Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
As I mentioned yesterday, Library Insider consists of two parts:
1) Library Locator, which enables you to connect with 2,500 acquisitions librarians in public libraries and library systems around the country;
2) Behind the Stacks, which is individual training offered by librarian and library market expert Judy Gann.
Today, I’d like to drill down a bit into Library Locator to explain the various ways you can use it. The author version of Library Locator is explained on the website here. (We have a publishers’ version as well, that’s designed to meet the needs of a publishing house, which has many more books to sell each year to libraries than an author would.)
What makes Library Locator unique?
We know that other library lists are available to authors, but Library Insider is one-of-a-kind because the Library Locator:
- Is updated monthly. (No other service offers this frequent updating; some haven’t been updated since they were created.)
- Includes the names and contact information for book buyers—the decision-makers—with e-mails where available. (Many databases don’t provide the names, and we know of no other database that offers emails.)
- Is a selective list of public libraries (based on size of collections, open hours, and size of staff) throughout the U.S., enabling you to target the libraries most likely to purchase your books.
- Indicates whether each library is a system (consisting of multiple branches or libraries) or if it is an independent library (single building). System libraries are more likely to purchase multiple copies.
- Includes the number of branches in each system.
- Allows you to print labels or to use email addresses.
- Offers the database to you for a three-month, unlimited number of uses subscription. (Although it’s not to be shared with other authors or your publisher.)
- You may choose to invest in the entire database, or you could select certain states.
The reason I entitled this post “Your Order, Please” is because Library Locator can be customized by you. If you believe the most effective use of Library Locator is to mail to all 2,500 libraries on the database and your marketing budget allows (you could ask your publisher to add Library Insider to your marketing plan), then the nation-wide plan is for you.
On the other hand, you might want to focus on the state you live in or add in neighboring states. Maybe you want the list for the state you live in plus the state your novel is set in. Or maybe you want to target the states with the most branches.
Whatever your pleasure, Library Insider can be configured by you. Here’s the place to look over the pricing options. On that same page is a map of the U.S., which you can use to see how many libraries and library systems are available in the states that interest you.
See what I mean? Library Insider is the ultimate customized mailing list.
The Prize for Today
I promised that we would offer prizes this week. Today’s prizes include a $25 Starbucks gift card plus:
A tote bag loaded with books, a book lover’s t-shirt and a reader’s mug. If every book in the bag isn’t your “cup of tea” or, as a guy, the t-shirt isn’t your style, re-gifting is encouraged.
What do you need to do to win? The first person who subscribes to Library Insider–at any level–wins.
The Grand Prize
Don’t forget that on Friday we’ll announce a grand prize winner. Here are the details that I explained in the post yesterday:
Write a short essay (or other creative expression such as a poem) regarding your favorite memory of a library. Maybe you met your spouse there; or you studied for your Master’s degree mostly in a library; or a librarian introduced your child to a book that became a favorite.
Submit your creative effort to: mary@libraryinsider.com. Use the subject line: “How a Library Touched My Life.” We’ll need your entries by Thursday at 8 A.M. CST to give us time to pour over them and decide who wins.
This seems like an amazing tool, but definitely one you need to have your book out or releasing soon to use.
Here’s to hoping I’ll need its use soon. 🙂
I’m convinced. I ended up signing up for two states–where I reside and a state I felt would be a good match for my book based upon its content. I wanted to try more states, but I think I’ll see how it works first before investing more money. I’m excited about trying it out. I already have some marketing material that I printed up for book signings, so I’m ready to go on that front. Wish I could afford the training, but not right now.
Until I ordered I didn’t really understand the state levels. I think perhaps I didn’t read it clearly enough; but once I got to the subscription page and saw what it meant, it all made sense.
Thanks for putting this together. It looks like a great product.
I hope you have a book out soon too, Melissa.
Not ready to use it yet, but will definitely take advantage of it when the time comes.
Cheryl, you are so strategic in your choice of target regions. When you choose your own home region you automatically have an “in.” You are a “local author.” And when you chose the region in which your book is set, you again have a hook to pique their interest. Be sure to focus on those respective hooks in your pitch.
And we have a winner for our prize today: Judy Christie, author of the fabulous Green Series of novels. Judy is one of our clients and a consummate marketer. (She, by the way, had no inside track to win. Hers was the first credit card to be processed.) Obviously Library Insider made a lot of sense to her. She bought two strategic states, including the one her novels are set in. Congratulations, Judy!
Thanks Wendy. I appreciate the compliment. I’m conservative with my budget, so I wanted to focus on areas I felt would be most successful. I think of it like market research for publishing houses. My time is too precious to waste sending blanket submissions and hoping I hit my mark. I found a publishing house who released books I enjoyed, spent time learning about them, corresponded with the publisher and some of their authors, and geared my book to match one of their current lines. I was thrilled to receive a contract. I feel very blessed.
