Finding a Market: a new old way to sell books

When Missing Words was published, I thought I could sit back and let the marketing folks do their business, watching the reviews roll in and the sales figures mount. I quickly learned, however, that's no longer the way things work in the publishing world. If you've been taken on by an independent publisher with a small marketing team and an even smaller budget, you'll already know how difficult it is to get your books noticed. 

Within a short time of publication, I'd spent my advance - and more - on Facebook ads and ads in print magazines, doing book giveaways, and speaking to librarians and booksellers on two continents. But it's never been clear to me whether that effort and expense resulted in actual sales. 

The situation is even more precarious for authors who've gone down hybrid or self-publishing routes because even more of the burden of promotion falls on their shoulders. Yes, there are indeed self-published authors who have had very impressive sales - by promoting their books on Instagram and Twitter and TikTok - but I've yet to crack their secret. I admire their creativity and their stamina, but quite frankly the mere thought of BookTok makes me want to weep. And Twitter has always bored me to tears. All this social media malarkey feels like a young person's game.

But I'm not the sort of person to cry into my coffee for long. So, what to do? 

I know lots of local authors here in Portsmouth and the surrounding area and like me, many have struggled to keep positive while looking for ways of promoting their books. So what if we all joined forces and used our combined knowledge and social networks to help one another? I mean, if two heads are better than one, just think what twenty or forty heads can do!

On impulse, I booked a pitch at a local arts and crafts market here in Southsea, then set about contacting people who might want to take part. Within days, we had a name - The Portsmouth Authors Collective - a Facebook group, and a couple of dozen members. 

Six weeks on, and we now have 80 members signed up to the group - 30 of whom are active, and we've had book stalls at two local markets. I've encouraged people to post about their own books and to share posts about other people's books to help one another reach a wider audience than they would otherwise be able to reach on their own. In total, we've sold 132 books - ten of which were mine, I'm very pleased to say. I know the numbers are small, but that's 132 books that probably wouldn't have sold, otherwise. It's unlikely that any of us will reach The Sunday Times Best Seller List any time soon; however, selling books direct to the public seems to have inspired and empowered us. It's certainly encouraged me. 

Selling our books on a market stall may sound like a retrograde step - limiting our reach to local book readers - but at the moment that feels okay. At the two events we've done so far, we've connected with hundreds of real people in the 3-dimensional world. And I like that. 

Perhaps those real people will tell other real people, and word about one of our books will reach the right ear. And then...and then... 

We can but dream.  

If you want to see what else The Portsmouth Authors Collective has planned, check out our upcoming dates and our Facebook Page.