The book industry is ringing up excellent sales, and the competition among titles is fierce. Authors and publishers who want to succeed must successfully navigate the competition to exploit the sales opportunity. Finding a great book fulfillment company is an excellent first step if you want to sell books online outside the print-on-demand system. Many also offer printing services, as you have an all-in-one partner to help with your project if you're self-publishing. Book fulfillment is a trending choice for independent authors because it helps improve your profitability. Pick the right company for success.

Independent bookstores are the darlings of many authors who enjoy browsing the aisles of their local stores. If you work with a book distributor who can get you into the better independents, they are a worthy sales channel to pursue. Many of the world's most ardent book lovers buy in independent stores and can be influential with others. A book distributor can also help get you into chain bookstores and the aisles of big box retailers. Both can propel your sales to new heights. There's every reason to emphasize online selling, but including all types of brick-and-mortar retailers also helps.

The most important aspect of book marketing is reaching your target readers. While mass merchants may get a huge audience, including your readers, other retailers may not. Therefore, take a close look at where you plan to sell and ensure they bring an audience interested in your topic or story. If you're confident and really make an in-store push, you'll have a chance for many locations. You may want to produce posters and other in-store promotional materials in that case. If you know they'll be used, it can be a wise investment. They work better for some genres than others.

In addition to the big guys online, you may want to sell books in other channels. For example, if you're a nonfiction author, consider specialty retailers and trade associations interested in your topic. Niche audiences can be active book buyers, and your marketing efforts to reach them are more fruitful than going after general audiences. Each book and author is unique, and while you want to fit your genre, there's every reason to be creative in your approach to sales as well as other aspects of your project. The cardinal rule is to do exciting things your audience appreciates and understands.