Answers to Our Most Common Questions
We want you to feel we have given you every piece of information to help you decide if the association is the place for you to market your book. These are common questions and our answers to them.
- Do I have to attend the events myself?
- We do not have our members man the booth at any events. We promise to read and represent all of our titles equally and professionally. So far, we sell more books by other authors than we do our own. Some authors would come in and do a great job helping out in the booths. Others can write well, but do not represent themselves with the professionalism our members expect. Most wouldn't have the time or money to read every book and then travel around the state to help run the booths. So, we have promised our members that no one but us runs the booths.
As the association grows we hope to add more space at events where available. Once we do, we will be adding a "featured author" table. At that time authors will be invited to sign up for times to come market and sign their own books only. We will give every author participating in those events the option to sign upfor equal amounts of time. We will still be there to market all of the titles at the event.
Many of our authors don't have the time to get out and sell their books at events all accross the state and this system works well for them. Some were leery at first saying, "No one can sell my book as well as I can." We address this fear next. - I don't think anyone can market my book as well as I can. How can you sell my book without me there?
When out first book came out, we felt that way. You have poured your heart and soul into your book and no one cares like you do if it sells. No one can market it like the author, right? We have found the opposite is usually true. We can rave about other authors' work far better than we do our own. We have already outsold our current members as far as how they would do in a weekend on their own vs. how many of their books we sold at the same event. We pride ourselves on knowing every book in our store and marketing each and every one like it was our own.
- Why does it cost me more if I have more than one book?
Not only do we need to read and market every title individually, we also have to display them properly, store each one, and transport them to the events. We offer a 50% discount on your second title and work with authors that have more than two titles based on the display options they choose.
- How are the fees for events established?
Each event has a set cost and expenses that are directly related to it. Our event fees per book are a small percentage of those fees. The association is not profiting from the event fees collected.
- So how does the association make money for advertizing and other business costs?
Every member pays a $65 annual membership fee that is used for expenses like phone, internet, business licensing, and other overhead expenses. Other than that, the association only makes 20% on all sales made at events. If we don't sell our member's books, we don't make any money for advertizing and expansion. Here again is another reason we market our member's books with enthusiasm!
Still have questions? Please contact us anytime! We look forward to hearing from you.
Copyright 2010 Alaskan Association of Authors. All rights reserved.