Cheryl, you’ll have other chances to win prizes throughout the week–as will everyone else. Thanks for mentioning that the state levels made sense once you ordered.
Studying over the map helps. Some states have more libraries that buy lots of books than others; so buying one of those states means you’re buying access to more libraries and therefore will pay more because you’re receiving more data.
I think the website looks amazing. It should be a wonderful resource for published authors. Because of my love for libraries (a.k.a. my happy place), I’ve always dreamed about having a book on a library shelf even more than in a bookstore. I look forward to the day that becomes a reality.
I’m currently organizing my tax information and it just dawned on me–Library Insider subscription fees could be claimed as a writing expense on your taxes. Right?
Janet, this is so wonderful! And what Wendy added makes so much sense–that if we go with the `A la Carte method, we should at least target our state and the state our book is set in. In my case, I’d target two, also, the state I live in, which happens to be the same area where my fictional characters reside, and the other state being a neighboring state. From the map graphic, these are both Level 2 states with 151-300 libraries in ea state.
I do have a question…Well, actually two…Due to having access to the most current content of the database, I’m gathering that the Library Insider is a tool that is best purchased when the release of one’s book is imminent?
I would think this would be a wise move in all authors’ marketing plans. Is there any reason a publisher would think otherwise?
Thank you so much for your kindness as we ask questions…I have to be honest, that’s how I learn best anyway!
Congrats Judy.
Consider also states that may not be the setting for your book but share a common interest. A romantic comedy in a ski resort in Utah might also appeal to libraries in Colorado or Vermont. If your book explores issues of parenting an autistic child, which states have the greatest concentration of resources for autistic children? Lyme disease was a hot topic in the Northeast years ago, but has now saturated the Midwest. Even if your setting is Connecticut, the subject matter might spark interest in Midwest libraries. Especially if your marketing budget leaves you no option but a la carte,thinking people groups rather than just setting may open more opportunities. Where’s the highest concentration of teen suicides in the United States? Are those states you might want to add to your menu if your book addresses that subject?
Great point, Cynthia.
I’ve used the database, and it’s fabulous. The report system helped me plan strategically for my next campaign.
For those of you who aren’t ready to use Library Locator, but are writing books, now is the perfect time to talk to your local librarians. We love having a role in your writing journey, and are eager to help you. The public library has wonderful research tools for writers–online databases you can’t access anywhere but through your library.
Cynthia, fabulous ideas for targeting groups!I’m saving these for my own books.
DiAnn, thank you. You’ve had a key role in the reports function for Library Insider–my test case. 🙂
Well, you forced me to put on my “thinking cap” again, Cynthia R. ! Thank you for your insights! : )
Karen, you’re absolutely right. Library Insider is tax deductible because you’re subscribing to promote your books to a specific market. (Not that I’m a tax accountant.)
Cynthia, your subscription is for three months; so you’d want to subscribe once you launch into the most aggressive phase of your marketing campaign for your book, which would be just before your book launches and for the next few months afterwards. So the timing of when you subscribe should be based on the book’s release.
But, Judy Gann, you might speak to how open libraries are to considering purchasing books that haven’t just released.
Yes, libraries are open to purchasing books that haven’t just released, as long as the book is in print and available through our usual purchasing channels. If your book is published by a royalty publisher or a growing number of self-publishers, we can easily order it.
Question. Is the Library Insider something good to have when you don’t have a book published? I have manuscripts out to several agents to look at but don’t have a contract yet and was wondering if it would still be a good idea to go ahead and purchase 2 or 3 states. Is it? It seems like an awesome tool.
Michelle, I would wait until you have a book ready to release–perhaps a month or two before the release. The information in Library Locator will be updated monthly. If you purchased your subscription now, the information would be terribly outdated–given the time between a contract and when a book actually releases.
However, you can include Library Insider/Library Locator in the “Marketing Plan” section of your book proposal. State that you intend to subscribe. Include the web link for Library Insider (www.libraryinsider.com) This shows agents and publishers you will be proactive in promoting your book.
I do like the looks of the state-by-state options within Library Insider, and all of your tips on which states would hold interested readers are quite useful. Like a few others, I’m not at this point in my writing, but I also appreciate your honesty about the best timing for this tool.
Thanks, too, for all of the relevant questions and useful comments on this post!
This is one thing too, when you are promoting to the readers, if they say they cannot afford to buy your book, ask them to request their library buy it. They often buy the requested book, if they get more than one request for it, they almost certainly buy it.
When I worked for the library, if we got three requests for a book, we bought it. They have gotten where sometimes they just buy the books I request.
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