Resolve, however, is quite different from a resolution. Resolve is more a personality trait than a passing fad. Resolve is long-term dedication and effort to achieve many successes, large and small, and resolve must be present 365 days a year if you want to earn successful cookbook sales.

FRP client Pam Lyles exemplifies how resolve can result in successes for an independent publisher.

Lyles released Da Cajn Critter last September and, despite the current economy, has already sold through half of her book’s first print run. Following are some key steps Lyles implemented in her overall marketing plan to generate great book sales.

• HAVE A PLAN. Before Da Cajn Critter was even sent to press, Lyles says she created a detailed marketing plan that outlined specifically how she was going to sell her book. Lyles says she asked herself questions like, “Where are you going to go? Who are you going to talk to? Who is going to sell your book?” The answers were the fundamental basis of her plan, which she has built upon.

  “The whole key to any sort of sales is you must know your market: have an idea of where you’re going, and set goals,” says Lyles.

• HIT THE PAVEMENT. Once her books were printed, Lyles personally carried out her plan by approaching buyers at every store she wanted to see her book sold in, establishing relationships with them, and showing them her genuine passion for her book, which she also presented.

  “I got in [key bookstores] by spending a lot of face-to-face time with managers,” says Lyles. “I got better results if I just walked into the store, asked them if they had five minutes, showed them the book, and then talked about holding signings.”

  Lyles says she tried to schedule signings at that time as well, as managers and event planners were more likely to commit in person than over the phone.

• USE LOCAL RESOURCES. While Lyles did secure a good number of book signings at chain stores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders in local markets like New Orleans and Baton Rouge, she also capitalized on acquaintances and relationships within her community and participated in their events.

  For example, she partnered with the Garden District Book Shop a sponsor of the New Orleans Preservation Resource Center’s Holiday Home Tour, to be a part of this home tour and simultaneously promote her book. She also participated in local book fairs and a variety of holiday bazaars, large and small.

  Lyles even connected with the Louisiana Department of Tourism when its representatives were traveling abroad to London with the New Orleans Saints in October ’08, as part of the NFL’s International Tour. Lyles submitted marketing materials that were included in a number of related events abroad.

• Y’ALL COME BACK NOW. Lyles says organization and persistence are also crucial factors to practice in maintaining local and regional accounts. She frequently returns to the stores that carry Da Cajn Critter to ensure her books are 1) available and 2) visible.

  Because she has established working relationships with buyers and managers at chain stores and independent stores alike, she knows exactly who to speak with in order to get her book in stock.

  Lyles has also relied on these relationships to act as resources as she expands into regional markets. Lyles explains that she was struggling to schedule a book signing at a Barnes & Noble in Gulfport, Mississippi, because she wasn’t familiar in that market. The buyer at a New Orleans Barnes & Noble gladly recommended Lyles for a signing in Gulfport. That signing is scheduled for Saturday, January 31.

• YOU ARE YOUR OWN RESOURCE. Lyles has taken personal initiative on every aspect of her marketing plan, from creating her own media kits to sending out her own e-mail blasts that announce book signings and other events. She includes book buyers and store managers on these e-mail blasts to make sure they know that Da Cajn Critter is being actively promoted and will be enticed to keep the book in stock.

  Lyles is even traveling to St. Helena, California, in February to do a book signing and wine tasting at Markham Vineyards, which she has frequented in her travels for more than ten years. Having numerous acquaintances at the vineyard and in the industry, she came up with fun ways to pair her recipes with their wines, made a phone call, and scheduled the event.

  From New Orleans to St. Helena, a commonality in any market is that there is great competition. “You have to give them a reason in today’s world to carry your book,” says Lyles, “and it has to be a point of difference.”