Book Discovery at the Library – Part 2

In Part 1 of Book Discovery at the Library we covered some traditional ways that librarians may promote your book(s). In this section we’re going to look at four companies that offer librarians a new way to make the books in their collections more discoverable at the library. For you as an author this is a plus for selling your book – studies show that patrons who find an...

Book Discoverability at the Library – Part 1

Book discovery is currently a primo concern at publishing houses and bookstores. Libraries too have been dealing for centuries with the challenge of making print books and ebooks in their collections discoverable. Back in 1876 Charles Ammi Cutter laid down the rules for a “card catalog” with his book, Rules for A Printed Dictionary Catalog. Prior to that invention, there was no universal way for...

Publisher vs. Author Marketing

Which kind of marketing is better for your book? A recent study showed that the main reasons authors gave for choosing to go with a traditional publisher was publishers’ book distribution connections. This is unquestionably an advantage for authors. But the third most-prevalent reason is publisher’s marketing services. Is this really such an advantage? Here’s the difference...

Can’t Even Donate Your Book to a Library? – 5 Reasons Why

Rejection hurts! But don’t take it personally. Here are five reasons your book got turned down. 1. Donations of books aren’t “free” for the library It costs money to shelve books. Costs of shelving books include processing books for shelving, the price of the bookshelf itself, the labor involved in shelving books, utilities like heat and light, and the cost of the space a book takes up in the...

Get and Use Book Awards

Awards have always been important in book marketing. For example, the American Library Association offers numerous awards for print books. Try to win a library award, especially if you write for children or teens. The prestigious Newberry and Caldecott Medals are just two of the honorary awards from ALA for children’s books. Bookstores often feature books that have won these awards with...