Julie BroadYour Non-Fiction Sidekick for Writing, Publishing & Marketing a Book That Builds Your Brand and Grows Your Biz

Bookstores Don’t Sell Your Book. Demand Does. #authorproblems #bookselling

12 Aug 2026 · 2 min

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1:30

In this solo talk, Julie Broad explains that the vast majority of titles in a typical Barnes & Noble (around 100,000) receive virtually no visibility; only a small fraction are featured, face‑out, or staff‑recommended. Even if an author gets a book onto a shelf, they compete with long‑standing best‑sellers like James Clear and Mel Robbins, so many authors see no sales despite being stocked. Julie argues that bookstores do not create demand – authors must. She outlines three concrete steps for authors to earn shelf space and move books: 1) Prove demand with sales figures, reviews, and an existing audience; 2) Be able to describe the book’s target reader in a clear five‑second pitch; 3) Present a traffic/marketing plan (events, media, email list) that shows how the author will drive sales from the shelf. By treating the bookstore request as an earned opportunity rather than a favor, authors increase the likelihood of both placement and sales.

Chapters

Did you know the typical Barnes Noble store carries around 100,000 books? Less if it's a smaller store. Now that sounds like a lot of opportunity until you realize less than 10% of those books are going to get any sort of visibility at all. Those ones with visibility are face out, featured, or staff recommended. The rest, they're shining with their spine out, bleeding into thousands of other titles. And keep in mind, just because your book launched this year doesn't mean that you're going to be the thing the bookstore wants to carry. There's plenty of other books like those by James Clear and Mel Robbins that are selling that have been out for years. So even if you do launch a book and you manage to get it into a bookstore, you're still one of tens of thousands, and sometimes you're competing with books that are selling and selling and selling. This is why so many authors say, I got my book into a bookstore and still sold nothing. Bookstores are not creating demand, you are. So if you want bookstores to say yes and for it to actually succeed, Number 1, prove demand. Show sales, reviews, an audience. Bookstores are going to check and that's gonna help, but it's also gonna help your book sell once it's there. Number 2, be crystal clear on who your book is for. If a bookseller can't explain it in 5 seconds, it's definitely not gonna fly. Number 3, if you're approaching the bookstore, bring a traffic plan so they see how you're gonna move your book from their shelf. Events, media, email list. Again, the bookstore is not going to do your marketing. Do that, and now you're not asking for shelf space, you're earning it, and you're going to move your book off the shelf once it's there.