One of the best markets to sell your novels is also one of the most overlooked: libraries. In this article, we’ll discuss how to sell your books to libraries in ways that can be highly profitable. You might be surprised at how profitable it can be.

To help us learn about selling to libraries is bestselling author of over 30 novels, an amazing entrepreneur, mom, wife, and friend, Lacy Williams.

Lacy: Thank you for having me back. I’m always happy to chat about indie books.

Why is it important for indie authors to have their books in libraries?

Thomas: Why is it important for indie authors to have their books in libraries? Doesn’t that just cannibalize sales of their books on Amazon?

Lacy: As an avid reader and a library patron since I was a young kid, I can tell you it does not cannibalize your sales. Indie authors have many marketing strategies at their fingertips, and you want to focus on the ones that are really effective. Some strategies include discounting the first book in a series. I view having my books in libraries as another way for readers to discover my work.

If you’ve been to a library, you know books are often checked out by other patrons, or the library might only have the third book from a series. If a reader loves your work and is impatient, they may go out and buy the other books in the series. They might also request that the librarian order another copy or additional titles, and some libraries have digital systems that allow patrons to make these requests.

I don’t believe libraries cannibalize sales. In fact, I’ve had people email me after finding my books through a library promotion, saying they want to read all my books. That’s humbling, flattering, and exciting. Libraries are a market indie authors want to tap into.

Jim: Years ago, I heard that if someone checks out your book from a library, there’s a 50% chance they’ll buy a physical copy. You’re anecdotally confirming that this probably happens.

Lacy: I’d love for that to be true. I have data from a recent promotion in July that shows I’m getting sales during and after the promotion, so yes, it supports that idea.

How do indie authors get their books into libraries?

Jim: Let’s dive into it. How do indie authors get their books into libraries? What is OverDrive, and how does it work?

Lacy: When you think about ebooks, Amazon is a major player. In the library market, one of the biggest players is OverDrive. It’s an international company serving over 40,000 libraries and schools with digital media. In 2018, they celebrated their billionth digital book lent to readers.

There are other players in the library market, but OverDrive is the largest, so it’s where I’ve focused most of my efforts.

If you’re interested in other library markets, good resources include Draft2Digital, an indie book distributor that can get your books into various library markets, and Smashwords, another distributor. You can reach smaller library markets on your own, but it involves a lot of work and uploading. Using a distributor like Draft2Digital or Smashwords is likely your best bet for those.

How does the process with OverDrive work?

Lacy: As an indie author, you act as your own publisher when getting your books onto OverDrive. You provide OverDrive with your ebook files, cover art files, and all the book’s metadata information. OverDrive hosts this data and makes it available for libraries to purchase. However, listing your book on OverDrive doesn’t guarantee libraries will buy it; it’s simply available for them to acquire.

When a library purchases your book, they can loan out the ebook, audiobook, or other digital media to their patrons. OverDrive operates on a one-license, one-user platform, meaning if a library buys one copy, only one patron can access it at a time. Libraries maintain a waiting list for ebooks just as they do for physical books, so if multiple patrons want your book, they can join the waitlist and download it when it’s available.

Libraries can also buy multiple copies of your book. For well-known authors like James Patterson or Stephenie Meyer, libraries might purchase 30 copies. Even for mid-list authors like myself, some libraries buy multiple copies. It’s rewarding knowing more readers can access my work simultaneously.

You can get your book onto OverDrive through platforms like Draft2Digital, Smashwords, or Kobo’s Writing Life platform, which is user-friendly, and their upload process is similar to Amazon’s.

You can also publish directly with OverDrive, though their publisher platform is more challenging. It requires submitting details about your current and upcoming titles and additional information about yourself. The back end for uploads is less user-friendly, so if you’re not tech-savvy, I recommend using Kobo or Draft2Digital.

