Marketing tip: Reach out to your local library

No matter who publishes your book, there’s no guarantee that libraries will carry it. However, if you walk into your local library with a smile and a copy of your book and say, “Hi there! I wrote this book. Will you please carry it?” there’s a good chance the answer will be “Sure.” It can’t hurt to ask, right? The worst the librarian can do is say no, and as I explained in a previous post, if you let a few NOs drag you down, you’re not going to get very far in your book marketing efforts.

I live in New York, but I recently received an invitation to an event at the library in my hometown in California. And get this–it’s a reception for local authors to meet local readers! How cool is that? For all I know, my novels have never even been checked out there, but their mere presence on the shelves resulted in an invitation. Maybe your local library is planning a similar event. You never know! Again, it can’t hurt to ask. (And if your library isn’t planning a similar event, why not suggest one?)

Another idea is to ask your friends or family members who live in different towns to walk into their local libraries and make a request for your book. If a card-carrying member of a library requests a specific book, the librarian will most likely order it. It’s true! When I was writing my first novel, I remember telling my mom that if just one person I wasn’t related to read it, I would be thrilled. I got confirmation that this had happened when my uncle, who lives in Indiana, requested that his local library carry the book. When he went back a few weeks later to check it out, someone had beat him to it! I have no idea who that first reader was, but I will never forget the wonderful moment when I found out he/she existed

-Maria

Source: Maria Murnane

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