Sending books out in style...

Captain is very pleased with the new packaging, he found it discarded on a chair, and instantly took up residence.

But what was the packaging from...? My new bright orange envelopes - because I want my books to arrive in style and make a statement. These are just for the Doodle series at present - but I've ordered some larger ones for the picture books, which will be here in a few days...!

 

So why should you order this book? What better way to start the summer holidays than a bright orange envelope dropping through your letter box, addressed to your child, and containing a book. A book full of imagination, about a doodle called Iver No-Idea and his dog HB. 

Step into a world where words and pictures come alive and interact with the real world... 

#LostinaBook

Procrastination hits a new albeit tasty level...

April at Lost in a Book

Can you smell the bread...?

OK maybe that's going a bit far, but there is some fresh baked bread here... and a chocolate cake - so did I need to bake or am I just bringing procrastination to a new, albeit tasty level...? 

Well the alternative is to try new ways of promoting my books, and yes, I can find lots of useful stuff by looking what other authors have done, but it usually results in me adding yet another book to my must have list...

Books are tactile, would you rather pick up a book or order online?

Books are tactile - it's the reason so many readers resist the cheap ebooks in favour of sitting down with a physical book - ink on paper, it's what we're used to. The feel and smell of a new book, or for some, the feel and smell of an old book, the familiar feel of turning the pages.

So is the same true of the buying experience? Do people prefer to go into an actual bookshop and pick up books, to going online and ordering a book?  Now I know book sales online are massive, brought about by bargain prices, so it seems clear that people will change their shopping habits to save money, but isn't it supposed to be about convenience too - why then is it so hard for the small online bookshops to get a toe in the door of online book sales? Maybe readers do still prefer to pick up a book before they buy it, this certainly seems the case with my books, where I can sell easily to customers at craft fairs and book signings, where they can pick up a book, and talk to the author, and will even seek me out again at future events to buy more books, but still seem reluctant to buy from my website...

Or maybe I'm just missing something, and online sales are just another of my many learning curves that I need to get beat...

Random ramblings of an author with a bookshop...

I have an online bookshop... it's tucked away down a back alley where no one can find it.

So what is the mission...?

Well to open up that back alley of course, or at the very least, to put spot lights around the entrance and make everyone who passes want to know what's down there...

I have an idea, it's been growing in my mind as I went about my day - so while I may not have looked busy today: playing with my cats, going for a swim and mooching around a stable yard, and holding half a bucket of water for a horse to drink - cos it didn't all fit in her main bucket, and she just couldn't see it go to waste... but under that calm exterior, cogs were turning, and I have a new idea you're going to love...   

...it's crazy, and it's coming soon... 

Buying books online postage free

This morning I've been researching bookshops online, and websites selling books, just to see what works.

On the first website I came to, the inevitable happened - I found a book that I wanted to buy - it was Bridget Jones Mad about The Boy - now I've been waiting to buy this book in paperback as the hardback is such a big book, and I really just prefer paperbacks. My wait is over - it's published in paperback today!!

So I added it to the basket, it said postage free at the top of the page, so there was no down side - I set off to checkout... where I was told I'd have to spend another £6 to get my free postage - to say I felt mislead would be an understatement.

I didn't buy the book on this occasion, so I suppose I had a fruitful morning - managing to do research without actually buying a book (though I do need that book soon...), but it did show me the effect misleading information has a customer. All my books on my website are postage free as I feel that adding postage is what kills internet sales, I did however have a postage fee on my little knitted sheep, which I have now removed, so the price you see is the price you pay.

What's that, you haven't heard about my sheep...? They're in my bookshop, go and round some up...

from But I'm Not Sleepy