Library Insider
Have you ever heard of Library Insider? If not, keep reading!
I made the decision to sign up for Library Insider recently
and wanted to share my experience working with the wonderful Judy Gann, the
expert librarian and mastermind behind the service.
First, what is it? Basically, Library Insider is a website
offering a selective database of United States libraries, as well as expert
training to help authors engage those library contact most likely to purchase your
books.
Did I say purchase? That’s right. Libraries have budgets and
they do purchase books. Many authors donate their books to libraries, and while
that’s fine to do, in fact a wonderful gesture, it defeats the purpose of
building your sales and audience. Libraries are often overlooked by authors as
a market for building book sales, yet they spend $1.6 billion on books ever
year! They often buy multiple copies of author books. Also, library sales are
FINAL—no returns. Unlike bookstores, the books libraries purchase stay on the
shelf!
Subscription packages are offered in three options:
1.
Unlimited Access—Provides 3 months unlimited
access to the entire list of 2,500+ library systems in the U.S.
2.
Unlimited Access—Provides 12 months unlimited
access to the entire list of 2,500+ library systems in the U.S.
3.
A’La Carte By State-Provides 3 months access to
specific states in the library locator database.
Option 3 is what I chose, as it was more affordable. I chose
one state—Louisiana, since my novel, Alligator Pear is set in New
Orleans. Besides the fee for the database of libraries in Louisiana, I also
chose to pay an additional $15 for mailing labels to those libraries (what a
timesaver!) AND $25 for a report on sales garnered from this mass mailing.
The whole experience is sort of an experiment for me. I’m one of only a couple of indie-book
authors to try this! (Though I am traditionally published as well). So I’m
anxious to see if the work and expense (which wasn’t bad at all and I believe, is tax deductible), pays off in
increased sales.
I encourage you to check out this site. Judy Gann was
extremely helpful to me. Besides her experience as a librarian, she is also a
published author, so she knows and understands both sides of the shelf. If you
have any questions to ask about my experience with Library Insider, please feel
free to volley away. I’m glad to help.
Never thought libraries bought books - this is good to know - thank you, Linda.
ReplyDeleteNancy, I'm going to do a followup in three months when I get my report. I'm not certain it will work for an indie book, but you never know...
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting about your experience with Library Insider, Linda. If your readers have questions they can contact me at judy@libraryinsider.com.
ReplyDeleteJudy Gann, Library Insider Librarian
Thank you for sharing about your experience with Library Insider, Linda. If any of your readers have questions they can contact me at judy@libraryinsider.com
ReplyDeleteJudy Gann, Library Insider Librarian
I've heard about this just the other day. I'll have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Deborah--you'll love Judy:)
ReplyDelete