How To Sell Books Without Amazon: Tips from Wendy Jones
Wendy Jones has taken a different path toward publishing. She is not using Amazon, opting instead to sell her first book, An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones, on her personal website. This radical approach stems in part from Jones’ dislike of how Amazon operates.
“I consider success having total control of my work and selling out the first print run of my book,” Jones said.
Amazon has taken a huge share of the book market, and it has been estimated that more than half of all book sales are done on this site. Over the years Amazon has changed its rules, and many authors feel it is in the best interest of Amazon and not the writer.
It took her 24 years to write and publish her non-fiction book, which details her mother’s rise in the corporate world to become the first Black female manager at a Fortune 500 company.
Telling Her Mother’s Story
Josephine E. Jones was working in the company cafeteria of a Standard Brands now Kraft Foods in the civil rights era. She was the only Black worker in the company when she became supervisor in 1967 managing white women. She attended New York Institute of Dietetics for two years and earned a certificate in dietetics in 1966. Jones said her mother who raised her alone, had perfect attendance.
“She allowed you to be who you were and valued what you did,” said Jones of her mother. “She always took me seriously even as a small child and never talked down to me. She didn’t spank me, instead she would talk with me when I did something wrong.”
Jones, who has an Masters in Fine Arts from Columbia and a BA in Literature from Yale, relied on her mother’s support and helped out whenever she could. One thing that Jones saw her mother do in the early years was help people financially even when they didn’t pay her back and she wanted to give to her the way she gave to others.
“I am grateful to have her as a mother,” said Jones adding that her mother saw the book before passing away in 2017. “I want when people read this story about a Black woman life and gain a deeper understanding of the history of African Americans.”
It was the love and respect that Jones has of her mother that made her determined to get the story written and although she enjoyed her job as an English professor at a community college, she knew she had to make a hard choice to complete the book.
“I made the difficult choice to leave teaching. Those critical years I spent with my mother was the reason I completed the book. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I had continued to work.”
This step was not without financial risk. However, Jones knew in her heart she had to write the book. Jones approached agents with her manuscript, but they wanted her to change too many things in the book such a removing the historical concepts that have resonated with readers. It was important to Jones to preserve the integrity and voice of her mother.
She took the took the unconventional route of becoming a publisher and started her own company, Ida Bell Publishing, LLC. She then made the decision to sell the book from her own website instead of using Amazon.
“Even if you are on Amazon, you still have to market your book,” Jones said. “Just because you use that platform doesn’t mean you are going to have great sales.”
Editing and Hiring a Publicist
Jones put in a lot of work to make sure her manuscript was the best it could be. She hired (an editor) a developmental editor and a copy editor to go over the story. The developmental editor became her publicist. Hiring a publicist to promote a book can cost thousands with no guarantee it will make your book a bestseller. Jones publicist cost her $1,000 a month. and coached her for interviews.
Independent Book Publishers Association and AALBC
Networking was another way that Jones was able to get the word out about her book. She became a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association. The cost of joining is $129 per year, a price that she says it worth it for all the connections, promotions and discount on classes she enjoyed. It was one such promotion, that cost her a few hundred dollars, that helped her get featured in the September edition at Black Enterprise magazine.
“IBPA’s membership handbook also gives you discounts on ISBN’s and many other services that writers use. Still, do your own research,” Jones said. “You can go to the website and see a list of all that they offer to help you make the decision to join or not. For a fee, they take your book to book fairs around the world and around the country. You receive a report on their return that could help you make contacts to sell your book. Again, nothing is guaranteed.”
Troy Johnson from the AALBC
Working with Troy Johnson from the African American Literary Book Club, or AALBC, gave her another boost. The cost of the review was about $200 however she got featured on the site that is viewed by thousands of book buyers.
“You don’t have to follow the crowd and why would you want to? Someone who wants what you got will go to the off road to get that book,” Jones said. “You don’t need to be in a crowd because they won’t find you. You have to find a way to reach people.”
To purchase, An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones, please check out the Ida Bell Publishing website. Wendy Jones will be doing a presentation about her book at the Westfield Memorial Library on Saturday, February 16, 2019 from 2 pm-4pm.
Candace Waller is the author of the Christian novel What Goes Around Comes Around. In this novel the main character, Nicole Gonzalez, has been gifted with an angelic voice and a knack for song writing. With the world pressing her down and a soon-to-be ex chipping at her self- confidence, Nicole isn’t sure she has the courage to follow her dreams. Then two men, an old flame and a sexy new musician, come into her life and really give her something to sing about. Will she allow her debilitating fear of performing and self doubt to stop her from love and career fulfillment? Nicole finds out when you step out on faith, the unexpected happens.