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Member only guide to the Australian book industry.
MIN READ
Behind the Book is the ASA’s series of articles demystifying the book publishing industry and providing behind-the-scenes insights from industry professionals.
One of the (many) ways to measure a given book’s success is by looking at its sales figures. In this edition of Behind the Book, we take a closer look at the sales process — Who is involved? How do retailers choose which books to purchase? What are the challenges for publishers? And what can writers do to improve their sales?
We spoke to Karen-Maree Griffiths, Sales Director at HarperCollins Australia, and Lillian Kovats, Sales Director at Hachette Australia, for their perspective.
Lillian and Karen-Maree described similarly structured sales teams: Key or National Account Managers sell to prominent stores like Dymocks and Kmart, and they manage the field account managers working regionally to sell books to smaller retailers, such as local indie stores. Lillian notes that in addition to the big retailers, National Account Managers also work with ‘ebook and digital retailers, and speciality customers like book clubs, charities, and gift wholesalers.’ All of them report to the Sales Director, who is typically the person determining print quantities.
About their many responsibilities, Lillian says, ‘Account managers are usually responsible for selling all of a publisher’s titles to their accounts, as well as managing returns, arranging orders, and liaising on events and promotions.’ It is a massive team effort to get books from the warehouse to the sales floor, one that involves close collaboration between the sales team and their distributor. (Read more about how distribution works in our previous Behind the Book article).
If an independent publisher is not large enough to have an internal sales team, they will have an agreement with a larger company who uses the same distribution warehouse. The sales representative from the larger publisher will visit bookshops and present not only their own lists, but the lists of a number of publishers or imprints. For example, Melbourne University Books’ sales and distribution is managed by Simon and Schuster Australia.
In short, Account Managers pitch new titles to retailers a few months in advance of release, which gives the store enough time to order and receive the stock, and plan any promotional activities. According to Lillian, these pitches include ‘title information, cover images, reading copies or internal pages where relevant, marketing and publicity campaign details, comparative sales data, and author information.’
Library sales work in a similar fashion, with sales teams pitching to library wholesalers, while sales for schools tend to depend more on awards the book has won, author school visits, and, of course, state government decisions about the curriculum. Karen-Maree noted that at HarperCollins, their sales team includes an ‘education specialist that runs our teachers’ hub and actively connects with educational accounts and teacher librarians to promote relevant titles.’
And as far as why retailers choose the books they do, it comes down to the latest trends, the size of the potential audience, and how much marketing support the book is receiving from its publisher. Karen-Maree mentions romantasy and hockey romance as two genres that are popular with readers at the moment, and therefore being ordered by retailers in larger quantities. She also notes that a strong relationship between the Account Manager and the retailer can have a positive impact on sales. For example, while it’s harder to sell a debut book – since the author has by definition not been tested in the market – Karen-Maree says that ‘if an Account Manager strongly recommends a debut author and can communicate genuine excitement about their potential, retailers may be more willing to take a chance on that new title.’
Lillian says, ‘The size of the lists publishers sell to customers has grown considerably over the last few years, partly due to mergers and acquisitions. Book retailers of all sizes comment on how the number of books presented to them each month can make it hard to decide what to order.’ Lillian notes that since large publishers could be selling up to 500 books a month, it is up to the Sales team to ‘sift through the list’ and decide which books are the best fit for their clients.
Karen-Maree and Lillian brought up three factors impacting book sales in Australia: the country’s size, retailers’ shifting needs, and a recent fundamental shift in the relationship between publishers and customers.
Karen-Maree explains, ‘We regularly encounter challenges such as retailers changing their buying patterns, including how much stock they purchase upfront and the speed at which new titles reach shelves.’ Another recurring issue is the cost-of-living crisis, though Karen-Maree argues that ‘books remain a great value for money—they offer lasting enjoyment and can be kept and treasured.’ And regardless of current economic conditions, one fact about Australia remains immutable: it’s big. This is a particular problem when it comes to quickly restocking bestsellers, Karen-Maree says.
Lillian points to a reversal of how books have been sold in the past, explaining, ‘In recent years book sales have moved more from a “push” market, where publishers determine the priority titles, to a “pull” market, which is driven by consumer demand. The Australian book market is selling more books than pre-COVID, which was a boom time for reading, but the kind of books that are selling are driven by trends and author platforms. This can mean it is more challenging to generate awareness and demand for debut, literary, and non-fiction books in particular.’
Lillian noted the central role played by sales and distribution in determining ‘the workflow of an entire publishing house,’ as well as the sheer size of the teams working in these areas. She says, ‘Including staff in distribution as well as publishing, more than 100 people can be involved in getting an author’s book into bookstores.’
Karen-Maree also highlighted the importance of collaboration between the different players in the publishing process, the enthusiasm sales teams feel about the books they represent, and the hard work that goes into pitching to retailers. She explains, ‘If a store runs out of stock or doesn’t order enough, it’s not necessarily due to a lack of effort from the sales representative. Sales teams use their experience to advocate for your books and secure the best possible display and placement, but ultimately, retailers make the final decision. Sometimes, even with a strong pitch, a retailer may choose not to stock a book due to budget constraints or other priorities.’
Karen-Maree recommends getting to know everyone on your publishing team, including the Sales Team Manager. She goes on to further emphasise the importance of networking. ‘Building relationships with your local sales representative is also valuable — they can provide insights into local market trends and help champion your book within their territory. Engage with your local community and visit bookstores whenever possible but make sure to preplan these visits with your sales and publicity team to maximize impact. Collaboration and proactive outreach can help boost visibility and sales for your book.’
And in explaining some of the factors that impact retailer decisions, Lillian brings up an author’s online profile and the performance of their previous work. Clearly, a pre-existing audience eager to buy and read your books is one of the most important data points an author — and their sales team — can use.
If you have more questions about sales, you can seek professional advice through the ASA’s free Member Advice Service. The ASA also hosts a comprehensive Book Industry Directory for further information about publishers, distributors, and bookshops. You can also read the other articles in our Behind the Book series in our Book Industry news.
