The Etiquette of Book Selling

By Kathleen J. Shields

Learn tips and tricks on how to make the best first impression. Discover decorating ideas for you and your display. Impress your customers with sales etiquette that will inspire positive communications. I cover more than two decades worth of faux pas and etiquette don’ts that I have seen in the book-selling industry. I also share tips and tricks on getting sales without being pushy and keeping your transactions quick yet friendly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Erin Go Bragh Publishing
• Release date: May 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215711163

Kathleen J. Shields

Kathleen J. Shields is an award winning author, having won first place for Best Educational Children’s Series from the Texas Association of Authors in 2015, and the Purple Dragonfly Award in 2017 for the Hamilton Troll Cookbook.She has 27 published books ranging from illustrated children’s books, tween chapter books, young adult and adult, as well as Christian Fiction.She is currently working on the third book of The Painting Trilogy, her memoirs, along with a fun factual story called Turtle Diaries. Her hope is to teach young readers more interesting tidbits about various turtle species through the first person perspective of a tortoise.During the week, she runs her own businesses (plural); a website and graphic design company, and a publishing house where she assists new authors in making their dreams come to reality.Over the weekends, you can usually find her setup at a market day, craft show, church bizarre or any place that will let her setup a table to promote and sell her books, throughout the Texas Hill Country.She also thoroughly enjoys visiting schools and libraries, reading to young children and inspiring 3rd through 5th graders into using their imaginations to embellish their creative writing skills.

Book preview

The Etiquette

of BOOK Selling

By Kathleen J. Shields

The Etiquette of Book Selling

© Copyright 2023 Kathleen J. Shields

No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations and critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-956581-08-9

Canyon Lake, Texas

www.ErinGoBraghPublishing.com

Table of Contents

What you need to know

About me

About the book industry

About public book marketing

First Impressions Matter

What are they?

Why Do They Matter?

Show Your Interest

Dress the Part

Decorate Your Display

Know your brand

Test Your Tech

Don’t Stare

Don’t bully them

Don’t guilt them into a sale

Introduce Yourself

Presenting Business Cards

Smile when you’re Down

To Sit or To Stand

The Tease & The Explanation

Know Your Customer

Focus on the Connection

Be Respectful

Ignore the Phone

Don’t write your next book

Keep Transactions Quick

Don’t Steal Customers

We are not Competitors

Edit Yourself

Final thoughts

About the Author

What you need to know…

About me.

I am a published author. I have been writing since I was ten years old. My first book, of a trilogy, was published in 2000. I have almost 40 published books as of this printing and I have helped to Ghost Write, Story Develop, Edit, Critique, Review and Publish dozens of others. My name is on the cover of a dozen other books and I have short stories printed in compilation collection books. I’ve even had some of my poetry published in trade magazines and shared globally. I love to write.

I have been marketing my books face-to-face for more than two decades. I have attended book festivals, school events, libraries, bookstores, craft shows, malls, conventions, church bazaars, market days, farmers markets, coffee shops and so much more. If there is a place where I can setup a table and sell my books, I will find it and be there. I am a go-getter.

I have learned how to sell in the public and have seen what other authors do that were the same mistakes I made in the beginning. I am writing this book to hopefully help others put their best foot forward so they can sell their books as well. This book will not guarantee sales, but it will help you guarantee the possibility of future fans.

What you need to know…

About the book industry.

The book industry is constantly changing, evolving and going backwards, depending on what year, geographic area, demographic and company you talk to. The point is, it doesn’t matter. What matters is you, your books, and your book sales.

Whether you are traditionally published, chose to work with a hybrid publisher, pay out the nose for a vanity press or go-it-alone-self-published, the etiquettes of book selling stay the same.

Any publisher will tell you that you must market your book. If people do not know it exists, they will never buy it. Traditional publishers require you to have a large following on social media before they even take a look at your outline.

Vanity presses are quick to sell you marketing packages that cost more than a year’s tuition at college and a