Saturday, October 6, 2012

Selling Books to Libraries Using Quality Books

Of the three companies I have found that sell books to libraries, the first I have pitched one of my books to is Quality Books Inc.  The process was simple and required 20 minutes of my time. The longest part of the process was finding the necessary paperwork to download as a PDF in order to complete the submission process.

The one page form along with a copy of the book I am submitting were bundled up in a USPS Priority Mail envelope and mailed on the way home from work today.

It will be interesting to see:
  1. if the book is accepted for QBI's catalog and sales efforts.
  2. how long the process takes before I learn if the title has been accepted or rejected.
Why sell books to libraries? Several reasons.

First, I want to increase the number of streams of revenue I have coming in. This is a business!

Second, I believe the sales to libraries truly will be sales I would not make otherwise. When my wife and I were first married, we simply did not have any extra money to splurge on books. Since both of us are avid readers of a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, we made good use of the public library system in our area.

I am sure the same is true today. There are certainly individuals who will be interested in my books but will use the library to obtain a copy on loan instead of buying the book. So long as somebody buys a copy I am happy.

Finally, I want to get my books in front of as many people as possible in as many ways as possible. Since I write non-fiction and my books are meant to be used as guides and references, there might be a fair number of library users who decide to buy a copy to keep for personal use. 

The hardest sale is the first sale. Based on the feedback I receive, many of the individuals who buy one of my books wind up purchasing several. This is based on the numerous e-mails I receive from the reader asking questions or simply thanking me for sharing the information.

Anything I can do to increase the chance of a first sale is worth some time and effort on my part. Since QBI's submission process is relatively easy and costs only 20 minutes and a copy of the book, I hope my first submission is accepted. If all goes well, I will submit other books in the future. 

If any of the visitors to this blog have had any experience with Quality Books Inc, positive or negative, please comment and share your experience with the readers of this blog.

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