Selling Your Books (Indie)

Are you an author/publisher? I am. I've written and published four novels, three of them in a trilogy. And while online sales have been steady, I've wanted to get my printed books into bookstores, especially indie bookstores. After all, we're both independent, shouldn't we work together?Ah, but it's not that easy. Bookstores are wary (perhaps rightfully so) to take on self-published books, for different reasons. Perhaps they once featured a local author prominently, whose books turned out to be poorly written and unedited. Not good. Perhaps they dislike Amazon so much that they're unwilling to take on any writer who sells exclusively through Amazon. I think that was the case for me with one indie bookseller. But it's too bad, because I love indie bookstores! And I write good books. And I have a pretty good network of readers, contacts, friends, and colleagues who could help draw business to that bookstore. But it does no good to whine about it.Instead, I'm....(hold on, I hate this expression but I'm going to use it anyway)....thinking outside the box. If the bookstores don't want you, where else would your books be noticed? For me right now, it's at Jennifer's Chocolates, a fabulous shop in the Wakefield Mall in beautiful Wakefield, Rhode Island. Making artisanal chocolates for over 15 years, Jennifer's Chocolates infuses both flavor and technique into every bite. All of their chocolates are handcrafted in small batches using blends of the highest quality imported and domestic chocolate.How great is this?! They also sell single copies of each of my three books in the series (Bits of Broken Glass didn't seem like such a good fit). Even if you've already devoured the books, stop in for a sweet or two (recommending the dark chocolate peppermint bark!).On Thursday, December 19th, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, I'll be participating in "Discover a Local Author" night at the Jesse M. Smith Memorial Library in the lovely town of Harrisville, RI. It's an opportunity to meet other authors and readers, and I'll have my books available for purchase. If you're in the area, please stop by!So, what creative ways can you think of to sell your books? How will you stand out?