Lloyd asked me the following question:
Why can’t I find your book in bookstores? I saw it featured on the Black Christian fiction site, and I was going to purchase it for my wife. The store said the only book they had for you on file was something called First Mates. Also, I saw your book on amazon.com, but it was a used copy for $99.99!! Do I have to order your book directly from the link you provided to your publisher?
My response…
I’m not sure what to say about the high price of Milk Money, available as a used book on amazon.com. I noticed the high price a long time ago, though. I guess somebody thinks my book is worth close to one hundred bucks?? The price has been coming down, slowly, in recent weeks. So, I’ve got to skip the question about the used price of my novel on Amazon and move on to your next topic.
Okay, I don’t know if all of my blog readers know about my Black Christian Fiction website. About, maybe, five years ago I saw that the domain name blackchristianfiction.com was available, so, I bought it and set up a site with the links of a bunch of African-American Christian fiction authors. Reason being, there are a lot of African American readers who only read novels by AA authors (I’ve blogged about this in the past) and I thought this would be a great marketing tool for my novels, as well as for other AA authors. The books that are featured on this site are mine since it’s my website, and I pay the fees plus I develop the site. However, as I said, I do provide links to other AA authors’ websites, and it’s great to provide a little free publicity to the other authors.
Now, on to the next part of your question: Thanks for looking for my book in the bookstore. But the way Barbour Publishing works is, when the Heartsong Presents titles are initially released, they’re mailed directly to all of the book club members. The book club members subscribe to the Heartsong Presents novels, receiving a shipment of four books per month. So, when the book is initially released, the only place it is available is through direct order through Barbour Publishing. However, maybe, eight or nine months later, the Heartsong Presents novels are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble directly from the publisher.
I tell people when they order my books from Barbour, they’re only $2.97 plus $4.00 postage. BUT, you can order up to 12 books and pay the same amount of postage! So I advise people to order both of my books, and since the books are less than $3.00 each, buy 12 books – you can easily choose twelve different titles from the Heartsong Presents website if you don’t want to order multiple copies of my novel. I also advertise about the fact that these books make great gifts for friends and book club members.
Most of the Heartsongs are then re-released as a three-in-one book with a state theme. For example, my three novels: John’s Quest, Milk Money and Bittersweet Memories will be re-released sometime within the next year or so with a Maryland-themed title. A majority of the Heartsong Presents romances AND Heartsong Presents Cozy Mysteries will be re-released this way. When they are re-released as a 3-in-1, they are available immediately from bookstores and on websites such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can also pre-order the 3-in-1s from Amazon before they are released.
I also want to add that the women’s fiction single title novels are NOT handled like the Heartsongs. When the single titles are released, they are available for order through Amazon and they are immediately available in bookstores.
If you go to Family Christian Bookstores, you’ll see a number of Barbour’s re-released three-in-one-state-themed collections and women’s fiction titles on the fiction shelves.
My second published novel, First Mates, was released by Harlequin Enterprises under their Steeple Hill/Love Inspired imprint back in February 2005. Currently the paperback version is out of print and only available used, but it’s also available new as a hardback, large print title. Since First Mates was not a Barbour title, it was released into bookstores and department stores immediately.
I hope that answers your question, Lloyd!