Alice J. Wisler's Patchwork Quilt Blog: When Your Novels Go Out of Print

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

When Your Novels Go Out of Print

I remember . . . I recall how when I first started in this writing business the way I felt. I started with a two-book deal my agent Kristin got for me. That was at the beginning of 2007.

My first novel arrived, smelling of fresh paper and anticipation.

Rain Song did exceptionally well for whatever reason. It sold over 40,000 copies within the first year. I was too young in the industry to realize what a good number this actually is. There was a publishing snafu with the cover for my next book (book two of the two-book deal) and How Sweet It Is ended up at the last minute with a new cover (the one it has now). Believe it or not, covers do affect sales, as the VP of Marketing at Bethany House tried to explain to me.

But this post isn't about snafus or sales or . . . Well, it is about sales. Because after my next two-book deal in 2009, I found out that Rain Song was going out of print. How Sweet It Is followed. "They are available in e-book format," my editor told me.

Yikes! My babies, out of print? Why now, why me?

Years earlier, I'd read about how other authors were dismayed because their books were out of print. Now it was happening to me. And I didn't even own a Kindle or Nook, but obviously readers did. And they liked to purchase e-books.

The sale of books for electronic devises has become really real for me this month. Rain Song is at #6 today on the Christian Contemporary Romance rank on Kindle. How Sweet It Is is at #20, also on Kindle. But Amazon has no copies of either book in print to sell. And I do have readers who are like me and actually enjoy an old-fashioned book.

So, I have learned a few things.

1) People like their Kindles and Nooks.
2) People like print books.

What exactly is this post about?

Good question! I answer with:

1) How novels do go out of print, regardless of how authors feel about it.
2) How if you are smart, you can still get a print copy, and even one signed by the author!

Y'all can all be smart today because I am offering How Sweet It Is to you in print. This means that you can smell the fresh pages, turn them with your fingers, and use a bookmark which I will also send to you. Remember, there are not many of these paperback books around anymore.

How Sweet it is when you get a book for only $9.99! (Yep, no shipping costs either!)

So that is what I am offering to my readers this week. Hurry and send a check to the address below or use the Pay Pal button and purchase a real print copy (signed) of How Sweet It Is. Offer good in the USA only and only until September 15, 2013.

Order a copy or two or three! The more you order, the more you save.

From School Library Journal
"Atlanta chef Deena Livingston returns home to the North Carolina cabin she inherited from her grandfather to start a new life far from the heartbreak she suffered in Georgia. But instead of becoming isolated in self-pity, Deena finds her grandfather's will also stipulates that she work with local middle-school children. Written with a seasoning of Southern charm and populated with richly drawn characters, Wisler's second novel (after Rain Song) mixes romance, humor, and drama and tackles such issues such as child abuse and self-image. Sure to appeal to fans of Susan May Warren, Lisa Wingate, Angela Hunt, and Rene Gutteridge."