Each platform has a slightly different payment structure, but royalties are typically around 50% of the library price you set. Check the terms of service on each platform’s website to understand your earnings. While the royalty rates are similar, there are reasons to choose one platform over another.

What makes libraries order the book?

Jim: Once I set this up, what makes libraries order the book? How can I influence that part of the equation?

Ask Readers to Help

Lacy: One of the best ways to encourage libraries to purchase your book is to get your readers involved. OverDrive has a feature within any library connected to their platform where, if a book isn’t in the library’s catalog, a reader can request that it be purchased. Readers look up the book and click a button to recommend it to their library. The button is often labeled “buy this book” or “I recommend this book.”

I ran a promotion with my newsletter list earlier this year, asking readers to recommend my books to their libraries. Many readers emailed me back, saying they love OverDrive and their library, but didn’t know they could make requests. They were grateful for the guidance. To make it easy, I created a page on my website with clear instructions on how readers can recommend books, and I direct my readers to that page. Some readers had already recommended my books to their libraries and shared that with me, which was exciting.

Connect with Decisionmakers

Another way to sell books to libraries is by making connections with librarians. If you know the buyer at your local library, you can approach them and say, “Hey, my books are available through OverDrive. Here’s a list of my titles and their ISBNs.” This process is more time-consuming if you’re trying to make multiple sales.

Submit Your Books for Promotions

If you publish directly through OverDrive, they have an internal system that notifies you of upcoming promotions. You can submit your books for these promotions, but you need to be publishing directly with OverDrive to access them. You should log into their system at least once a month to check the news feature for upcoming promotions and see if your titles fit.

This year, I found out about a promotion, submitted some titles, and got accepted. My book was the main featured title across all OverDrive-connected libraries for two weeks in July. I received a ton of reader emails, added many people to my newsletter list, and saw increased requests for other books in the series. I wouldn’t have known about this opportunity if I hadn’t been publishing directly with OverDrive and checking their news feature.

Thomas: Getting readers to request your book at their libraries is incredibly powerful. I discovered this in college when I realized university libraries, which often have fewer users, will purchase almost any book a student requests. As a college student, I could log in with my student ID, request a book, and the library would buy it.

This applies to any library system. Librarians order thousands of books each year, and they prioritize what their members request. That’s a powerful tool.

Lacy: As indie authors, we often struggle to get past gatekeepers who may question whether our books are good enough for library shelves. When readers make recommendations, libraries are more likely to buy, and we get to bypass those barriers. It’s a great way for readers to support your books.

How profitable is selling to libraries for indie authors?

Jim: How much can indie authors make per book? When we discussed this a couple of weeks ago, you mentioned the price libraries pay for an audiobook, and I was shocked. I thought, “They’re paying that much?” Tell us about the money available for audiobooks and ebooks.

Lacy: Think about the difference between physical and digital media. If a library buys a physical book or audiobook CD, it wears out after multiple loans. Paperbacks might lose their covers or pages, especially if they’re popular. Ebooks and digital audiobooks don’t have that issue. Traditional publishers price their library ebooks and audiobooks three to four times higher than the retail price on platforms like Amazon, iBooks, or Barnes & Noble.

Thomas: If your traditionally published ebook sells for $10 on Amazon, a library might pay $30 or $50 for it. Does the author get extra money from that higher price?

Lacy: It depends on your contract, but in my experience, traditional publishing contracts base author royalties on the retail price, not the library price. I try not to dwell on that.

But for indie authors, it’s a great opportunity. Even with just a few sales, the money adds up. I publish my books to OverDrive at three times my retail price, and libraries buy at that price without hesitation. They expect to loan out the ebook or audiobook multiple times, so it’s normal for them. Don’t be afraid to price your book higher, just as you would for retail. If sales aren’t as strong as you’d like, you can lower the price slightly.

Some OverDrive promotions are discount-based, where your book might be offered at 25% off for a month. Even with the discount, the royalty is still substantial and adds to your bank account.

