As many of y'all know, I self-published my
book earlier this year and have embarked on a 6 month tour of the United States to sell it at conventions around the country. Like bands traveling from gig to gig, I'm going city to city to bring the book to the masses.
I started this project with a dream. I had a bunch of credit cards and an idea. I don't have a publisher nor do I have a distributor. The only way to get my book is either online at my
website or
Amazon or you happen to go to any of the 10 conventions I've been to this year and meet me in person.
I do have to say, I've been thrilled by this experience. I have many fans come up to me at conventions to heap some wonderful praises - can you ever get tired of people saying how much they love your photography ?. And often I encounter photography students who ask my advice. I've met several from local colleges as well as ones from more well-known institutions such as International Center for Photography. My advice ? The landscape has changed and it is harder to break in. Takes as many business courses as you can and finally make sure you want this in the long haul because this isn't an overnight thing....more like a decade + thing. Assist to get real world experience and if you really want to chase that photography dream, move to Los Angeles or New York. I have no problem spending time talking to students as I wish there was someone there when I began to lay it all down......but then again, in the 90s, it was a different breast.
My
facebook has exploded to over to 6,000 followers from around the world. My total social media followers number over 10,000. I know it is making an impact as every convention, I meet people who tell me "I follow you on Facebook...." or any of the numbers of other social sites. Yet..... I know that despite social media, you still have to do leg work and promote via traditional means such as postcards and promo cards. Every convention I go, I put down hundreds maybe thousands of promo cards - these 4x6 postcard with the book cover on front, info on my website on the back. These are placed on tables or on the "freebie/flyer" table - tables set-up for promotional materials
Luckily I have fans who have volunteer to put out cards at conventions I can't reach. I also pay to have a sign holder at the larger cons thus when you walk up to the convention center, you'll see a girl holding a large sign with the book cover. More eye-balls on your image plus repeat viewing of image will hopefully make an impact so that when my book cover pops up on the internet or they see a flyer, it'll just reinforce the brand.
I had a chance to go with a national distributor but in the end decided against it. Simply for the reason, they keep 60%. My book retails for $40. With the distributor, I would make $16 per book PLUS I have to cover the cost from my end to freight ship it to their warehouse in the MidWest. Freight shipping hundred of pounds of books is not cheap. Oh, there's no guarantee that your books will even ship that many to begin with. And bookstores have the ability to return unsold books. For two years in college I worked as a 3rd Key at a local bookstore so I've seen the retail side of the book market.
In the end I decided to forgo distributor and will embark on another tour next year hitting 10-15 cons. I've taken my first year of touring to make adjustments and I believe I'll be able to decreases the costs of traveling and expenses so I'll have a higher profit margin next year. And besides, there's certain cities I've never been to before - Seattle, Chicago, Nashville, and Honolulu to name a few.
I'm in the mindset that with today's online resources (and off-line print/marketing), this can be done.
Douglas Rushkoff , a bestselling author decided recently to
dump his big publishing house and head for a smaller independent publisher.
Because it would make my book twice as expensive for you, half as profitable for me, less purposefully written, and unavailable until about two years from now. In short, the traditional publishing system is nearly dead. And publishing a book under its rules can mean the death of ideas within it, as well. Until it utterly reworks its method, gets rid of a majority of its corporate dead weight, releases its publishing houses from the conglomerates that own them, and embraces direct selling models, the publishing industry will remain rather useless to readers and writers alike.
I do need to make a point that my book is very niche. It appeals to only selective folks. I think I know that market enough to handle it on my own. A larger entity may not have an idea on how to approach marketing such a book.And besides, I know where the market is at. They are at one of 250+ conventions held annually across this country.
The greatest experience I'm gaining from touring is meeting the many people related to the convention business. You can't criss cross the country and not meet the same people at these conventions. Now every one I go to, I know dealers and artists. In a way, I'm laying the groundworks for my next project.
Oh, by the way, if you're in New York, I'm at the New York Anime Fest / Comic Con going on this weekend. Here's a
map to where to find me. If you're in San Francisco, I'll be at Alternative Press Expo the following weekend. Come by and say howdy !
