Sylvia Engdahl Discussion and Q&A discussion
Library purchasing procedures
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Most library systems have ways to order books that aren't carried by distributors. Some library systems give book purchasers credit cards with a small amount of money that can be used at bookstores and at online stores like Amazon. Some libraries also use "Friends" (Friends of the Library) money to order books that they can't get through distributors. Usually the reason that we're ordering books in this way is that we have a patron request that we want to fill quickly.The main problem is that unless they've already read the book, most librarians will want to look at reviews before purchasing. Once you have good online reviews, you can definitely send them, with a copy of the book to library systems. I didn't realize that ALL of the major review journals had to have a copy of the book 3 months prior to publication in order to review it! Since your book is print-on-demand, it seems silly to have to apply that rule to it. And, unfortunately, many librarians who receive unsolicited copies of self-published books from an author they haven't heard of WON'T be willing to consider them.
That probably wasn't horribly helpful, but if I think of anything else, I'll post again!
Mod
Other people may have other opinions about all this, BUT I think you can send reviews to the Adult Acquisitions Librarian at library systems that you're interested in giving a book to. I think that reviews of your YA novels would help (like you said, to show that you aren't an amateur writer), too, but that you don't want to overwhelm with too much info. It's a fine line between just enough and too much, but I think most librarians can handle looking at a page (possibly even double-sided) of quotes advertising a book.
Mod
It's a common misconception that it's better for authors if people don't get their books from a library because that means "lost sales." This isn't true. A lot of people can't afford to buy books that aren't available in mass-market paperback form, and even those who can often prefer to look at a library copy before deciding. Readers who like the book well enough will buy it after having borrowed it -- and more importantly, many people will come across it in the library who would otherwise never know that it exists.
I just submitted an online request to have the Seattle Public Library purchase Stewards of the Flame. Hopefully they get a copy, but if they don't, I'll hopefully get to read it through an inter-library loan. I really love your work and I look forward to reading it. Thanks again!
Mod
However, the King County Library has it at 5 branches, so you should be able to get it from there if not Seattle.
The other problem is that the major review media won't review the book because they have to receive an advance copy of a book at least 3 months prior to publication in order to consider it.
It's getting good reviews on the Web but it won't be mentioned in the journals that librarians read, and so they won't even know it exists.
Furthermore, few librarians who choose adult fiction have ever heard of me -- I'm known only to YA and children's librarians. I'd be happy to send review copies to a limited number of libraries, but would they look at them and add them to their collection, or would they simply assume that a book by somebody whose name isn't familiar that wasn't issued by a major publisher is not worth considering?
What do you think?