How long does it take to get a book in a bookstore?

[KSeriphyn]

Hello All,

There's a lot of advice here regarding first time publication. It'd be really interesting to know how long it takes to get a book in a book store.

I've heard, once you've been lucky enough to snap up a book contract, it takes about one year to get the book physically put together then another year to get it on the shelves (or longer depending on politics and marketing stratergies).

Is that true?

xx

KS

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

18-24 months from the time the contract is signed is a realistic estimate. Many factors could make that time longer. First novels often need substantial revisions, and contracts usually stipulate that the clock doesn't start running until a satisfactory revised manuscript is on the editor's desk.

It takes much less time if your book is self-published, but then the challenge is getting it into the bricks-and-mortar bookstores at all. Although our own Mark Robson is a sterling example of someone who has succeeded at this, in most cases, bookstores won't order self-published novels.

 

[KSeriphyn]

Gee wiz!

Thanks Teresa, appreciate the feedback.

xx

KSeriphyn

 

[Themistocles]

A great book that would help you understand why this process will take a long time is 'publishing for profit' by Thomas Woll. Reading this will also allow you to see if your publisher is going through all of the steps to market your book well. "did they contact a book club?" This step alone, is done 9 months in advance of the publication date, 12 if it is to be a front list for the book club. So, one year in advance of the publication date, all of the heavy editing needs to be completed.

Hope this helps,

 

[von_Luck]

... the challenge is getting it into the bricks-and-mortar bookstores at all. ... in most cases, bookstores won't order self-published novels.

As a bookstore manager maybe I can help. Most bookstores do not have the resources to carry inventory for unknown authors, especially true for people with POD or other self-published books. The best way to get in if your publisher is not marketing your book is to carry them into as many bookstores as you can and inquire if they will carry your book. Offer to do a booksigning if possible. It is much harder to say no in person than by email or phone. Some authors also agree to leave them on consignment at local bookstores.

I can't say enough about booksignings for unknowns. You may only sell 2 or 3 at a signing, but these people have friends they might tell. Next time you might sell twice as many. You have to become a salesman for yourself and your book. It takes alot of work and effort to get established.

If you do get your book into a store, don't forget to check periodically to see if they need more.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

There are all sorts of reasons why getting a book published can take a long time.

There is, for instance, the matter of copy-editing, so that you'll have a clean, professional manuscript. Copy-editors are often freelancers who work on a case by case basis, and sometimes for more than one company, and the good ones are naturally going to have full schedules -- and so you have to wait until they're available, or go with somebody who may not be so reliable. Bad copy-editing can be very bad indeed (and cause a lot of headaches for the author), so it's worthwhile to wait until you can get someone you trust rather than just anyone who promises a quick turnaround.

Then there are the endorsements by other authors, the so-called blurbs. You send the manuscript out as soon as it's revised (but not yet copy-edited), but you're asking these other writers to do you a favor (for free) and to take time away from their own projects and their own lives to read the manuscript and write up a blurb. Obviously, you're in no position to ask for a quick turn around; these people have to be given enough time to fit you into their schedules. So that's a few months right there.

Another factor is reviews. In order to be most effective, a review needs to be published around the same time the book first comes out -- either slightly before or slightly afterward. But reviewers have their own schedules and deadlines, and you need to get the advanced reading copies to them at least a couple of months before the pub date.

These are just three of the things that have to be built into the publishing schedule, and there are many more besides -- some of them overlap, some of them have to be done in order, some of them have to be approved or commented on by several different people or departments (including the author) and a problem or a delay at any point could throw off the whole thing, so you can't schedule things too tightly -- you have to figure in a little extra time so that you can be flexible as necessary.

 

[Brian G Turner]

As a bookstore manager maybe I can help. Most bookstores do not have the resources to carry inventory for unknown authors, especially true for people with POD or other self-published books. The best way to get in if your publisher is not marketing your book is to carry them into as many bookstores as you can and inquire if they will carry your book. Offer to do a booksigning if possible. It is much harder to say no in person than by email or phone. Some authors also agree to leave them on consignment at local bookstores.

I can't say enough about booksignings for unknowns. You may only sell 2 or 3 at a signing, but these people have friends they might tell. Next time you might sell twice as many. You have to become a salesman for yourself and your book. It takes alot of work and effort to get established.

If you do get your book into a store, don't forget to check periodically to see if they need more.

Good advice, von luck, and welcome to chronicles.

 

[Mark Robson]

I agree with Brian, Von Luck. I started in just the fashion you describe, though I always managed to sell a few more than 2 or 3 at a signing! (Most likely due to my charm and magnetic personality, to say nothing of the M16 machine gun waiting for those who didn't buy!)

The problem I found initially was my assumption that if you put a book in a bookshop (particularly a big bookshop) then it will sell. This is clearly not the case. You have to give people a reason to buy. Meeting the author is just such a reason - so you have to learn to sell yourself as a person if you intend to make a success of self publishing. I'm seriously considering setting up a business running training courses to show authors how to sell effectively. I think there's a niche there.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Well, I wouldn't say a niche so much as a huge, gaping hole -- something about the size of the Grand Canyon.

And if anyone is capable of leading writers safely down those steep and rocky trails, then back to the top alive, you would be that person, Mark.

 

[John Jarrold]

Just as a f'r instance, I sold a fantasy novel by Stephen Hunt, THE COURT OF THE AIR, to HarperCollins Voyager in November last year, and they are publishing next April. On the other hand, a debut SF novel, DEBATABLE SPACE by Philip Palmer, which I sold to Orbit in July, will be published around June/July 2007. So it does vary. But it's unusual for a debut to be published in much less than twelve months, for all the reasons others here have enumerated.