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award books
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From: Norma Jean <nsawicki>
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 16:40:23 -0500
In response to "award winners are often books that do not sell originally," I hope the following is helpful...
1. Booksellers as well as book publishers do not want to carry too much inventory. Even though bookstores can and do return books to publishers for full credit, they do not want the hassle of packing up books, and doing work required to get the credit for the books they return. Also, shelf space in a bookstore is sometimes referred to as "real estate;" what sits on the shelves must move/sell; at what rate and in what period of time depends on the store, the kind of book, etc.
2. When a sales rep calls on a chain, as well as some independent bookstores, if the author has published before, the sales history of the previous books is checked on the chain's computer and even though the new book may be very different, etc., the initial order will bear some relationship to the author's previous sales. The last I knew ( and it could have changed) the chains wanted a three month inventory, meaning they ordered the number of copies they thought they could sell in three months. Some genres...mass market paperbacks, for instance, have an increasingly short "shelf live"...six weeks or so before they are returned to the publisher or distributor.
3. If the author is new/has not published before, ( and is not a celebrity), the initial order will be quite modest unless there is a huge marketing campaign to support the book.
4. Copies sold to bookstores across the country prior to publication are called "advanced orders." In hardcover children's book publishing, advanced orders from the chains, independents, and wholesalers of each book often ranged from a total of 500 copies to 1500 copies for the entire country. Those numbers exclude celebrity books, and books by well known writers and illustrators whose advanced sales would be higher.
5. If there were justice in the world, as soon as a book sold out, it would be reordered. It happens sometimes but not all the time...sometimes the space is given over to a different book...one that sold at a faster rate, etc., or a book just being published.
Most hardcover children's books...especially novels and those by new writers and illustrators are review driven. Often the bulk of the inventory sits in a publisher's warehouse until the reviews come through, or a prize that has sales clout is awarded, or there is some breaking and unexpected wonderful publicity, or fantastic word of mouth which there was among kids when the first Harry Potter was published.
I am always delighted when a terrific book by an unknown writer or illustrator wears a gold or silver medal. It means the committee is doing its homework...considering everything of merit, including the unknown/to? discovered. Hope this is helpful. Norma Jean
Received on Wed 19 Jan 2005 03:40:23 PM CST
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 16:40:23 -0500
In response to "award winners are often books that do not sell originally," I hope the following is helpful...
1. Booksellers as well as book publishers do not want to carry too much inventory. Even though bookstores can and do return books to publishers for full credit, they do not want the hassle of packing up books, and doing work required to get the credit for the books they return. Also, shelf space in a bookstore is sometimes referred to as "real estate;" what sits on the shelves must move/sell; at what rate and in what period of time depends on the store, the kind of book, etc.
2. When a sales rep calls on a chain, as well as some independent bookstores, if the author has published before, the sales history of the previous books is checked on the chain's computer and even though the new book may be very different, etc., the initial order will bear some relationship to the author's previous sales. The last I knew ( and it could have changed) the chains wanted a three month inventory, meaning they ordered the number of copies they thought they could sell in three months. Some genres...mass market paperbacks, for instance, have an increasingly short "shelf live"...six weeks or so before they are returned to the publisher or distributor.
3. If the author is new/has not published before, ( and is not a celebrity), the initial order will be quite modest unless there is a huge marketing campaign to support the book.
4. Copies sold to bookstores across the country prior to publication are called "advanced orders." In hardcover children's book publishing, advanced orders from the chains, independents, and wholesalers of each book often ranged from a total of 500 copies to 1500 copies for the entire country. Those numbers exclude celebrity books, and books by well known writers and illustrators whose advanced sales would be higher.
5. If there were justice in the world, as soon as a book sold out, it would be reordered. It happens sometimes but not all the time...sometimes the space is given over to a different book...one that sold at a faster rate, etc., or a book just being published.
Most hardcover children's books...especially novels and those by new writers and illustrators are review driven. Often the bulk of the inventory sits in a publisher's warehouse until the reviews come through, or a prize that has sales clout is awarded, or there is some breaking and unexpected wonderful publicity, or fantastic word of mouth which there was among kids when the first Harry Potter was published.
I am always delighted when a terrific book by an unknown writer or illustrator wears a gold or silver medal. It means the committee is doing its homework...considering everything of merit, including the unknown/to? discovered. Hope this is helpful. Norma Jean
Received on Wed 19 Jan 2005 03:40:23 PM CST
