. Maybe they needed more promos? But the general consensus is, no one is picking up promos at this place. Not when they can load up on free books and load up they were. ARCs for the most part.
Anyway, when I got to the SMP booth—or as close to it as I could get—Alec Baldwin was signing there. (And my promos were gone! The nerve!) Ah well. But when I turned around to leave, someone said, “Jeri?” It was Jennifer Ramos from Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena (where my book launch will be. It’s in November and you are all invited. Watch for the invite on this blog!) So we chatted and I gave her a—wait for it—promo. Crazy to meet people you’ve only emailed in such a huge place, but then again, Jeri-As-A-Billboard strikes again.
Some other info of note: Five Star’s booth had NO mysteries there. Perhaps because they sell only to libraries but come on! The buzz? Well, if the number of panels devoted to it is any indication, it would be graphic novels and mangas. But honestly, we knew that from years ago. The industry is just catching up.
And, at 11:30, right before the lunch crowd, the food workers went on strike! I kid you not! I was lucky in that I had gotten my lunch early, but there was near chaos when the Starbucks closed. Oh the drama!
In summing, I met a lot of interesting people just sitting around and sharing café tables and it was nice just for this alone. I think BEA is useful for authors just to see the “behind the scenes” and listen to panels. It definitely helps you to hit your reset button when you hear the gloom and doom of the economy and what people are supposedly not spending money on. But I’d only recommend BEA if it comes to your town (and those towns would be LA, Chicago, and New York) because it really is a “trade” show and there isn’t much for authors to do unless they are a big name and will be signing at their publisher's booths. And only big names were doing that. If you belong to MWA, you can sign in their booth (how come there was no Sisters in Crime presence?)
Also, sounds like librarians want to hear from you, especially in places that don’t usually get authors. So rework that marketing strategy everyone. And happy, happy reading!
Some images: Jitterbugging pirates; strange anime characters; a view of LA from the convention center (don’t be fooled by this. It’s in a crappy part of town.)
