One day back in the dawn of 2022 I randomly placed a sticky note on my fridge with these fast scribbled words: “sell 1000 books this year.” It was a lofty goal I quietly kept to myself—keeping a zipped lip just incase I didn’t reach it and feel like a fool. Although it be invigorating to shout it the roof tops (in order to hold yourself accountable to a goal), I told no one because it’s one of those instances that your talk ends up overshadowing your walk that demands all those unglamorous days of putting your feet to the pavement. And its’ some cold pavement I tell you—the sales marketing world is a totally different “hat” I wear outside of the creation of my books. Making about 30 new accounts (within my own direct distribution channel) this year was the tip of the iceberg—what lies beneath were dozens of hours and over 100 accounts I reached out to (having netted only those 30 in the end). Whenever I became discouraged I had to remember this was par for the course, like the old sales adage, ‘for every 10 no’s, you’ll get 1 yes.” Thus, the fact I netted 30% of my accounts was actually a huge success in the sales world. Across all my wholesale and retail channels, I netted 1,170 book sales:
-My store account sales (direct distribution to store): 757
-Ingram sales (indirect distribution to store): 230
-Book singing events (direct to customer): ~ 100
-Etsy (direct to customer): 83
Highlighting my accounts with the most books bought in 2022 alone—thank you for your business! 🖤
1.) Breck Kidz (Breckenridge, CO) 94
2.) Jerrol’s (Ellensburg, WA) 60
13.) Once Upon a Blue Moose (Anchorage, Alaska) 48
3.) Evergreen Crafters (Evergreen, CO) 32
4.) Booktree (Kirkland, WA). 32
6.) Norman’s Fine Art and gifts (Kodiak, Alaska). 30
7.) Post Alley kids (Seattle, WA) 32
8.) Pacific Northwest Shop (Tacoma, WA)
9.) Channing Baby Co. (Tacoma, WA) 24
10.) Little bird (Denver, CO) 30
11.) Lil’ Tugs Boutique (Anacortes, WA) 30
12.) Schular’s Bookstore (Okemos Michigan) 27
13.) Denver Artisan Center (Cherry Creek, CO) 18
14.) Covered Treasures (Monument, CO) 24
I also thank all the retail customers who have bought my books directly—THANK YOU for supporting the one thing I do best in life! Your enthusiasm for my work means the world 🖤
A NEW MERMAID ON THE BLOCK: With Roku & Tanza at Queen Anne Book Company, Seattle WA
At Jerrol’s Book Signing event in Ellensburg, WA—she was so cute and even handed me a homemade fan letter!
Reading to the kiddos at Seward Library, Alaska
Being self employed and an entrepreneur, I have to wear many hats and the one that I wore the longest this year (outside of my art/creation hat) in order to reach my book goal was my Whitney Sales Hat. Email, call. Email, call, Email call. I felt like a robot after awhile but had to remind myself “don’t act like you are exhausted, act like you really want to be in their store and this is the only call you are making today—handle it with TLC.”
Wheatgrass Books in Livingston, Montana!
With my best friend Dana since diapers—now with her own!
Dot Bardarson, a local Seward and renown-Alaskan artist buying some books for her grandchildren after my reading at Seward Library, Alaska
At Kingfisher bookstore, a delightful local bookstore in the heart of Coupeville.on Whidbey Island, WA
With this Mumee, OH local—my dear grandma—which inspired “Bunny and the Woodchuck” Check out our news article in their local paper!
NO MAN’S LAND: I had just finished up my last book signing in Park City and was on my way back to Colorado—I was celebrating alone ontop a log, a reminder of the freedom I had to make money on my on terms. This was somewhere in north eastern Utah where the wind was blowing, the air was dry, the heat was hot…. yes, “Horse with No Name” was my theme song for that moment..
My friends would witness some of my many follow up calls—one after the other for an hour straight. They looked dumbfounded when I finally got off the phone to get in some social time. “I don’t know how you do that! I could never just call up all those people—I would get so shy!” they would quip. “I have no choice”, was my simple response every time. I’m not a natural sales girl but you would be amazed what you can do in your life—what propels you deep within your soul—when you have no other choice. It’s called doing something out of necessity. Would I love to hire a sales rep or agent to get me into more stores? Yes, but that takes a lot of money and I only earn $1-$3 in royalties on a $20 book to begin with. It’s a low margin industry which I discuss in this other blog.
With Donald Braun, an Alaskan state treasure—he has been so supportive of my books the past couple years-, connecting me with so many people and businesses in the process.
At my first Anchorage book signing event in the lobby of the Captain Cook Hotel —I met “Nigh Rangers” band member Jack Blades (he bought Ocean Bear for his grandson)
I also went on a west coast book signing tour by myself, couch surfing with friends and going to 8 book signing events across WA, WY, UT, and CO. I also sold 230 books through my distributor Ingram that publishes, produces and distributes all my hardbacks. I never know what stores are buying the books but they end up finding my work through the Ingram system so, even though I only bag $1.15 per book, it’s a great way to make passive sales. It also expanded my reach internationally with sales from bookstores in Australia, Germany and Britain! The majority of my sales over--700 books!—was done on my home soil in America through cold calling and emailing stores that would buy wholesale directly through me (netting $3 in royalties because I became my own distributor).
“It is with our eyes that we use to see but it is our vision that takes us to places never gone before.” -me
I’m not a natural sales girl even though I’ve had to be my own sales rep/agent for years now. I would often wear vanity readers (despite having 20/20 vision) to appear more “business serious” when approaching store buyers. Plus, the smart kids in school always happened to wear glasses, right?! It would actually help me, quite literally, mask the artist “hat” and wear the sales rep hat with more confidence. Looking back, I recognize other things I would mask to elevate what I am selling: for instance, I rarely tell book buyers that I’m also a fine artist and I rarely tell my art buyers/galleries that I’m also a children's book author/illustrator. I guess I don’t want to look too “versatile” because it’s distracting to the product you are trying to present at hand. Same within my art, when submitting to galleries I often show I specialize in one medium eventhough I’m skilled at three.
Looking back on this whirlwind of being my own sales task force, I’ve realized there is a psychology to closing on a sale and it’s a true art form. It comes more natural in others—but it’s one which I’ll forever be mastering because creating art is my main mastery. Some people will like your product right on the spot, other times they will need more “sales massaging” as I like to call it—You have to work it in them. You have some growing pains to go through with them because they are either not in buying season, they are swamped with other matters or they just don’t take you seriously the first exposure. So you mark your calendar two weeks from the first exposure and follow up then. It’s a tight rope of being proactive and posturing confidence without falling into the pit of being labeled an annoying sales person. I’ve noticed in these many followups that buyers are either grateful and find it refreshing to hear back from me or they are disgruntled and have this air of superiority like I don’t belong in their store (when I know I clearly based on the research of other products they have in there!). So sales life is a box of chocolates in the end—you never know what you’re going to get.
I’ve carried an Eleanor Roosevelt quote with me for almost 15 years now but have never whispered it more often to myself than this year and that is “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Yep, I carry it in the back pocket of my heart whenever she’s about to get crushed—whether it be let down by a budding romance or a wholesale account that doesn’t give me the time of day….My other favorite quote I made up years ago, “The ripples you make today will be the waves you ride tomorrow.” Noble efforts will not be done in vain, my friends.
