Did you ever wonder why our business is described as the book-publishing industry and not the book-selling industry? In 2013 Bowker issued new ISBNs at the rate of more than 1400 per day, defining an industry that focuses on publishing more books as the strategy for increasing sales.
However, you may find that that publishing fewer books and selling more of the ones you have can be a more lucrative business model.
One way to implement this concept is to sell your books to people where they buy, rather than waiting for consumers to come to retail stores in physical locations or online. The essence of this strategy is selling books in large, non-returnable quantities to professional buyers in companies, associations, schools, and the armed services.
The dissimilarities between traditional retail book marketing and non-retail marketing are defined in the chart below. Use this information to craft new sales efforts and sell more books.
The result can increase your sales, revenue and profits.
What’s the Difference?
Books are purchased by retailers from distribution companies to sell off the shelf in chain, niche, or independent bookstores in physical locations or online
Books are purchased directly from publishers by buyers in corporations, associations, the armed services or schools in large, non-returnable quantities. Books are used or given away, not resold.
Publish er’s Selling
Strategy
Purchasing Criteria
Publishers rely on distributors to move product to bookstores, then promote books so readers go to the bookstore to buy it (sell through)
Bookstore buyers seek increased store traffic, inventory turns and profit per square foot. They choose books based on marketing, not literary, criteria
There are no middlemen so the author/publisher sells directly to prospective buyers (sell-to)
Professional buyers seek books to use as promotional items that will help them increase sales, revenue and profits
User’s
Buying Strategy
Decision-making
Process
Books are sold to individual readers who purchase nonfiction content based on their need for information, and fiction based on individual tastes or for a gift
Retailers and distributors have a shortterm perspective because they need to show sales results quickly.
Professional buyers purchase books to use as promotional items to reach their goals (increase sales, motivate employees, increase membership, educate students)
The publisher must have a long-term perspective because books are used in promotional campaigns that can take a year or more to plan and implement.

Seasonal Demand
Concentration of
Buyers
Auth or’s Impact on
Sales
Availability
Product Form
Source of
Relationships
Duration of
Relationships
Publisher’s Selling
Costs
Sales Opportunity
Purchasing Quantities
Life Cycle Planning
Acquisition Costs
Promotion
Sales Opportunity
Publishing Decisions
Bookstore sales decrease during slow economic periods and increase during holiday or gift-giving selling periods.
Consumers are generally widely dispersed, with some geographical or regional differences
Broad availability, particularly through
Internet retailers
To sell 10,000 books you would sell one book to each of 10,000 people
Standardized printed or electronic books
Sell one book to each customer and unsold books are returned.
Non-retail sales are stable or increase during slow economic periods because companies use promotional items to increase their revenue. There are fewer seasonal variations and that helps level the publisher’s income.
Prospective buyers are concentrated in industry, geographic or demographic segments, making it easier to reach them with targeted promotion
Controlled availability since buyers in companies and at associations purchase books and give them to employees, customers and members.
To sell 10,000 books you would sell
10,000 books to one person
The form is customized to the needs of buyers and could be a printed book, ebook , booklet, DVD or audio book
Sell large quantities of books to each customer, usually on a non-returnable basis
Personal relationships are with people in the distribution channel (suppliers, distributors, retailers), not with the consumer
Personal relationships are with the people who actually make or influence the purchasing decision.
Personal relationships are short term, lasting as long as your current book is selling or your next title planned.
Personal relationships are more long term, lasting for as long as you can continue providing quality content that meets buyers’ needs. The opportunity for recurring revenue evolves from the same source.
The author’s name recognition is important to the sale, and It is difficult for an “unknown” author to penetrate the system. The author’s involvement with promotion is important to sales.
The author’s topic credibility is more important than name recognition since books are purchased for their content.
Shorter life of a title due to title churn and control is yielded to retailers who decide if sales are sufficient to maintain market presence.
Longer life of a title because copyright dates is not as important as applicability of content to buyers’ needs. The publisher has more control to extend a title’s growth stage with sales to new markets and buyers, and for new uses of the content.
The retai ler’s acquisition costs are higher because of distribution and setup fees as well as costs related to displaying books and rotating product assortment periodically. Unsold books are returned, further increasing costs.
Costs are high due to selling small quantities of books to many different customers. Publisher pays the shipping charges. Returned books must be restocked or discarded. And the publisher’s promotion can be expensive.
Uncertain of the message received due to reliance on uncontrollable reviews and publicity. Advertising is usually cost-prohibitive. Blogging and social networking can communicate to large segments of consumers.
Sales are dependent on uncontrollable factors, such as the skills of distributors’ salespeople, the position of books on a shelf or circulation of positive publicity.
The choice of which book to publish is usually a literary decision based on the quality of a manuscript.
Unit acquisition cost is lower because of large-quantity purchases, no shelf-space is required, books are used and not returned, and bulk-shipping discounts lower transportation costs.
Cost-of-sales is lower because larger quantities are sold to fewer customers.
There are no distribution fees and promotion is more targeted and efficient.
Sales groups can represent books on a commission basis
Concentration of buyers permits pinpoint accuracy in targeted direct marketing.
Communication is controlled through two-way interaction among interested buyers at trade shows and in personal selling
One-on-one meetings with prospective buyers to personally deliver the intended sales message consistently, and close sales directly.
The choice of which book to publish is a marketing decision based upon the need for the content among buyers in a target market

Title Churn
Pricing Flexibility
Potential for
Profitability
Cash Flow
Returns
Emphasis is on publishing books. A revolving frontlist is deemed necessary for new revenue. Production may be hurried in order to meet artificial deadlines, or to reach a self-imposed number of titles to publish annually.
Prices must be competitive due to direct comparison on the shelf and online. The wide variety of books available on a specific topic creates a price ceiling in many categories. High unit costs from distribution fees and low-quantity production may force prices higher.
Emphasis is on selling books. The main criterion is relevance of the content to the needs of the buyer. There is no frontlist and backlist as long as the content is current and applicable.
The selling price is negotiated and is typically based on the quantity purchased. There is no direct comparison of prices of competitive titles nearby on a shelf, allowing more valuebased pricing.
Profits may be reduced due to distribution discounts ranging from 55% to 70%, and by shipping small quantities of books to many different locations. Printing books in small quantities can result in a high unit cost.
There are no distribution discounts since books are sold directly to buyers. Buyers pay shipping charges. Large quantities may be printed via the offset process.
Promotional expenses may be minimized due to the concentration of targeted prospective buyers.
Payment for books sold may be received in 90 to 120 days from the shipping date. Money due to the publisher may be held in escrow by the distributor to cover potential returns.
All sales are made on consignment and unsold books may be returned at any time in any condition. The return rate could exceed 30% of sales.
Payment (including shipping charges) is typically made in full to the publisher within 30 days of the receipt of books.
Other terms may be negotiated.
Sales to non-retail buyers are usually non-returnable.