Build the outreach lists

Identify bulk-purchase audiences

Work out which organizations might buy the book in quantity (for training, events, members, or clients) and find out how the publisher handles bulk and special sales before you approach them.

Optional (where relevant)Owner: Author and PublisherYou: Do itFreeAll publishing paths

Why it matters

One bulk order can equal months of retail sales, and the buyers are often people the author already knows or can reach through a professional community. But the sale falls apart if the buyer cannot get a straight answer on price, discount, and delivery. Identifying the audiences early, and settling the fulfillment route with the publisher, means the answer is ready when the question comes.

Your part

What you do: Do it. You normally do this yourself.
Who normally owns it: Author and Publisher. Author identifies audiences; publisher sales team handles terms and fulfillment
When: 4 to 6 months before publication, so terms are settled before outreach (Build the outreach lists: six to three months before publication)

Your part changes with your publishing route.

How to do it

The full walkthrough

A bulk purchase is an order of many copies by one buyer: a company for its staff, a conference for attendees, an association for members, a school district, a nonprofit for a program, a speaker's client as part of an engagement. For some books, especially business, professional, educational, and inspirational nonfiction, bulk orders are a larger share of sales than bookstores.

Start by listing the kinds of organizations that would have a reason to give this book to a group, and then specific organizations you or your network can reach. Record the decision maker, the likely occasion (a training program, an annual meeting, a gift to clients), and the quantity that would make sense.

Then find out how orders would be fulfilled. Traditionally published authors should ask the publisher's special sales department how it handles bulk orders, what discount it offers, whether it can customize (a foreword, a branded edition) at volume, and who the buyer should contact. Hybrid and self-published authors need to know their own cost per copy, their print platform's bulk pricing, and how they would ship and invoice.

Speaking engagements are the most common bulk channel: a fee that includes a copy for each attendee. If you speak, build that into your speaking terms.

Common mistakes

Approaching a buyer before knowing what discount and delivery you can offer.
Assuming the publisher will not do bulk deals without asking its special sales team.
Pricing bulk copies below your own cost because a platform's author discount was misread.
Forgetting that bulk orders through non-retail channels may be reported differently on royalty statements; ask.

A template for this

Bulk purchase introductionAn introduction to an organization that might buy the book in quantity, explaining the specific use and how a quantity order would actually work.

When to use it: Use this when you have settled with your publisher or distributor how bulk orders are priced and fulfilled, and you are writing to someone you know, or were referred to, at an organization with a concrete use for multiple copies. Do not use this when you cannot yet quote terms, or when the only reason to write is that the organization is large.

Subject: [Book Title] for [Organization Name]'s [Program, Event, Or Members]

Hi [Recipient Name],

[How You Know The Recipient, Or Who Suggested You Get In Touch]

I'm the author of [Book Title], published by [Publisher] on [Publication Date]. It covers [One Sentence On The Book's Subject], and I think it could be useful for [Organization Name]'s [Specific Use, For Example A Training Program, Conference Attendees, Or New Members] because [Specific Reason Relevant To Their Work].

If that sounds worth exploring, here is how a quantity order works:
- Orders of [Quantity] or more copies go through [Bulk Sales Contact Or Channel].
- Pricing: [Discount Or Pricing Terms At Different Quantities]
- Delivery: usually [Delivery Time] from order confirmation.
- Options: [Available Options, For Example Signed Copies, A Custom Letter Inserted, Or A Talk Alongside The Order]

I would be glad to send a copy so you can judge the fit before anything else, or to talk through how the book might work for your group.

Book details: [Book Title], [Author Name], [Publisher], ISBN [ISBN], available as [Formats].

Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Phone]
[Your Email]

What done looks like

A list of organization types and specific organizations with a plausible reason to buy in quantity.
The decision maker, occasion, and likely quantity for each.
The publisher's special sales contact, discount schedule, and customization options recorded, or your own cost and fulfillment plan if you are the publisher.
Bulk terms included in your speaking agreements.
A one-page sheet variant that states the bulk ordering route.

Ask your publisher

Copy this into an email. Replace the bracketed parts with your details.

Hi [Name], there are a few organizations that might buy [Book Title] in quantity for [training, events, or members]. Could you tell me how special or bulk sales are handled, who the buyer should contact, what discounts apply at different quantities, and whether customization is possible? Thank you.

Sources and last checked

Official source: No single official page for this step.
Last checked: Not checked against its source yet.
How confident we are: Verified