Are you seeking bulk sales for your book?

When thinking about selling their book, many authors think about selling to the individual book buyer who walks into the bookstore or buys online. That’s “one book at a time” thinking. This is limiting your sales potential.

People buy in bulk all the time (the toilet paper shortage is evidence). So don’t think that “bulk” means 100 or more. Open your thinking to book clubs, Bible study groups, and organizations outside of bookstores.

Subscription boxes are popular and opens your marketing options to making bulk sales to these companies. To find these potential markets do a search on “subscription boxes.” You might be surprised at how many are out there. Before reaching out to them be sure to read their guidelines for submitting a product for consideration.

Additional markets that may potentially buy more than just one book are organizations that connect to the topic or elements of your book.

For example, with my book Carried by Grace: a Guide for Mothers of Victims of Sexual Abuse, I can reach out to churches (for use in their counseling), church bookstores, and organizations that help abuse victims.

I can offer these places a deep discount from the retail price or to donate a percentage of the royalties to them when they purchase more than one at a time. It becomes a win-win situation.

• What is the topic of your book?
• Who is the target audience?
• Is there a secondary audience?
• Brainstorm and research groups that fit your topic and audience.

But I Write Fiction

Even if your book is fiction, there are still bulk sales options.

One of my editing clients writes historical fiction. Veteran’s organizations are a part of her marketing plan because her books give fictionalized accounts of real battles, be they from the Civil War, WWI, or WWII. She is also targeting her secondary audience, fox hunt clubs.

Another client has written a fiction series that features lighthouses in Maine. She has reached out to lighthouse organizations and museums in that region.

Wait! Don’t Send That Proposal Just Yet

At this point you might be thinking “How can I make a profit if I offer a discount?”

Read on, dear author.

When you buy copies of your book, you do not pay the retail price (at least, you shouldn’t be!)

1. More than likely you’ve published your book via Amazon. When you order your author copies, you are charged the print cost, tax (if applicable) and shipping.

Now, let’s look at an example. My Bible study, Unshakable Faith, only costs me $2.76 to order from Amazon. That means I can offer the book for any price above that to organizations I reach out to. In my proposal I would say something like this: “My book retails at $9.75, but if you purchase 10 or more copies, you can get them at 50% off retail.”

If I gain their order I would first send them an invoice and receive payment, then I would order the books from Amazon (if I didn’t have them on hand at home) and have them shipped directly to the buyer.

2. If you can gain orders that are for 100 or more, you can consider having your book printed through a printer other than Amazon. In the world of offset printing, the more you buy the lower the cost per book. This can make a huge difference if you are purchasing more than 500. The price you pay for your book on Amazon never changes. Order 1 or 1000. My book would still be $2.76 per book. One thousand copies from an offset printer would cost much less than $2.76, often as much a $1/bk different.

Are you beginning to see the potential of bulk sales?

If you are traditionally published, reach out to your publisher with this idea and potential places to target. They will love you for it. It means more sales for them too.

Next month, we’ll take a look at how to converse intelligently with offset printers and what you need to understand about how a book is printed. (It’s not hard, I promise.)

Give it some thought today as you progress through writing your book. Where might you target bulk sales? Brainstorm with your critique group or writing friends online.