Jim: That’s huge. The processes you’re describing seem time-intensive, but if I’m earning two or three times more than selling directly to readers at retail or conferences, it becomes worth my time.

Lacy: Exactly. One sale to OverDrive equals about three sales on Amazon in terms of revenue.

What criteria does OverDrive have for indie authors?

Jim: Is there specific criteria for getting into OverDrive? Can someone with just one book get in, or do they need a publishing track record?

Lacy: To publish directly with OverDrive, they look for a catalog of at least 15 to 20 titles and evidence that you’re publishing regularly and have future books planned. This is because their upload process is more intensive for both the author and OverDrive due to their system’s setup. They want to know you’re an active publisher.

If you have a smaller catalog, I recommend starting with Kobo or Draft2Digital to get your books into libraries and engage your readers. As you build sales and grow your catalog, you can approach OverDrive directly. You can say, “Here are my sales record, my catalog, and my upcoming titles. Please consider me for direct publishing.” You can get into libraries with a small catalog, but as you grow, publishing directly with OverDrive offers additional benefits

Can indie authors with a smaller catalog get into OverDrive?

Jim: If I only have nine novels out, but they’ve been bestsellers and I’ve won major awards. Could I present my case to OverDrive?

Lacy: Yes, absolutely. If you have a background in traditional publishing and are now indie or hybrid, you should show OverDrive your catalog of existing books to prove you’re not just a random person trying to get onto their platform. There’s a website called WorldCat that catalogs library holdings. You can find a page on WorldCat that shows all your library holdings.

For someone like you, Jim, with your traditional books, you might have thousands of copies already sold to libraries. You can present that track record to OverDrive and say, “I have this history of library sales, and I believe libraries will buy my books once they’re on OverDrive.” They will consider that when evaluating your application.

What else should indie authors consider when selling to libraries?

Jim: Lacy, you’ve got a lot of people’s heads spinning in a good way. Any final thoughts or considerations for indie authors going down this path?

Lacy: You need to apply the same considerations as when selling books on retail sites. Your book cover must be excellent, and your book description or blurb needs to be strong to stand out. The library market is smaller than retail platforms like Amazon, which lists seven or eight million books. Not many indie authors are breaking into the library market yet because it’s harder to access, and many don’t know about the pricing and royalty structure.

Your main competitors in this market are traditional publishers, so your cover and blurb must be professional to compete. Treat it like the retail side. Ensure your book looks polished. It’s a great market to enter. It may start small, but the more you grow your presence, the better it will perform.

How can indie authors maximize sales to library patrons?

Thomas: For authors who want to have their cake and eat it too by selling books to library patrons, do you have any tricks to maximize sales?

Lacy: In all my books, including those on OverDrive, I include a bonus to entice readers to join my newsletter. This might be a short story or a free ebook, depending on the book series. In the back of each book, I list all my other titles so readers can see what else I’ve written. This encourages them to request other books from the library, saying, “I need this book. It’s not in the catalog, but let me recommend it.”

The newsletter is key to drawing readers to you. It allows you to notify them about new releases, encouraging them to recommend those to their library. This strategy works just as it does on retail sites.

Thomas: Everything we’ve said about email newsletters holds true, even for libraries. If you offer a free short story as a lead magnet at the end of your library book, readers who check out your book can join your email list to get the story. Once they’re on your list, they might buy your latest book directly from Amazon or request that their library purchase it for three times the price. Either way, you win by getting them on your email list. That’s powerful.

Connect with Lacy Williams

LacyWilliams.net. Lacy offers freebies for joining her newsletter list and a VIP page for subscribers. You can also find her list of books and a special website-only book available now.

Thomas: I encourage everyone to follow Lacy because she’s doing it right. There’s a reason we have her on the show repeatedly. She’s a perfect example of how to succeed as an indie author. Even if her fiction style isn’t your preference, join her list to see how she promotes online. She plays at a high level, like a pro indie author.

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