Now that I know the books are definitely coming back, it is beginning to hit me just what this means and how much work I am going to have to put in on my days off to turn this thing around. Ringing chain stores and getting them to order via the wholesaler and negotiating discount with independents are two totally different kettles of fish, and am I really prepared and ready to be doing this? It seems that I have not been given a choice. I wonder sometimes then whether I did the right thing in going down the POD route after all, and whether I should have just gone for short print run.
It seems that I will be forced to do all that a short print run publisher does anyway - negotiating terms, invoicing and sending the books out, so perhaps I should have just done this in the beginning. I know though that this was not an option, as there is a world of difference between storing 120 books and 3000 of the things! I just hope that I am up to the challenge of this, as the reality of actually doing it is not the same as just talking about it. I suspect it will be an even bigger learning curve that the one I have already been through.
I was hoping to exercise some damage control with my efforts this morning and over the weekend, but sadly it seems that Gardners are determined to send back the full 120 regardless of the orders now beginning to come back in. The number in stock has dropped over the weekend from 159 to 155, and today will drop even more, since this morning I have secured orders from another 5 shops - Waterstones in Weston super Mare, Warrington and Tunbridge Wells, as well as Borders in Wimbledon and Same Day Books in Worthing.
It seems that this is actually the second order from Same Day Books, since having spoken to their Buyer, they actually ordered 5 late last year, 3 of which have sold. He has though agreed t0 order 3 more, which he was processing as I spoke to him, and so next time I go to Gardners website I expect the number in stock will have dropped accordingly.
The good news is though that Gardners are not going to charge me for freight, I am not sure why, since this does seem unusual, but I am not going to argue with that and neither is Richard. They will send them back as soon as he gives them my address, which is probably round about now, so I await their arrival later this week. I bet you anything you like though that by the end of the month I am sending some back again!
It seems that I will be forced to do all that a short print run publisher does anyway - negotiating terms, invoicing and sending the books out, so perhaps I should have just done this in the beginning. I know though that this was not an option, as there is a world of difference between storing 120 books and 3000 of the things! I just hope that I am up to the challenge of this, as the reality of actually doing it is not the same as just talking about it. I suspect it will be an even bigger learning curve that the one I have already been through.
I was hoping to exercise some damage control with my efforts this morning and over the weekend, but sadly it seems that Gardners are determined to send back the full 120 regardless of the orders now beginning to come back in. The number in stock has dropped over the weekend from 159 to 155, and today will drop even more, since this morning I have secured orders from another 5 shops - Waterstones in Weston super Mare, Warrington and Tunbridge Wells, as well as Borders in Wimbledon and Same Day Books in Worthing.
It seems that this is actually the second order from Same Day Books, since having spoken to their Buyer, they actually ordered 5 late last year, 3 of which have sold. He has though agreed t0 order 3 more, which he was processing as I spoke to him, and so next time I go to Gardners website I expect the number in stock will have dropped accordingly.
The good news is though that Gardners are not going to charge me for freight, I am not sure why, since this does seem unusual, but I am not going to argue with that and neither is Richard. They will send them back as soon as he gives them my address, which is probably round about now, so I await their arrival later this week. I bet you anything you like though that by the end of the month I am sending some back again!
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