My first published book,
Farm Girl, was also the very first release for WiDo
Publishing. The book had been put together beforehand, with my son Billy
as the editor and my son Don doing layout and design. My plan was to
print up a few copies for my mom and for our family members.
WiDo's
investor paid for a large print run of 5000 copies. About half of those
have sold. The investor was willing to try many things to get sales--
hiring a publicist, sending out copies for contests, paying someone to
call bookstores and get orders. The idea was to try a lot of different
approaches and eventually something would pay off.
It's
been an interesting learning experience, because the entire publishing
culture changed from when WiDo first began until now. Most of the things
that we tried at first are no longer viable.
Calling bookstores? A waste of valuable time.
Farm Girl sells more books on Kindle than on print.
Hiring a publicist?
A waste of good money. Book sales happen more through online blog
reviews and the calculated use of KDP Select free promotions than
through an expensive publicist getting a feature on TV, radio or in the
newspaper.
Giving away free copies to teachers
in hopes they'd buy more for the classroom? Ha! Teachers are strapped
for cash and will gladly take a free book. Period.
From the way books were printed in 2007 to the way they are sold in 2012,
Farm Girl
has led the way in change for WiDo. The lessons we learned and
experience gained from making and selling this first book have been
invaluable. And I think that's the real worth of
Farm Girl as WiDo's first release.
by KarenG
Coming Down the Mountain: A Writer's Blog
