Story Time- make sure you get your books

Book world thriving?

It’s that time of the year again. All publishers and book sellers are busy getting books out there. People are still reading. Parcels are flying around the country – around all countries in fact. This year at least, we haven’t had any problems with snow so we are able to get out orders pretty quickly.

Turnaround times

Normally we’ll get books out within forty-eight hours. We get them dispatched straight form the printer to your door. There are three problems at this time of the year, though: everybody else is also getting their books printed and sent out. Shipping is slower anyway because there are a lot of delivery vans on the road. Also, we have to attend a lot of functions. Christmas is an important networking time. That networking helps to sell your books, so we have to go. Don’t feel too sorry for us, though. It is part of the fun. 

How to be organised

It’s good to do your shopping by the end of October. However, you might just miss out on pre-Christmas sales. Look out for Black Friday – the Friday after Thanksgiving. There are some crazy sales then, including books.

If you order from Amazon rather than direct from your small press indie publisher, the publisher will get less and possibly your royalty will be less. But you are more likely to get your goods on time and you may get a good discount. On the other hand, your small indie publisher might have a sale anyway. You could consider buying next year’s presents now.

A voucher is always good, as it’s awkward buying books for people anyway; you can never be sure that they haven’t already read what you’re offering. Personally I’m always delighted to receive a voucher that can only be spent at a bookshop, online or otherwise. If you’re giving a physical voucher, include a post card of your book in the envelop.

Why stories are important at this time of the year

We face the short dark days now. We can often be marooned at home because of bad weather. What better way of spending our time than surrounding ourselves with stories, whether they be in book, film or computer game format. It’s a time of great stories anyway – Christmas, Diwali, Hanukah and Yuletide. We celebrate the return of the light and enlighten ourselves through absorbing story.

I look at the bookshelf containing the as yet unread books. I relish the time over the next couple of weeks when I’ll just be able to stay in and read. Then I look at the shelf containing the books I have read. I hope that they all bring others some pleasure.